Posted on 03/31/2003 11:43:13 PM PST by gaucho
Safwan: What happened to the eyes of Iraqi children? Hundreds of eyes, round with fear, watch as the convoy sent by the Kuwaiti Red Crescent carrying food aid to the inhabitants of Safwan in southern Iraq entered the city. Fear is the word. It controls the moves of these southern children, and settles heavily like a gloomy mantle enveloping the city. Fear made those hungry little mouths tongue-tied, unable even to beg for a few crumbs to sustain those frail bodies, hardly alive. When I asked men what they thought of the developments, they furtively looked around before asking: "Are you Egyptian?" Finally reassured, they took me aside, pouring out their pains, their anger, their fear of the present, and their apprehension of what the future held in store for them.
A 30-year-old Iraqi, called Abu-Abdallah Mansur says, "journalists always ask us about Saddam Husayn and the Americans. We do not want either of them, brother. I have never been to school. Since I opened my eyes to the world, I have seen the Iraq of Saddam Husayn in a permanent state of war. First it was with Iran, then with Kuwait. After that, Americans came and left and we suffered the bitterness of the siege. We endured the brutality of the regime's "demons". We were crushed in 1991, and now the Americans and Britons are back. Brother, we want to live like the rest of God's creatures. May God damn all those who wish the Iraqi people any harm!"
A man in his seventies says, "My name is Nasir Faraj Al-Dusary. That is my real name. I fear no one. What more can happen than what is already happening? We all curse Saddam Husayn, and wish to see his reign come to an end. However, this does not mean that we should greet the Americans and the English with laurels!"
He continues, "I lost two of my sons in the war with the Iranians. My youngest brother was killed in the southern uprising crushed by Saddam Husayn's demons. However, Americans were the cause of this plight. They entered southern Iraq in 1991, and led us to think that they brought us freedom. Once we started to breathe in that air of freedom, and raised our voices demanding more, the Americans withdrew for political considerations that we could not fathom. They left us at the mercy of the tyrant and his gang. How can we trust them again? Saddam Husayn, like a wounded hyena turned against us. He ravaged our families. Nobody stood by us. Now, we wait and see, but remain wary."
He adds, "What I would like to ascertain is that there is not one single Iraqi wishing to see Saddam's rule continue. However, there is not one single Iraq who wishes to see the Americans and English remaining one day after the tyrant is overthrown."
When the relief convoy began distributing its aid stuff, hundreds of southerners lunged forward, pushing, shoving and clawing, trying to grab some bags of floor, a few cans of food, or powdered milk from that truck, which drove past all the differences, carrying Kuwaiti aid to Iraqis. Only human relations, and family ties remain strong above all other considerations between the two brotherly peoples.
Not too far from the food truck, a group of young men, in civilian clothes, sat silently watching in the back of a semi-truck. I approached them with the purpose of engaging them in conversation. However, seeing me coming, the driver started his engine and drove off hastily. An old man whispered in my ear, "You did well. These are Saddam's "Fida'iyin". They monitor the situation, and woe to he who does not hail Saddam in their presence. They instruct us not to talk to foreign press. They are the remnants of the realm of fear."
He continues, "We fear that Americans turn Saddam Husayn from a criminal tyrant who deserves to be sent to the gallows into a hero; one who did not flinch in the face of the US brutal apparatus, which made no distinction between Saddam's accomplices and the people of Iraq."
The Iraqis speak of fierce resistance at the towns of Al-Najaf and Karbala slowing down the coalition forces. The Iraqi public defenses defend themselves in a courage that stunned the Americans and Britons and led them to change their plan of attack on Baghdad.
Yes, we stood by and did nothing. But I also think that the same people who condemned the US for leaving would have been out in the streets protesting if we had stayed. You just can't plan on any rational thought coming out of the mideast.
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