Posts
Hi everyone,
As you know, I've been doing a liquids-only fast for the past month or so.
It has been both wonderful and terrible. Wonderful for seeing the ways in
which the body changes and adapts to the lack of food; curious to see the
wierd emotional and deep memory-probing effects it has had on me, and
terrible to become quite ill actually. I have run into trouble with anemia
twice in the past month, and a possible electrolyte imbalance. The
light-headedness and sharp headaches were really the most disturbing,
because I could not keep up with the work. The fast was not the only
contributing factor, but it was adding on to other physical strains and
aggravating the problems. I could basically choose to start taking lots of
electrolyte and vitamin drinks and pills, etc., to keep going, or return
to food. The Lenten fast for Eastern Christians is to abstain from all
animal products and sweets for fifty days. So I am doing what I can,
within the confines of responding gracefully to Iraqi hospitality. As a
team, we learned that our fast was causing strain to our relationships
with our Iraqi friends. Our refusal of their hospitality and invitations
was doing more harm than good. Making allowances for the sake of right
relationships, I think, is also a form of spiritual discipline.
I was feeling quite guilty about ending the fast though, or adapting it in
any way. Part of the baggage comes from fasting in Hebron during Ramadan,
where two teammates were actually kind of cruel in calling fasters who had
to adapt later or needed to talk about the experience of being hungry
'hypocrites.' They were not fasting themselves and wanted to hear nothing
about it. At that time, I was beginning to develop ulcers and needed to
stop. They were not sympathetic. By the time their comments finally
reduced me to tears, they then began to stop and think. When I think back
to life in Hebron, there are both impassioned loves and deep hurts. The
fasting did help me to connect with those deep hurts, the ones I thought
I'd forgotten. Yet I think that love and hurt is team life, and community
life. It is human life. Though I remember that hurt, I still love my
teammates.
I still feel guilty though, especially when looking at the two other
liquids-only fasters on the team. They are doing well, but they have done
long fasts before. I would definitely fast again, maybe even several times
a year, but perhaps I will only do so for a week at a time.
It is getting to that point while I am on project when I find it hard to
write. Things settle into a sense of normalcy, even when life is far from
normal. For this reason, I believe no peace worker should stay in a war
zone for more than three months at a time. One forgets what needs to be
explained to those people who need to know what is going on in the world.
Returning home and coming back allows me to see with North American eyes.
What good is salt once it loses its saltiness? Yet, unlike salt, a peace
worker can be re-charged and renewed. It just takes time and a place of
refuge, a return to what is peaceful and healing. At the same time,
especially for Americans, you cannot stay in those small places of refuge
and forget the troubles in the world. Americans are constantly in danger
of this. I recently heard a song by Bruce Cockburn called “Where the
Death Squads Live.” The key verse is,
“When you think you’ve lost the difference
between right and wrong,
just go down
to where the death squads live.”
When you get too comfortable, you need to go out and become afflicted again.
I don’t know if I wrote before about my practice of the rosary. I began
last fall here when I could hear the shelling every night and would stay
awake worrying about those who were being killed. After many sleepless
nights, Anne showed me a way of saying the rosary beads that worked well
for Protestants. I guess I’m not the only one. If you look at the ELCA
website, there is actually a ‘Lutheran Rosary’ for Lent. I took what was
helpful from there, and it has been really good. I told someone the other
day that I was a Lutheran, “but a very Mennonite Catholic Muslim
Lutheran.”
>From my point of view and experience these past four years, it makes
perfect sense.
The other week, Sheila and I went to Baghdad al Jdida (New Baghdad) with
her host mother to do some shopping. Al Jdida is a sprawling souk a
little like Hebron or the old city of Jerusalem, so I loved it. Prices
are reputed to be a third of those in other places around town. In the
car each way, I had one of those moments of pure amazement that I am
really in Baghdad, and what a fantastic city it is, even after so many
wars. It is so beautiful. I forget to write about this. Some of it is
like Shalala Street in Hebron, with ornate, Venetian stone houses and iron
grillwork; some is gritty yet vibrant like East Jerusalem; some is
stuccoed and sandy like Gaza City; and some, like the expressways and
industrial yards, is very much like Chicago. Baghdad is a good crossroads
kind of city to live in, and very appropriate place for me to be while
facing this cross-roads of so many different places in my life.
In only six weeks, I will leave international living behind. I am fearful
that I’ll also be leaving community life behind—what will happen if my
housemates at the seminary all want to cook for themselves and stake out
their own ‘space?’ Is it possible to create intentional community in a
seminary apartment? I am afraid of being lonely. I am also afraid of
overwhelming my new roomies with my CPT friends, constant organizing of
activities, being totally in touch with global culture and totally out of
touch with pop culture; and my odd way of keeping house and home which
blends North American and Arab living. By the end of this paragraph, I
realize I am headed for a full-blown panic.
At the same time, I am eager to be in Chicago. I have had this in my
sights for four long years abroad. I need the time to process all I have
seen before I return overseas again. I think about how much I would like
to return to Palestine when I am done with seminary, but also how much I
would like to go even further east, or south. I am not sure I can stand
living and working in the U.S. before I am forty.
There are many beautiful places of retreat where I have been and wish I
could return. Last spring I was at a German Brothers’ monastery at Latrun
north of Jerusalem. There were quiet stone cells and sprawling flower
gardens for reflecting, writing, and drawing. There was Aunt Dar’s house
after September 11th, a refuge from the rising tide of nationalism. If I
did not wish to spend as much time as possible this summer with friends
and family, I would move into the Catholic Worker in Waterloo (IA) or
Toronto, or head to the first organic farm community with an open door.
Our office is a cool refuge from the ever-hotter Baghdad afternoons;
Seminary will be a refuge from the war, the war was a refuge from the
U.S., Canada was a refuge from all which is ugly and rationalized as
‘patriotism.’
My teammate Stewart commented just now that the situation in the U.S. now
“is McCarthyism on steroids.” Never mind that Stewart is Canadian, I
thoroughly agree. Why is it, though, that we have not found a way to name
this great darkness? Shall we just call it Empire, the sum of McCarthyism
and the Cold War and the arms race and the death squads and the whole
Doctrine of National Security? Were the citizens of Rome aware in the
first century of the repression of the Jews during the spread of the
grand, ill-fated Pax Romana?
I am just starting a book called _Pax Romana and the Peace of Jesus
Christ_, by Klaus Wengst. I wonder if there are not hundreds of books
like this which Lutherans have never read or looked for. When I find
books like these, it is like cool water in the desert. That may sound
like a cliché, but it represents a very true and deep feeling. There is a
small oasis where the world of Christianity and the search for peace and
justice intersect, and that is where writings like these are found. I feel
the same way about Sojourners magazine. I think to be twenty-six years
old and have this feeling means that I have found a right path in life,
but a path that will be painfully misunderstood by many other people I
meet.
The weather here lately is extremely dry, and I am beginning to feel like
the alligator in the Lubriderm lotion commercials. Bleh! We had a dust
storm last Friday. My skin and lips and hair and nails are all almost
painfully dried out, in ways they never were last September at 120-30
degrees. There is also a massive amount of chlorine in the water this past
week, and just as there's nothing like downing a nice tall glass of (ugh)
bleach on a warm day, I think that is a contributing factor to my dermal
suffering. A shopkeeper handed me a bright orange tin of locally-produced
balm and for 75 cents it works surprisingly good. It is cool here in the
evenings still and I am also needing a shawl inside most days. It's been
windy, which also brought in the dust storm.
I understand all of Yahoogroups got an odd virus last week and some of you
got strange fake emails from me. Ah, technology.
Letters get long quickly and I think I should stop. It is time for church
tonight, 5 p.m. at St. Raphael’s, when the rush of the day is over in
Baghdad.
Peace to you,
Le Anne
Monday, March 29, 2004
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
After One Year, Still No Human Rights in Iraq
Hi everyone, I thought I might pass this latest bit of work I've been
doing on to you. (If you want to know the rest of my daily life, you have
to subscribe to the cpt_iraq list).
---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: [cpt_iraq] BAGHDAD: "After One Year, Still No Human Rights" From:
"cptgettingintheway"
Date: Wed, March 24, 2004 1:35 am
To: cpt_iraq@yahoogroups.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iraqi Human Rights Groups: "After One Year, Still No Human Rights for
Iraqis"
by Le Anne Clausen
March 19, 2004 [delayed due to technical difficulties]
BAGHDAD—Nearly one year has passed since the beginning of the U.S.- led
war against Iraq. It was a war that the U.S. claimed would
liberate the Iraqi people from a regime which abused their human
rights.
While human rights activists around the world come together this
week to remember the beginning of the war and military occupation of
Iraq, a number of Iraqi and international human rights organizations have
also joined efforts in Baghdad to declare that the Iraqi people still
live without freedom and without human rights.
