Suffering under sanctions in Iraq

By Deirdre Sinnott, South News, Friday 21 November 1997

When I say that the sanctions against Iraq are a weapon of mass destruction it's not rhetorical. It's real. I've just been there. I saw it.

Basra is in the southern part of Iraq. The city suffered heavy bombing during the Gulf War in 1991. Just to the south of Basra lies the Highway of Death where U.S. aircraft firing depleted uranium rounds strafed more than 60 miles. The area in and around Basra is littered with some of the 300 tons of uranium left over from the intensive U.S. bombing.

In early November our delegation visited two hospitals in Basra. The Saddam Training Hospital does mostly surgical procedures. The General Hospital is the oldest hospital in Iraq. Both offer free treatment, as they did before the Gulf War.

The conditions in the hospitals are horrifying. As we entered the Training Hospital I was struck by the darkness. The power was working at the time, but the halls and stairways were dark. There is a shortage of fluorescent light bulbs. The hospitals smell of disease. Doctors explained that there is no detergent to clean or disinfect.

The Iraqi health-care system was among the best in the Middle East. But now workers can't even provide clean sheets and towels for the patients. The hospital's walls and stairs are crumbling. There is a shortage of building materials.

Minister of Health Umeed Madhat Mubarak said it would take approximately $2 billion to rebuild the hospital system to its pre-war condition. Many

doctors train in surgery at the Training Hospital. The doctors and nurses are all heroes--but they are frustrated. Dr. Hydar Muhammad said: To relieve pain and suffering is the job of a doctor, but we can't do it. We have no medicines to give, not enough pain kill ers or antibiotics or other medicines.

Most of the diagnostic equipment and life-sustaining machinery that I saw was not operating. There are not enough spare parts. So many machines lie idle.

We met a young girl who has leukemia. There are no drugs to treat her.She is listed as terminal--although leukemia is a treatable disease, and with medicine she might have a chance at a remission.

There has been a sharp increase in leukemia, lymphoma, cancer, tumors, birth defects and miscarriages that may be related to the DU used by the U.S.forces during the war. In August 1995 Iraq presented a study to the United Nations, demonstrating an increase in leukemia and cancer in the Basra region. This 14-year-old girl is the real-life proof of that study. I took a picture of that little girl and her mom asked me to send it to her. I hope it gets there.

The water is still not purified. The bombing destroyed most of the sewage and water systems. The Iraqis can't import chlorine and other chemicals to clean the water. Why not? Because these are classified as dual use chemicals--meaning they could be somehow used in weapons production. So they are banned from import.

Things we take for granted. The water is what makes a lot of people sick. Life is very hard for the Iraqi people. Just having to get water from a truck and carry it home makes each day a trial for many people. But we encountered a fighting spirit. They are not defeated.

The trip was very important. The Iraqis need solidarity. The pressure to end the sanctions must come from outside. We must do our part here in the United States. I will because I looked into people's eyes and I won't ever forget their suffering. We all have the responsibility to act.