Since Tuesday, these groups have sponsored "Days of Solidarity with Iraqi
People Suffering Under Occupation," outlining the human rights abuses
under the U.S. occupation and demanding corrective action. Special
emphasis has been placed on Coalition officials' failure to compensate
for killings of civilians or destruction of civilian
property, and the abuses and lack of due process for Iraqi detainees in
U.S. prison camps—including withholding information from family members
about the state of detainees' health or the charges against them.
"Last spring after the fall of the old regime, I heard many Iraqis
express hope that their situation would improve and they would live in
freedom," said CPT member Stewart Vriesinga (Lucknow, ON), while speaking
at the event. "As each month passes, I see more people
lose that hope every day."
On Thursday, CPT combined its regular Lenten vigil with the
solidarity day activities. After a discussion session with human rights
workers and families of detainees about abuses in the
morning, the groups gathered at Tahrir Square. Dozens of human
rights workers, families, and supporters held signs calling for
human rights and photos of detained loved ones. At 1 p.m., the
vigil culminated in a march across the Tigris River to the
headquarters of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). People came
from all over central Iraq--from Karbala to Fallujah-- to
participate in the event.
The solidarity week has not gone unnoticed by U.S. forces stationed in
Baghdad. On Thursday night at 8 p.m., soldiers entered the
property of the human rights organization at which the event
activities were being held, questioned several members of the
organization, and tore down some of the posters discussing specific human
rights abuses perpetrated by the military.
"The most hopeful thing in all of this is the energy and dedication of
the various Iraqi human rights groups cooperating in this cause. It is
exciting and an honor to work with them." said CPT member Le Anne
Clausen, who also helped with the event.
doing on to you. (If you want to know the rest of my daily life, you have
to subscribe to the cpt_iraq list).
---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: [cpt_iraq] BAGHDAD: "After One Year, Still No Human Rights" From:
"cptgettingintheway"
Date: Wed, March 24, 2004 1:35 am
To: cpt_iraq@yahoogroups.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iraqi Human Rights Groups: "After One Year, Still No Human Rights for
Iraqis"
by Le Anne Clausen
March 19, 2004 [delayed due to technical difficulties]
BAGHDAD—Nearly one year has passed since the beginning of the U.S.- led
war against Iraq. It was a war that the U.S. claimed would
liberate the Iraqi people from a regime which abused their human
rights.
While human rights activists around the world come together this
week to remember the beginning of the war and military occupation of
Iraq, a number of Iraqi and international human rights organizations have
also joined efforts in Baghdad to declare that the Iraqi people still
live without freedom and without human rights.
Since Tuesday, these groups have sponsored "Days of Solidarity with Iraqi
People Suffering Under Occupation," outlining the human rights abuses
under the U.S. occupation and demanding corrective action. Special
emphasis has been placed on Coalition officials' failure to compensate
for killings of civilians or destruction of civilian
property, and the abuses and lack of due process for Iraqi detainees in
U.S. prison camps—including withholding information from family members
about the state of detainees' health or the charges against them.
"Last spring after the fall of the old regime, I heard many Iraqis
express hope that their situation would improve and they would live in
freedom," said CPT member Stewart Vriesinga (Lucknow, ON), while speaking
at the event. "As each month passes, I see more people
lose that hope every day."
On Thursday, CPT combined its regular Lenten vigil with the
solidarity day activities. After a discussion session with human rights
workers and families of detainees about abuses in the
morning, the groups gathered at Tahrir Square. Dozens of human
rights workers, families, and supporters held signs calling for
human rights and photos of detained loved ones. At 1 p.m., the
vigil culminated in a march across the Tigris River to the
headquarters of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). People came
from all over central Iraq--from Karbala to Fallujah-- to
participate in the event.
The solidarity week has not gone unnoticed by U.S. forces stationed in
Baghdad. On Thursday night at 8 p.m., soldiers entered the
property of the human rights organization at which the event
activities were being held, questioned several members of the
organization, and tore down some of the posters discussing specific human
rights abuses perpetrated by the military.
"The most hopeful thing in all of this is the energy and dedication of
the various Iraqi human rights groups cooperating in this cause. It is
exciting and an honor to work with them." said CPT member Le Anne
Clausen, who also helped with the event.
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Becoming Media-Savvy
Hi everyone,
Today Matthew and I were interviewed by CBS news. They were primarily
interested in our reaction to the ambush killings of the Baptist
missionaries several hours north of here last night. [Sad, and
unfortunately preventable--in both the irresponsibility of their actions
and using a conspicuously flashy vehicle]. But hopefully, we steered the
conversation around to the reason we were at the Human Rights Solidarity
Week event today. Let me know if you see it. I don't know whether it's
the morning show or evening news.
Below, here is my statement to the press which I gave at the event today.
Al-Arabiyah filmed it, so I may be famous around here for a while. Hope
it all got translated alright. I will write up a press release for the
team shortly on HRSW--which marks one year of war in Iraq (not one year
since the war since it is clearly ongoing).
peace,
Le Anne
--------------
Greetings Ms. Dozier,
Below please find the statement which I presented earlier at the kick-off
to Human Rights Solidarity Week.
---
Good morning,
I have been asked to share a few thoughts today on the role of
non-governmental organizations (NGO's) in today's Occupied Iraq.
NGO's, both local and international, are of absolute necessity in
societies under military Occupation. They are the voices of conscience
which hold Occupation forces accountable for their actions, especially
abuses of human rights as defined by international law and the Geneva
Conventions.
NGO's are also a much-needed source of information for citizens of the
world about how foreign governments' policies affect those whose voices
are not heard. It is our hope this perspective influences policy
decisions around the world and in the U.S. to the bettering of human
rights in Iraq and all countries under military Occupation.
Iraqi NGOs face a particularly difficult mission. They are daily in the
field, listening to the stories of those who have suffered most. They
provide legal support to those most in need. They also try to call the
attention of the U.S. and Coalition militaries to the need to respect
human rights.
Iraqi human rights workers do all this at great personal risk to
themselves. U.S. Occupation forces do not want to listen to or respect
the voice of these NGOs, just as they do not respect the Geneva
Conventions and human rights law. The CPA is more interested in using the
human rights abuses of the former regime for political gain and to
disguise their own actions. Human rights lawyers have been detained,
disappeared, and injured by U.S. forces after raising human rights
concerns. Iraqi human rights workers are justifiably nervous to speak to
Occupation forces about controversial human rights abuses, such as the
abuse and torture of Iraqi detainees inside the U.S. prison camps.
This is where international NGOs have a duty to act. international NGOs
mustspeak our on these most controversial human rights abuses, using our
privelege as foreign citizens to expose the truth.
International NGOs must also amplify the voice of Iraqi NGOs by
distributing their information and experiences to larger networks around
the world. We must use our contacts in our home countries to pressure the
U.S. and other governments to change their abusive policies. We must also
use our resources and influence to pressure Occupation officials here in
Iraq to respect human rights.
The international NGOs here today are proud and honored to work with the
Iraqi NGOs represented here today, and thank them for their countless
hours of effort and sacrifice to help the people of Iraq.
Le Anne Clausen
Christian Peacemaker Team in Iraq
March 16, 2004
[Other international NGOs involved in the creation of Human Rights
Solidarity Week: Bridges to Baghdad, Occupation Watch, Peace Volunteers]
Today Matthew and I were interviewed by CBS news. They were primarily
interested in our reaction to the ambush killings of the Baptist
missionaries several hours north of here last night. [Sad, and
unfortunately preventable--in both the irresponsibility of their actions
and using a conspicuously flashy vehicle]. But hopefully, we steered the
conversation around to the reason we were at the Human Rights Solidarity
Week event today. Let me know if you see it. I don't know whether it's
the morning show or evening news.
Below, here is my statement to the press which I gave at the event today.
Al-Arabiyah filmed it, so I may be famous around here for a while. Hope
it all got translated alright. I will write up a press release for the
team shortly on HRSW--which marks one year of war in Iraq (not one year
since the war since it is clearly ongoing).
peace,
Le Anne
--------------
Greetings Ms. Dozier,
Below please find the statement which I presented earlier at the kick-off
to Human Rights Solidarity Week.
---
Good morning,
I have been asked to share a few thoughts today on the role of
non-governmental organizations (NGO's) in today's Occupied Iraq.
NGO's, both local and international, are of absolute necessity in
societies under military Occupation. They are the voices of conscience
which hold Occupation forces accountable for their actions, especially
abuses of human rights as defined by international law and the Geneva
Conventions.
NGO's are also a much-needed source of information for citizens of the
world about how foreign governments' policies affect those whose voices
are not heard. It is our hope this perspective influences policy
decisions around the world and in the U.S. to the bettering of human
rights in Iraq and all countries under military Occupation.
Iraqi NGOs face a particularly difficult mission. They are daily in the
field, listening to the stories of those who have suffered most. They
provide legal support to those most in need. They also try to call the
attention of the U.S. and Coalition militaries to the need to respect
human rights.
Iraqi human rights workers do all this at great personal risk to
themselves. U.S. Occupation forces do not want to listen to or respect
the voice of these NGOs, just as they do not respect the Geneva
Conventions and human rights law. The CPA is more interested in using the
human rights abuses of the former regime for political gain and to
disguise their own actions. Human rights lawyers have been detained,
disappeared, and injured by U.S. forces after raising human rights
concerns. Iraqi human rights workers are justifiably nervous to speak to
Occupation forces about controversial human rights abuses, such as the
abuse and torture of Iraqi detainees inside the U.S. prison camps.
This is where international NGOs have a duty to act. international NGOs
mustspeak our on these most controversial human rights abuses, using our
privelege as foreign citizens to expose the truth.
International NGOs must also amplify the voice of Iraqi NGOs by
distributing their information and experiences to larger networks around
the world. We must use our contacts in our home countries to pressure the
U.S. and other governments to change their abusive policies. We must also
use our resources and influence to pressure Occupation officials here in
Iraq to respect human rights.
The international NGOs here today are proud and honored to work with the
Iraqi NGOs represented here today, and thank them for their countless
hours of effort and sacrifice to help the people of Iraq.
Le Anne Clausen
Christian Peacemaker Team in Iraq
March 16, 2004
[Other international NGOs involved in the creation of Human Rights
Solidarity Week: Bridges to Baghdad, Occupation Watch, Peace Volunteers]
Monday, March 15, 2004
Thrown out of Coalition HQ
Hi everyone,
Well, I've been busy again...read on:
---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: [cpt_iraq] IRAQ: CPTer Forcefully Removed from Iraqi Assistance
Center From: "cptgettingintheway"
Date: Mon, March 15, 2004 5:09 am
To: cpt_iraq@yahoogroups.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
CPTer Forcefully Removed from Iraqi Assistance Center
March 13, 2004
BAGHDAD—CPTer Le Anne Clausen was removed at gunpoint from the
Iraqi Assistance Center (IAC) by U.S. military personnel Thursday, after
objecting to a sexually inappropriate search of a female
colleague peace worker.
Clausen, 25, from Mason City, IA, was part of a delegation of
international and Iraqi peace workers seeking a permit from the IAC to
hold a `Human Rights Solidarity Week' public festival and
activities March 16-19. The colleague is a U.S. citizen who was
born in Iran, and whose family emigrated to the U.S. when she was still a
child during the Iranian revolution.
The group was divided by gender to pass through the numerous
security checkpoints to enter the IAC, and the women were processed more
quickly than the men, including teammate Stewart Vriesinga
(Lucknow, ON). After her colleague passed through several outdoor
checkpoints and personal/bag searches, Clausen could hear U.S.
soldiers joking about their colleague being born in Iran. Clausen and an
Italian female colleague noted that they were not subjected to the same
level of searching that their companion was facing.
Inside the final checkpoint, Clausen and the Italian colleague were
instructed to put their bags on an x-ray machine and pass through a metal
detector, and did so unobstructed. However, security
personnel immediately pulled their colleague out of line and brought her
to a special searching area.
After searching her bag and finding nothing, a male officer swabbed both
sides of the colleague's hands and put the swabs into a
device for detecting explosive material. The colleague cooperated calmly
with the procedure. He then swabbed the pockets of her loose outer
jacket, and ordered her to lift up her shirt so he could put his hands
inside her pants pockets and inspect them also. At this point, the
colleague looked uncomfortable and politely questioned his order. The
officer gestured for her to comply.
"Wait a minute, you can't search her there, you need to have
a female officer do that," said Clausen. The officer told her not to
interrupt. Clausen replied, "You are violating international
human rights law, you cannot touch her there. You need to get a
female officer." Although there were two U.S. trained Iraqi
security women present who conducted personal searches of Clausen and her
Italian colleague, the officer refused to allow them to
perform the search. At that point, the officer called his captain, who
told Clausen to step back from the area where her colleague was being
searched, and instructed the officer to continue with the
search. Clausen reiterated that they were violating human rights law and
they needed to bring a female officer before they continued this search.
The captain told her to either continue on into the building or leave the
grounds.
Clausen responded, "I refuse to leave while my friend is being
abused. I will not let a male officer search her like this. It is
sexually inappropriate and illegal."
The captain replied, "Then you're out of here!" and ordered soldiers to
escort Clausen from the building. While Clausen tried to tell
Vriesinga what was happening and ask him to keep an eye on the
colleague being searched, the captain yelled, "I said you were
leaving! Now!" and told the soldiers not to let her speak to
anyone else.
Still inside the building, Vriesinga and the Italian colleague
continued to observe and saw that the soldiers decided to release their
colleague being searched and allow her to continue on into the building.
The group continued with their permit application search and found that
there was no functioning process by which the
required permit could be obtained.
"If you had a serious concern that a person was carrying
explosive material, I doubt you would clear them through multiple
searches and allow their entry into a military command center,"
Vriesinga said later.
Clausen told the soldier removing her from the building that the
actions of the searching officers inside were violations of
international human rights law. "Frankly," he responded,
"our rules of engagement allow us to do whatever we want."
Clausen told him that human rights laws cannot be `trumped' by one
nation's military rules of engagement. "Well, that is what
we've been commanded to do." He also said her colleage was
receiving better treatment than others would in this situation
because of her U.S. citizenship. The soldier also said that their unit
didn't have a female officer. [Under international law, the unit is
obliged to make a female officer or qualified person
available for this procedure]. He then said, "We don't have the
training for this kind of work. We're infantry. The only training we
have for this is nine months in Afghanistan. This is a job for MP's and
specially trained personnel." Clausen observed that the degrading
treatment of women by male soldiers in Iraq offends women and angers
their male relatives, which in turn fuels support for the attacks against
U.S. soldiers. The soldier agreed.
Other soldiers Clausen spoke with on the way out of the building
expressed dismay at the searching officer's behavior. "Why didn't he use
the wand we have for that kind of search?" said one. Another observed,
"Anyone can put a swab in a pocket and then hand it to the machine. The
machine will pick up the residue if it's there either way." A third
advised Clausen to raise a complaint with the
soldiers' commanding officers for that unit.
--
Two hours later inside the IAC, security personnel arrived and
detained the colleague again. The Italian colleague went with her.
During that time, a female intelligence officer was among those who
questioned her. The officers were not going to allow the colleague to
use the restroom, so the colleague called to the rest of the
delegation that they were not allowing her to use the restroom. The
officers then allowed her to use the toilet, but did not allow her to
wash her hands afterwards. Later, after the second questioning, the
officers released her again, scheduling an appointment later in the month
for the colleague to return for further interrogation.
Vriesinga and the delegation pursued a complaint about the
officers' behavior towards their colleague within the Iraqi
Assistance Center. "I cannot even tell you how quickly you are
losing hearts and minds by acting in this manner," he told them
and urged them to change their security procedures quickly. Colonel
Scotto and Major Davel in the IAC promised to investigate the matter
further. CPT members and other international peace workers plan to
accompany their colleague to the next interrogation appointment at the
IAC to assure her safety.
Clausen is the second CPT worker to be forcefully removed from the IAC.
In January, team member Allan Slater (Lakeside, ON), was
removed after maintaining an overnight sit-in at the center in
response to numerous refusals of assistance for an Iraqi man who had
money and property confiscated during a house raid in October, and who
had documentation from the military requiring that the property be
returned to him [See release, "Hunger Strike in Baghdad,"
Jan.10].
"I'm still quite shocked by the soldiers' behavior," Clausen later
commented. "Their unit may even be new, but this is supposed to be part
of basic orientation for troops coming to Iraq. The search he was trying
to conduct was clearly going to be invasive of her person and privacy.
The military should know there is no such thing as a state-sanctioned
grope."
Well, I've been busy again...read on:
---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: [cpt_iraq] IRAQ: CPTer Forcefully Removed from Iraqi Assistance
Center From: "cptgettingintheway"
Date: Mon, March 15, 2004 5:09 am
To: cpt_iraq@yahoogroups.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
CPTer Forcefully Removed from Iraqi Assistance Center
March 13, 2004
BAGHDAD—CPTer Le Anne Clausen was removed at gunpoint from the
Iraqi Assistance Center (IAC) by U.S. military personnel Thursday, after
objecting to a sexually inappropriate search of a female
colleague peace worker.
Clausen, 25, from Mason City, IA, was part of a delegation of
international and Iraqi peace workers seeking a permit from the IAC to
hold a `Human Rights Solidarity Week' public festival and
activities March 16-19. The colleague is a U.S. citizen who was
born in Iran, and whose family emigrated to the U.S. when she was still a
child during the Iranian revolution.
The group was divided by gender to pass through the numerous
security checkpoints to enter the IAC, and the women were processed more
quickly than the men, including teammate Stewart Vriesinga
(Lucknow, ON). After her colleague passed through several outdoor
checkpoints and personal/bag searches, Clausen could hear U.S.
soldiers joking about their colleague being born in Iran. Clausen and an
Italian female colleague noted that they were not subjected to the same
level of searching that their companion was facing.
Inside the final checkpoint, Clausen and the Italian colleague were
instructed to put their bags on an x-ray machine and pass through a metal
detector, and did so unobstructed. However, security
personnel immediately pulled their colleague out of line and brought her
to a special searching area.
After searching her bag and finding nothing, a male officer swabbed both
sides of the colleague's hands and put the swabs into a
device for detecting explosive material. The colleague cooperated calmly
with the procedure. He then swabbed the pockets of her loose outer
jacket, and ordered her to lift up her shirt so he could put his hands
inside her pants pockets and inspect them also. At this point, the
colleague looked uncomfortable and politely questioned his order. The
officer gestured for her to comply.
"Wait a minute, you can't search her there, you need to have
a female officer do that," said Clausen. The officer told her not to
interrupt. Clausen replied, "You are violating international
human rights law, you cannot touch her there. You need to get a
female officer." Although there were two U.S. trained Iraqi
security women present who conducted personal searches of Clausen and her
Italian colleague, the officer refused to allow them to
perform the search. At that point, the officer called his captain, who
told Clausen to step back from the area where her colleague was being
searched, and instructed the officer to continue with the
search. Clausen reiterated that they were violating human rights law and
they needed to bring a female officer before they continued this search.
The captain told her to either continue on into the building or leave the
grounds.
Clausen responded, "I refuse to leave while my friend is being
abused. I will not let a male officer search her like this. It is
sexually inappropriate and illegal."
The captain replied, "Then you're out of here!" and ordered soldiers to
escort Clausen from the building. While Clausen tried to tell
Vriesinga what was happening and ask him to keep an eye on the
colleague being searched, the captain yelled, "I said you were
leaving! Now!" and told the soldiers not to let her speak to
anyone else.
Still inside the building, Vriesinga and the Italian colleague
continued to observe and saw that the soldiers decided to release their
colleague being searched and allow her to continue on into the building.
The group continued with their permit application search and found that
there was no functioning process by which the
required permit could be obtained.
"If you had a serious concern that a person was carrying
explosive material, I doubt you would clear them through multiple
searches and allow their entry into a military command center,"
Vriesinga said later.
Clausen told the soldier removing her from the building that the
actions of the searching officers inside were violations of
international human rights law. "Frankly," he responded,
"our rules of engagement allow us to do whatever we want."
Clausen told him that human rights laws cannot be `trumped' by one
nation's military rules of engagement. "Well, that is what
we've been commanded to do." He also said her colleage was
receiving better treatment than others would in this situation
because of her U.S. citizenship. The soldier also said that their unit
didn't have a female officer. [Under international law, the unit is
obliged to make a female officer or qualified person
available for this procedure]. He then said, "We don't have the
training for this kind of work. We're infantry. The only training we
have for this is nine months in Afghanistan. This is a job for MP's and
specially trained personnel." Clausen observed that the degrading
treatment of women by male soldiers in Iraq offends women and angers
their male relatives, which in turn fuels support for the attacks against
U.S. soldiers. The soldier agreed.
Other soldiers Clausen spoke with on the way out of the building
expressed dismay at the searching officer's behavior. "Why didn't he use
the wand we have for that kind of search?" said one. Another observed,
"Anyone can put a swab in a pocket and then hand it to the machine. The
machine will pick up the residue if it's there either way." A third
advised Clausen to raise a complaint with the
soldiers' commanding officers for that unit.
--
Two hours later inside the IAC, security personnel arrived and
detained the colleague again. The Italian colleague went with her.
During that time, a female intelligence officer was among those who
questioned her. The officers were not going to allow the colleague to
use the restroom, so the colleague called to the rest of the
delegation that they were not allowing her to use the restroom. The
officers then allowed her to use the toilet, but did not allow her to
wash her hands afterwards. Later, after the second questioning, the
officers released her again, scheduling an appointment later in the month
for the colleague to return for further interrogation.
Vriesinga and the delegation pursued a complaint about the
officers' behavior towards their colleague within the Iraqi
Assistance Center. "I cannot even tell you how quickly you are
losing hearts and minds by acting in this manner," he told them
and urged them to change their security procedures quickly. Colonel
Scotto and Major Davel in the IAC promised to investigate the matter
further. CPT members and other international peace workers plan to
accompany their colleague to the next interrogation appointment at the
IAC to assure her safety.
Clausen is the second CPT worker to be forcefully removed from the IAC.
In January, team member Allan Slater (Lakeside, ON), was
removed after maintaining an overnight sit-in at the center in
response to numerous refusals of assistance for an Iraqi man who had
money and property confiscated during a house raid in October, and who
had documentation from the military requiring that the property be
returned to him [See release, "Hunger Strike in Baghdad,"
Jan.10].
"I'm still quite shocked by the soldiers' behavior," Clausen later
commented. "Their unit may even be new, but this is supposed to be part
of basic orientation for troops coming to Iraq. The search he was trying
to conduct was clearly going to be invasive of her person and privacy.
The military should know there is no such thing as a state-sanctioned
grope."
Sunday, March 07, 2004
The Fear of Women
The Fear of Women
March 7, 2004
Hi everyone,I am trying to send a note I've already written on the bombing which Iwitnessed in Kadhamiya earlier this week. The disk won't load it, so I'llsend it tomorrow. I didn't have time to send the letter I wrote beforethe bombing. Here it is now:I saw a poster today pasted several times on the large concrete walls thatare the hallmark of U.S. interests in Baghdad. The picture showed a USsoldier pointing his rifle at children and saying, "GO!" The captionsaid, "No Holiday Island for Iraqi Children." I gleaned from localpassersby that the military is using the area around a popular amusementpark for part of its operations. I also noticed that several of theposters had the graphic scraped off, and wonder who did that.Several people asked me if Iraqi women are being subjected to sexual abuseby US forces here. I answered on the speaking tour that I did not thinkso, I had not yet heard any stories. Sadly, things are coming out nowthat are so much worse than what we found last fall. Women detainees areapparently even sending messages to family members to bomb the prisons,even if they are killed in the process, because they have been disgraced.A women's human rights organization here is documenting the cases as itcan. This is some of the most difficult human rights work one can do. Ifnames of the detained women are released, they the so-called 'honorkillings' by extremist groups. I might have written last time of thestories one Imam told us about members in his congregation, where thewomen are forced to share sleeping space with hundreds of men, where awoman was strip searched in front of her brother and several other men,and so on. Another of the human rights groups we work with here hasdocumented at least one case of male homosexual rape of an Iraqi prisonerby US forces. To add rape of either gender to the list of theseexploitations, I don't know. I guess by both I am not suprised--it hasbeen a fairly common element of our US military history, especially inVietnam, Korea and Japan, but I am still saddened. What on earth were theythinking? Give me a truckload of bricks, and if you really must havethese women in prison, I'll build some privacy walls. I'll have 10million horrified brothers, fathers, husbands and sons to help me. Damnit all.If I have not mentioned it earlier, it seems now like we had barelyscraped the surface last fall. Now we are swirling in the mud.Relatives of detainees, who are not themselves accused of crimes, aretaken as hostages by our military to coerce the wanted person to turnthemselves in. There are child detainees also, one of whom is only 9years old. His parents have no idea where he went since being picked up.I cannot imagine the horror they feel.Maryam, my Assyrian Christian friend down the street, told me when Ivisited this week, "I don't really know what's out there, what's happeningin Baghdad. I only know what I see from my balcony on our street, andwhat you come to tell me." She doesn't even go one block onto Karrada tobuy groceries like I do. "I am afraid," she says. I can see that. Thistime when I came to visit, she had a large red iron gate over the door toher apartment. It's padlocked during the day. She has come to ourapartment with Um Ashraf, another lovely neighbor, but really I thinkshe's serious that she never leaves the house.I compose these letters on scraps of paper while I am sitting in taxis orotherwise waiting for things to happen. For this letter, I have jottedthings in margins in 16 different directions. There is a lot of waitingin taxis to cross town, the traffic is so terrible.I have truly, as I said in my first letter since returning, jumpedstraight into the fire. I'm getting on top of my feelings of 'overwhelm'now. The team has been working nonstop since I left, including onSundays, which are supposed to be our day of rest. However, that practiceis catching up with them. People are looking tired, and beginning torealize that spending more time 'in the office' does not necessarily makeone more productive. Without rest, you simply slow down like a dyingbattery and slog through everything you have to do. I am trying to geteveryone to agree to a rejuvenating retreat in the next week or so. Thereare actually people who are hard to convince here, but I think it willhappen. I have fortunately, gotten people to begin seeing Sunday as a daynot to schedule meetings and appointments.I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about the upcoming elections andhow they tie in to what I am experiencing here. I have previously felt itimperative to vote for anyone who was not Bush, but I am beginning tothink this itself can be a trap. Several people I've met who care deeplyabout Middle East peace voted for Bush because they thought Gore andLieberman would be worse. The US origin of human rights abuses is indeedlarger than one presidency, even though this president made huge stridesin expanding the suffering of people all over the world. Single-issue andelimination voting I guess are both fallacies. I don't think it'spossible to coast through the rest of campaign season just because there'sa strong opposition candidate. Basically, those of us who care abouthuman rights still have to advocate for them now.When I say that the US regime of human rights abuses in other countriesspans more than one presidency, I am amazed at how many Palestinians andIraqis respect Clinton as a statesman. I hear this often from the taxidrivers, who are all-knowing voices of public sentiment. Even despite thebombing campaign here in 1998 which killed so many people, or the faultypeace talks in '99--'00 which led to the Intifada, they respect Clintonand want me to know that. I have not yet met an Arab person who respectedBush. Although one told me at our vigil last week that 'Bush is strong,like Saddam.' I don't know if that was meant as respectful or not.I met a cartoonist this week who is designing posters for the 'HumanRights Solidarity Week' which several Iraqi HR groups are planning here.He showed me one cartoon he drew of a 'Trojan Dove' which was covered instars and stripes and had US troops coming out the side. I guess thatsums it up well.Call me stupid, but I had not realized until now that the military paysbig bucks to Iraqis who inform on their neighbors' activities. We'veknown for a while now that many of the fatal house raids are based onfalse intelligence, including bad tips from neighbors with a grudge.These tips, even according to military personnel we meet, are often thesole source of intelligence used to carry out a house raid. Have we notlearned the lessons of World War II and McCarthyism? Like so many other'turn in your neighbors' programs this past century, when people aredesperate, when people want to deflect attention away from themselves,they will always turn in their neighbor, even if innocent. Theconsequences--even just languishing in prison for six months withoutcontact from your family or a lawyer, or having any idea what will happento you--are so devastating as well.I think it's funny that these days I am always pegged as being from Russiaor Hungary. It has to be the Clausen high forehead and my round cheeks.It's been a long time since anyone has thought I was American.I like watching Iraqi men go about their days. The men here areultra-genteel, almost feminine, [but also have streaks of extrememacho/masculinity as well]. I see this in how men hold hands or link armsas they walk together down the street; how taxi drivers decorate theircars with silk flowers, fake fur, beads, fringe, and stuffed animals (asan aside, also multiple passages from the Qu'ran and pictures of the Shi'amartyrs). Men make the tea, and it is considered the highest hospitalityfor the man of the house to serve his visiting guests. I have a feelingthis culture could make North American men very uncomfortable. NorthAmerican men are somehow in the middle of two extremes and yet somehow Ithink miss much. The only thing I see which is encouraging is that manyN.A. men now consider parenting an involved, important duty--and are evenwilling to stay home with their children. The family is central in thisplace, after God, and that is how I think it should be. North Americanwomen are also beginning to find a balance between home life, work life,and practicing the folk arts--like knitting, embroidery, and cookingwell--which I think was lost for a while. I am stunned by all the thingsmy friends were working on when I was home last. Perhaps we are growingafter all.Fasting has gone well, and I am quite acclimated to the pattern now. Thereis no need for me to eat now, which is amazing. The first two days lastedforever and all I could think of was food. The body goes into a panicduring that time and then begins to attack the muscle tissue, beforeacclimating and attacking the fat stores instead. You can also feel alittle sick because all the toxins are being released from your body andexpelled. Actually, having already forgotten about food, I sometimes haveto remind myself to drink enough. Like right now, actually, I realizeit's been hours. Sadly, it is hard to pass up all the incrediblehospitality. Maryam brought a canister of chocolates to me when I arrivedhere, and all my friends have wanted to invite me for lunch. I'm tryingto convince them to make soup. Actually, the physical results of beinginvited for lunch so many times in the fall was one of my less spiritualreasons for fasting now!I don't think I'm any thinner after one week, though. I'm certainly notsuffering, either, except those lunch invitations. One family down thestreet invited us for coffee, which was not just coffee. The wife hadprepared a beautiful cake with raisins and coconut on top, and made Iraqipizza (which smells and looks and I know tastes so incredible compared tofast food U.S.) and bowls of fruit for us. She was really pushing me toeat it, but I held out. That was painful though. Katrina also keepsasking me what I really want to or can eat. "Macaroni? Chicken?" She isstunned that I'm not eating anything. So now we have gotten better atnotifying our hosts when we accept invitations.I think about Neta and how she shared a can of beans a day with two otherpeople for a month two years ago in the Muqata in Ramallah, Palestine, orall the people in Palestine during the sieges, or the family I met inHebron one day who had only tea and cucumbers to feed a family of 11children. I remember the children hauling blue plastic buckets of soupfrom the Waqf's soup kitchen near the Tomb of Abraham in Hebron's oldcity. I think of how many big meals I have enjoyed here, and also theneighbors around the street who are still squatting in an old storefrontopen to the wind; I think about the women who are sitting on the streetbegging for food when they should be in their kitchens making lunch fortheir families.I have offered, in my final full-time stint on a project, to do all thecleaning and cooking for the team. Basically, I think I just want to bethe 'Mom' of the house for a while and let everyone else go out and do thethese-days-all-too-exciting stuff that we do. My teammates smiled, andthen assigned me to coordinate the Lenten campaign here instead.It's time to go, I have church in an hour, I miss you all, will write moresoon.peace,Le Anne
March 7, 2004
Hi everyone,I am trying to send a note I've already written on the bombing which Iwitnessed in Kadhamiya earlier this week. The disk won't load it, so I'llsend it tomorrow. I didn't have time to send the letter I wrote beforethe bombing. Here it is now:I saw a poster today pasted several times on the large concrete walls thatare the hallmark of U.S. interests in Baghdad. The picture showed a USsoldier pointing his rifle at children and saying, "GO!" The captionsaid, "No Holiday Island for Iraqi Children." I gleaned from localpassersby that the military is using the area around a popular amusementpark for part of its operations. I also noticed that several of theposters had the graphic scraped off, and wonder who did that.Several people asked me if Iraqi women are being subjected to sexual abuseby US forces here. I answered on the speaking tour that I did not thinkso, I had not yet heard any stories. Sadly, things are coming out nowthat are so much worse than what we found last fall. Women detainees areapparently even sending messages to family members to bomb the prisons,even if they are killed in the process, because they have been disgraced.A women's human rights organization here is documenting the cases as itcan. This is some of the most difficult human rights work one can do. Ifnames of the detained women are released, they the so-called 'honorkillings' by extremist groups. I might have written last time of thestories one Imam told us about members in his congregation, where thewomen are forced to share sleeping space with hundreds of men, where awoman was strip searched in front of her brother and several other men,and so on. Another of the human rights groups we work with here hasdocumented at least one case of male homosexual rape of an Iraqi prisonerby US forces. To add rape of either gender to the list of theseexploitations, I don't know. I guess by both I am not suprised--it hasbeen a fairly common element of our US military history, especially inVietnam, Korea and Japan, but I am still saddened. What on earth were theythinking? Give me a truckload of bricks, and if you really must havethese women in prison, I'll build some privacy walls. I'll have 10million horrified brothers, fathers, husbands and sons to help me. Damnit all.If I have not mentioned it earlier, it seems now like we had barelyscraped the surface last fall. Now we are swirling in the mud.Relatives of detainees, who are not themselves accused of crimes, aretaken as hostages by our military to coerce the wanted person to turnthemselves in. There are child detainees also, one of whom is only 9years old. His parents have no idea where he went since being picked up.I cannot imagine the horror they feel.Maryam, my Assyrian Christian friend down the street, told me when Ivisited this week, "I don't really know what's out there, what's happeningin Baghdad. I only know what I see from my balcony on our street, andwhat you come to tell me." She doesn't even go one block onto Karrada tobuy groceries like I do. "I am afraid," she says. I can see that. Thistime when I came to visit, she had a large red iron gate over the door toher apartment. It's padlocked during the day. She has come to ourapartment with Um Ashraf, another lovely neighbor, but really I thinkshe's serious that she never leaves the house.I compose these letters on scraps of paper while I am sitting in taxis orotherwise waiting for things to happen. For this letter, I have jottedthings in margins in 16 different directions. There is a lot of waitingin taxis to cross town, the traffic is so terrible.I have truly, as I said in my first letter since returning, jumpedstraight into the fire. I'm getting on top of my feelings of 'overwhelm'now. The team has been working nonstop since I left, including onSundays, which are supposed to be our day of rest. However, that practiceis catching up with them. People are looking tired, and beginning torealize that spending more time 'in the office' does not necessarily makeone more productive. Without rest, you simply slow down like a dyingbattery and slog through everything you have to do. I am trying to geteveryone to agree to a rejuvenating retreat in the next week or so. Thereare actually people who are hard to convince here, but I think it willhappen. I have fortunately, gotten people to begin seeing Sunday as a daynot to schedule meetings and appointments.I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about the upcoming elections andhow they tie in to what I am experiencing here. I have previously felt itimperative to vote for anyone who was not Bush, but I am beginning tothink this itself can be a trap. Several people I've met who care deeplyabout Middle East peace voted for Bush because they thought Gore andLieberman would be worse. The US origin of human rights abuses is indeedlarger than one presidency, even though this president made huge stridesin expanding the suffering of people all over the world. Single-issue andelimination voting I guess are both fallacies. I don't think it'spossible to coast through the rest of campaign season just because there'sa strong opposition candidate. Basically, those of us who care abouthuman rights still have to advocate for them now.When I say that the US regime of human rights abuses in other countriesspans more than one presidency, I am amazed at how many Palestinians andIraqis respect Clinton as a statesman. I hear this often from the taxidrivers, who are all-knowing voices of public sentiment. Even despite thebombing campaign here in 1998 which killed so many people, or the faultypeace talks in '99--'00 which led to the Intifada, they respect Clintonand want me to know that. I have not yet met an Arab person who respectedBush. Although one told me at our vigil last week that 'Bush is strong,like Saddam.' I don't know if that was meant as respectful or not.I met a cartoonist this week who is designing posters for the 'HumanRights Solidarity Week' which several Iraqi HR groups are planning here.He showed me one cartoon he drew of a 'Trojan Dove' which was covered instars and stripes and had US troops coming out the side. I guess thatsums it up well.Call me stupid, but I had not realized until now that the military paysbig bucks to Iraqis who inform on their neighbors' activities. We'veknown for a while now that many of the fatal house raids are based onfalse intelligence, including bad tips from neighbors with a grudge.These tips, even according to military personnel we meet, are often thesole source of intelligence used to carry out a house raid. Have we notlearned the lessons of World War II and McCarthyism? Like so many other'turn in your neighbors' programs this past century, when people aredesperate, when people want to deflect attention away from themselves,they will always turn in their neighbor, even if innocent. Theconsequences--even just languishing in prison for six months withoutcontact from your family or a lawyer, or having any idea what will happento you--are so devastating as well.I think it's funny that these days I am always pegged as being from Russiaor Hungary. It has to be the Clausen high forehead and my round cheeks.It's been a long time since anyone has thought I was American.I like watching Iraqi men go about their days. The men here areultra-genteel, almost feminine, [but also have streaks of extrememacho/masculinity as well]. I see this in how men hold hands or link armsas they walk together down the street; how taxi drivers decorate theircars with silk flowers, fake fur, beads, fringe, and stuffed animals (asan aside, also multiple passages from the Qu'ran and pictures of the Shi'amartyrs). Men make the tea, and it is considered the highest hospitalityfor the man of the house to serve his visiting guests. I have a feelingthis culture could make North American men very uncomfortable. NorthAmerican men are somehow in the middle of two extremes and yet somehow Ithink miss much. The only thing I see which is encouraging is that manyN.A. men now consider parenting an involved, important duty--and are evenwilling to stay home with their children. The family is central in thisplace, after God, and that is how I think it should be. North Americanwomen are also beginning to find a balance between home life, work life,and practicing the folk arts--like knitting, embroidery, and cookingwell--which I think was lost for a while. I am stunned by all the thingsmy friends were working on when I was home last. Perhaps we are growingafter all.Fasting has gone well, and I am quite acclimated to the pattern now. Thereis no need for me to eat now, which is amazing. The first two days lastedforever and all I could think of was food. The body goes into a panicduring that time and then begins to attack the muscle tissue, beforeacclimating and attacking the fat stores instead. You can also feel alittle sick because all the toxins are being released from your body andexpelled. Actually, having already forgotten about food, I sometimes haveto remind myself to drink enough. Like right now, actually, I realizeit's been hours. Sadly, it is hard to pass up all the incrediblehospitality. Maryam brought a canister of chocolates to me when I arrivedhere, and all my friends have wanted to invite me for lunch. I'm tryingto convince them to make soup. Actually, the physical results of beinginvited for lunch so many times in the fall was one of my less spiritualreasons for fasting now!I don't think I'm any thinner after one week, though. I'm certainly notsuffering, either, except those lunch invitations. One family down thestreet invited us for coffee, which was not just coffee. The wife hadprepared a beautiful cake with raisins and coconut on top, and made Iraqipizza (which smells and looks and I know tastes so incredible compared tofast food U.S.) and bowls of fruit for us. She was really pushing me toeat it, but I held out. That was painful though. Katrina also keepsasking me what I really want to or can eat. "Macaroni? Chicken?" She isstunned that I'm not eating anything. So now we have gotten better atnotifying our hosts when we accept invitations.I think about Neta and how she shared a can of beans a day with two otherpeople for a month two years ago in the Muqata in Ramallah, Palestine, orall the people in Palestine during the sieges, or the family I met inHebron one day who had only tea and cucumbers to feed a family of 11children. I remember the children hauling blue plastic buckets of soupfrom the Waqf's soup kitchen near the Tomb of Abraham in Hebron's oldcity. I think of how many big meals I have enjoyed here, and also theneighbors around the street who are still squatting in an old storefrontopen to the wind; I think about the women who are sitting on the streetbegging for food when they should be in their kitchens making lunch fortheir families.I have offered, in my final full-time stint on a project, to do all thecleaning and cooking for the team. Basically, I think I just want to bethe 'Mom' of the house for a while and let everyone else go out and do thethese-days-all-too-exciting stuff that we do. My teammates smiled, andthen assigned me to coordinate the Lenten campaign here instead.It's time to go, I have church in an hour, I miss you all, will write moresoon.peace,Le Anne
Thursday, March 04, 2004
Release: Suicide Attacks at Shi'a Shrine
CPTers Witness Deadly Attacks at Shi’a Shrine
March 4, 2004
pictures available at
http://www.cpt.org/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album36
BAGHDAD--CPTers Jane MacKay Wright, LeAnne Clausen, Matthew Chandler and
Sheila Provencher were on hand to document two violent attacks March 2rd
on a Shi’a pilgrimage at the Kadhum shrine in the Kadhamiya quarter of
Baghdad. Team members were stationed near the shrine at the invitation of
shrine officials after receiving a number of threats against the local
Shi’a community.
The first attack occurred at 5:15a.m., when gunmen opened fire on an Iraqi
Police vehicle stationed outside the shrine, as the height of the
celebration was about to commence. The second attack, occurring at 10a.m.,
included three bombs at a side entrance to the shrine and inside the
large courtyard, where more than ten thousand pilgrims were gathered.
Shrine officials told the CPTers they believe the bombs were on timers
and planted during the morning attack while security guards’ attention
was diverted from the gates.
Team members were inside when the first blast of the 10 a.m. attack
shattered the window of their hotel room. Moving to the roof during the
following explosions, they began filming and photographing the side gate
where most of the damage could be seen. A three-story spray of blood
marred the wall of the shrine to the left of the door. Several bodies lay
on the ground, as well as those badly injured screaming for assistance.
Bystanders helped Red Crescent ambulance workers collect body parts and
carry the dead and wounded away from the scene. Iraqi police cleared the
surrounding plaza and streets. Shrine security guards moved quickly to
empty the shrine interior of pilgrims, fearing more bombs had been set.
Clausen said, “Nobody was expecting the second attack. The festival had
returned to normal with a sense of relief that no one was seriously
injured in the morning attack. The bombings occurred in a lull, when
people outside were settling down for a much deserved mid-morning break.
And then it was hell.”
Iraqi police and shrine security guards had the situation under control
within twenty minutes. However, according to shrine officials, an
unauthorized person had earlier seized the shrine’s loudspeaker in the
chaotic aftermath and announced that “the Americans and the Jewish” were
responsible for the attacks. The speaker also called on the crowd to
declare war on the “enemies of Islam.”
Shortly afterwards, a convoy of US army vehiclesincluding tanks, humvees,
and two medic vehiclesdrove toward the shrine’s main entrance and
blocked the road. Some of the soldiers got out of their vehicles and
began talking to bystanders. Shrine security guards yelled at them to
get back into their vehicles. One guard, running with his machine gun
pointing downwards, gestured frantically to the soldiers to turn around
and leave immediately.
Angered by the soldiers’ presence, a crowd of pilgrims ran toward the
convoy. They first threw their shoes at the convoy, a gesture of extreme
outrage in Arab culture. US soldiers responded by firing into the air.
Men in the crowd then began throwing furniture, rocks, and other debris.
The convoy continued to fire. One man heaved a cinder block through the
window of a Humvee. As the convoy eventually retreated, the crowd
followed them back towards the nearby military base.
“It was frightening,” said Sheila Provencher of South Bend, IN. “They
[U.S. soldiers] were probably just coming to try to help and didn’t
realize how much danger they were in. I was just praying that both they
and the crowd would stay calm so there wouldn’t be a massacre.”
Shrine officials and officials at the U.S. base had negotiated security
arrangements prior to the pilgrimage and U.S. officials were not to enter
the immediate area of the shrine. Base officials also promised that they
would have equipment at the perimeter of the neighborhood that would
detect explosives and other weaponry.
When Sayyid Ali Mussawi al Waahd, overseer of the shrine, learned of the
unauthorized announcement and the soldiers’ arrival, he immediately sent
word to the base commander to withdraw the troops for their own safety.
He also sent his own message to be read on the loudspeaker, appealing for
calm and forbidding revenge attacks on soldiers, police, or other
authorities. U.S. base officials later presented a letter of thanks to al
Waahd for alerting them to the danger to their troops.
Al Waahd later expressed dismay that the public address system was used to
deliver such a message and concern that more extreme factions within the
community were using the tragedy to incite and engage in violence. Several
angry groups tried to assemble throughout the day in response to the
attacks.
To prevent further violence, security officials joined hands creating a
human chain to keep the crowd away from the shrine’s entrance. Workers
cleaned the plaza, and washed the blood off the walls using a fire truck.
Blood donors lined up at the Red Crescent hospital tent located at the
edge of the plaza. U.S. helicopters continued to fly low over the shrine
area for several hours. Al-Waahd reported that one of the suspected
bombers was caught and is being held under guard in hospital.
A half hour before the Kadhum Shrine bombing, a Shia shrine in the holy
city of Kerbalah (90 miles south of Baghdad) was also attacked. Millions
of Shia pilgrims from all over the Muslim world were gathered there. More
than one hundred were killed. Additional attacks took place against Shi’a
pilgrims in Iran and Pakistan.
The next day, CPT made a copy of their video for shrine officials to aid
their investigation. Team members also provided additional accompaniment
to shrine officials at their request, fearing additional attacks through
the end of the festival. Chandler and Clausen also responded to the
shrine’s request for blood donations by giving blood at a local blood
bank. Al Waajd said thirty-eight pilgrims were confirmed dead at the
Kadham attack, and there were several more unidentified bodies. Five of
the known dead were children.
Four days of national mourning were officially declared for the victims.
On Thursday, at CPT Iraq’s Lenten vigil for detainee justice, CPTers also
hung a black banner offering condolences for the victims of the attacks
and calling for an end to violence in Iraq.
Team members have been invited to monitor major pilgrimages at Kadhum and
in Kerbala since the August assassination of Ayatollah al-Hakim in Najaf
which killed 40 pilgrims.
Ashura commemorates the martyrdom of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet
Mohammed. Hussein, whom the Shi’a believe was the rightful successor to
Mohammed, was beheaded in Kerbalah in his quest to claim leadership of the
Muslim religion. During the pilgrimage, young men beat their heads with
swords and flail themselves with chains to empathize with the suffering of
their patriarch. Others beat their chests or foreheads in a wailing
gesture to grieve the death. This pilgrimage, as with other Shi’a
religious festivals, was forbidden by the Saddam regime. The bombings
occurred on the last day of a defining Shi’a religious observance that has
been suppressed in Iraq for 35 years.
Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of Brethren, Quaker and Mennonite
Churches. CPT P. O. Box 6508 Chicago, IL 60680 tel. 773-277-0253; Fax:
773-277-0291, E-Mail Peacemakers@cpt.org WEB www.cpt.org
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical violence-reduction program
with roots in the historic peace churches. Teams of trained peace workers
live in areas of lethal conflict around the world. CPT has been present
in Iraq since October, 2002. To learn more about CPT, please visit
http://www.cpt.org.
Photos of our projects may be viewed at http://www.cpt.org/gallery
March 4, 2004
pictures available at
http://www.cpt.org/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album36
BAGHDAD--CPTers Jane MacKay Wright, LeAnne Clausen, Matthew Chandler and
Sheila Provencher were on hand to document two violent attacks March 2rd
on a Shi’a pilgrimage at the Kadhum shrine in the Kadhamiya quarter of
Baghdad. Team members were stationed near the shrine at the invitation of
shrine officials after receiving a number of threats against the local
Shi’a community.
The first attack occurred at 5:15a.m., when gunmen opened fire on an Iraqi
Police vehicle stationed outside the shrine, as the height of the
celebration was about to commence. The second attack, occurring at 10a.m.,
included three bombs at a side entrance to the shrine and inside the
large courtyard, where more than ten thousand pilgrims were gathered.
Shrine officials told the CPTers they believe the bombs were on timers
and planted during the morning attack while security guards’ attention
was diverted from the gates.
Team members were inside when the first blast of the 10 a.m. attack
shattered the window of their hotel room. Moving to the roof during the
following explosions, they began filming and photographing the side gate
where most of the damage could be seen. A three-story spray of blood
marred the wall of the shrine to the left of the door. Several bodies lay
on the ground, as well as those badly injured screaming for assistance.
Bystanders helped Red Crescent ambulance workers collect body parts and
carry the dead and wounded away from the scene. Iraqi police cleared the
surrounding plaza and streets. Shrine security guards moved quickly to
empty the shrine interior of pilgrims, fearing more bombs had been set.
Clausen said, “Nobody was expecting the second attack. The festival had
returned to normal with a sense of relief that no one was seriously
injured in the morning attack. The bombings occurred in a lull, when
people outside were settling down for a much deserved mid-morning break.
And then it was hell.”
Iraqi police and shrine security guards had the situation under control
within twenty minutes. However, according to shrine officials, an
unauthorized person had earlier seized the shrine’s loudspeaker in the
chaotic aftermath and announced that “the Americans and the Jewish” were
responsible for the attacks. The speaker also called on the crowd to
declare war on the “enemies of Islam.”
Shortly afterwards, a convoy of US army vehiclesincluding tanks, humvees,
and two medic vehiclesdrove toward the shrine’s main entrance and
blocked the road. Some of the soldiers got out of their vehicles and
began talking to bystanders. Shrine security guards yelled at them to
get back into their vehicles. One guard, running with his machine gun
pointing downwards, gestured frantically to the soldiers to turn around
and leave immediately.
Angered by the soldiers’ presence, a crowd of pilgrims ran toward the
convoy. They first threw their shoes at the convoy, a gesture of extreme
outrage in Arab culture. US soldiers responded by firing into the air.
Men in the crowd then began throwing furniture, rocks, and other debris.
The convoy continued to fire. One man heaved a cinder block through the
window of a Humvee. As the convoy eventually retreated, the crowd
followed them back towards the nearby military base.
“It was frightening,” said Sheila Provencher of South Bend, IN. “They
[U.S. soldiers] were probably just coming to try to help and didn’t
realize how much danger they were in. I was just praying that both they
and the crowd would stay calm so there wouldn’t be a massacre.”
Shrine officials and officials at the U.S. base had negotiated security
arrangements prior to the pilgrimage and U.S. officials were not to enter
the immediate area of the shrine. Base officials also promised that they
would have equipment at the perimeter of the neighborhood that would
detect explosives and other weaponry.
When Sayyid Ali Mussawi al Waahd, overseer of the shrine, learned of the
unauthorized announcement and the soldiers’ arrival, he immediately sent
word to the base commander to withdraw the troops for their own safety.
He also sent his own message to be read on the loudspeaker, appealing for
calm and forbidding revenge attacks on soldiers, police, or other
authorities. U.S. base officials later presented a letter of thanks to al
Waahd for alerting them to the danger to their troops.
Al Waahd later expressed dismay that the public address system was used to
deliver such a message and concern that more extreme factions within the
community were using the tragedy to incite and engage in violence. Several
angry groups tried to assemble throughout the day in response to the
attacks.
To prevent further violence, security officials joined hands creating a
human chain to keep the crowd away from the shrine’s entrance. Workers
cleaned the plaza, and washed the blood off the walls using a fire truck.
Blood donors lined up at the Red Crescent hospital tent located at the
edge of the plaza. U.S. helicopters continued to fly low over the shrine
area for several hours. Al-Waahd reported that one of the suspected
bombers was caught and is being held under guard in hospital.
A half hour before the Kadhum Shrine bombing, a Shia shrine in the holy
city of Kerbalah (90 miles south of Baghdad) was also attacked. Millions
of Shia pilgrims from all over the Muslim world were gathered there. More
than one hundred were killed. Additional attacks took place against Shi’a
pilgrims in Iran and Pakistan.
The next day, CPT made a copy of their video for shrine officials to aid
their investigation. Team members also provided additional accompaniment
to shrine officials at their request, fearing additional attacks through
the end of the festival. Chandler and Clausen also responded to the
shrine’s request for blood donations by giving blood at a local blood
bank. Al Waajd said thirty-eight pilgrims were confirmed dead at the
Kadham attack, and there were several more unidentified bodies. Five of
the known dead were children.
Four days of national mourning were officially declared for the victims.
On Thursday, at CPT Iraq’s Lenten vigil for detainee justice, CPTers also
hung a black banner offering condolences for the victims of the attacks
and calling for an end to violence in Iraq.
Team members have been invited to monitor major pilgrimages at Kadhum and
in Kerbala since the August assassination of Ayatollah al-Hakim in Najaf
which killed 40 pilgrims.
Ashura commemorates the martyrdom of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet
Mohammed. Hussein, whom the Shi’a believe was the rightful successor to
Mohammed, was beheaded in Kerbalah in his quest to claim leadership of the
Muslim religion. During the pilgrimage, young men beat their heads with
swords and flail themselves with chains to empathize with the suffering of
their patriarch. Others beat their chests or foreheads in a wailing
gesture to grieve the death. This pilgrimage, as with other Shi’a
religious festivals, was forbidden by the Saddam regime. The bombings
occurred on the last day of a defining Shi’a religious observance that has
been suppressed in Iraq for 35 years.
Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of Brethren, Quaker and Mennonite
Churches. CPT P. O. Box 6508 Chicago, IL 60680 tel. 773-277-0253; Fax:
773-277-0291, E-Mail Peacemakers@cpt.org WEB www.cpt.org
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical violence-reduction program
with roots in the historic peace churches. Teams of trained peace workers
live in areas of lethal conflict around the world. CPT has been present
in Iraq since October, 2002. To learn more about CPT, please visit
http://www.cpt.org.
Photos of our projects may be viewed at http://www.cpt.org/gallery
Wednesday, March 03, 2004
Day of Blood (Experiencing a Suicide Bombing)
Day of Blood
The first blast shattered the window of our hotel room, depositing a pile
of glass where Sheila’s head would have been earlier, and waking us all
from the first minutes of a mid-morning rest. I jumped straight up,
swearing, and grabbed our video camera. I was in the hallway during the
second explosion, putting on my shoes, then the third explosion came as I
hit the top of the stairs. I began filming right away.
The dust was just beginning to clear and people were coming to and
beginning to flee the shrine. One man lay naked across the gateway, his
clothes burned off or blown off by the bomb. Above him, the wall of the
shrine was covered in a three-story spray of blood. I was not aware of
the flesh that accompanied it until later, when they began scraping it off
the walls. Another man came running out, his shirt gone and his pants
also, except for long shreds trailing from his waistline. He was covered
in blood. A third man, who seemed to be missing a leg and also bleeding
heavily, rocked back and forth from his sitting position, screaming in
agony. His clothes were gone also. I did not notice the bodies lying on
the ground until others came by and began scooping them up, throwing them
over their shoulders, and running for the medical tent.
It was a triple bombing, inside a shrine packed with tens of thousands of
pilgrims. I have been inside the Kadhum complex before, and its courtyard
is massive.
‘Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar!’—God is greater—came as a
wail over the muezzin loudspeaker system. Watching the devastation below,
I understood the cry.
--
Late after the bombings and the evacuation of most of the wounded, an
unwelcome visitor approached. It was a large U.S. military convoy from
the base a kilometer away, on the perimeter of the neighborhood. They
pulled to a halt on the street in front of the shrine, blocking the way.
They did not seem to know what they were doing, and looked around for
someone to consult with. It almost turned out to be a deadly mistake.
I could not believe that the soldiers were not leaving. They had entered
the area without an exit path, and though they turned their vehicles
around, they did not retreat to the base. I think there is truth to what
Sheila said—they probably thought they were trying to help, even though
they entered without consultation and without a plan or knowledge of the
situation they faced. Such is life here in Occupied Iraq.
Shi’a have never attacked the soldiers before, I am told. This may well
be a turning point in the Occupation, with results more deadly for U.S.
troops than ever. I later learned the soldiers had promised the shrine
officials they had advanced equipment which would detect all explosives
and weapons, and so there was no need to worry or prepare their own
security systems.
They brought a fire truck to wash the blood from the walls. For the past
hour or so, workers had been trying to clean it without success. The
force of the blast coupled with the hot sun had made it indelible.
--
I feel like I barely made it into our apartment. Shaking and unsteady on
my feet, I went directly to my room, fell on my bed, stuffed my face into
my pillow, and began to howl for what seemed like an eternity. I shocked
myself—I knew that I’d had one scream simmering inside me for most of the
day, waiting to be let out, but I did not expect the rest. The images of
the dead continued to play inside my mind. Later, I thought I had
composed myself and I went out to rejoin my teammates. I dissolved into
sobs though when the first teammate offered me a shoulder, and continued
on through the next hug. I found it hard to stand, and later found myself
being rocked on the couch by yet another teammate when I could no longer
cry or even respond to the other people in the room. Everything I had
inside me at that point was completely spent, and all I could see and feel
was death.
In Hebron, when I was there, we had a team culture of ‘sucking it up’ when
the horrible things happened. It was ultimately destructive to many of
us. Here on team in Iraq, I have found that not to be the case. Perhaps
it was the armed robbery of our apartment while I was away, or perhaps it
was the origin of the project and the utter devastation of the bombing
which began a year ago next week. We each here are strong enough on a
daily basis, that we do not need to pretend to be stronger than we are.
Sattar, our translator, told us of his friend who was sent to the front
lines during the Iran-Iraq war. To be on the front lines meant almost
certain death. When his friend reached their trench, he looked at the
wall and found the following quote: “Children kill frogs for fun, but
frogs die seriously.”
And it is as such here in this land of death and these days of blood. So
many groups are killing the Iraqi people without thought for the
consequences, yet it is the Iraqis who die seriously—in their shrines, at
the checkpoints, in their homes.
May God be with them all.
The first blast shattered the window of our hotel room, depositing a pile
of glass where Sheila’s head would have been earlier, and waking us all
from the first minutes of a mid-morning rest. I jumped straight up,
swearing, and grabbed our video camera. I was in the hallway during the
second explosion, putting on my shoes, then the third explosion came as I
hit the top of the stairs. I began filming right away.
The dust was just beginning to clear and people were coming to and
beginning to flee the shrine. One man lay naked across the gateway, his
clothes burned off or blown off by the bomb. Above him, the wall of the
shrine was covered in a three-story spray of blood. I was not aware of
the flesh that accompanied it until later, when they began scraping it off
the walls. Another man came running out, his shirt gone and his pants
also, except for long shreds trailing from his waistline. He was covered
in blood. A third man, who seemed to be missing a leg and also bleeding
heavily, rocked back and forth from his sitting position, screaming in
agony. His clothes were gone also. I did not notice the bodies lying on
the ground until others came by and began scooping them up, throwing them
over their shoulders, and running for the medical tent.
It was a triple bombing, inside a shrine packed with tens of thousands of
pilgrims. I have been inside the Kadhum complex before, and its courtyard
is massive.
‘Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar!’—God is greater—came as a
wail over the muezzin loudspeaker system. Watching the devastation below,
I understood the cry.
--
Late after the bombings and the evacuation of most of the wounded, an
unwelcome visitor approached. It was a large U.S. military convoy from
the base a kilometer away, on the perimeter of the neighborhood. They
pulled to a halt on the street in front of the shrine, blocking the way.
They did not seem to know what they were doing, and looked around for
someone to consult with. It almost turned out to be a deadly mistake.
I could not believe that the soldiers were not leaving. They had entered
the area without an exit path, and though they turned their vehicles
around, they did not retreat to the base. I think there is truth to what
Sheila said—they probably thought they were trying to help, even though
they entered without consultation and without a plan or knowledge of the
situation they faced. Such is life here in Occupied Iraq.
Shi’a have never attacked the soldiers before, I am told. This may well
be a turning point in the Occupation, with results more deadly for U.S.
troops than ever. I later learned the soldiers had promised the shrine
officials they had advanced equipment which would detect all explosives
and weapons, and so there was no need to worry or prepare their own
security systems.
They brought a fire truck to wash the blood from the walls. For the past
hour or so, workers had been trying to clean it without success. The
force of the blast coupled with the hot sun had made it indelible.
--
I feel like I barely made it into our apartment. Shaking and unsteady on
my feet, I went directly to my room, fell on my bed, stuffed my face into
my pillow, and began to howl for what seemed like an eternity. I shocked
myself—I knew that I’d had one scream simmering inside me for most of the
day, waiting to be let out, but I did not expect the rest. The images of
the dead continued to play inside my mind. Later, I thought I had
composed myself and I went out to rejoin my teammates. I dissolved into
sobs though when the first teammate offered me a shoulder, and continued
on through the next hug. I found it hard to stand, and later found myself
being rocked on the couch by yet another teammate when I could no longer
cry or even respond to the other people in the room. Everything I had
inside me at that point was completely spent, and all I could see and feel
was death.
In Hebron, when I was there, we had a team culture of ‘sucking it up’ when
the horrible things happened. It was ultimately destructive to many of
us. Here on team in Iraq, I have found that not to be the case. Perhaps
it was the armed robbery of our apartment while I was away, or perhaps it
was the origin of the project and the utter devastation of the bombing
which began a year ago next week. We each here are strong enough on a
daily basis, that we do not need to pretend to be stronger than we are.
Sattar, our translator, told us of his friend who was sent to the front
lines during the Iran-Iraq war. To be on the front lines meant almost
certain death. When his friend reached their trench, he looked at the
wall and found the following quote: “Children kill frogs for fun, but
frogs die seriously.”
And it is as such here in this land of death and these days of blood. So
many groups are killing the Iraqi people without thought for the
consequences, yet it is the Iraqis who die seriously—in their shrines, at
the checkpoints, in their homes.
May God be with them all.
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