By Cathy Breen
Voices in the Wilderness
September 21 and 22, 2003
Baghdad

Dear Friends,

Today I went to the hospital to see Joaan.

Ed and I had gone the day before yesterday in the afternoon to find her sitting on the side of her bed with a plate of fish next to her. Her mother and aunt were with her, and they received us warmly. I drew encouragement to see that she was eating, and apologized for interrupting her meal. She assured us she was finished and excused herself to walk with her mother the few steps to the bathroom to wash her hands. Her movements were slow and gracious despite her weakened condition. She seemed so “stately” given her height and her thinness.

I had brought a few snapshots along of family and friends and asked her if she’d like to see them. Included among them was a snapshot I’d taken last year in Iraq of the place where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers unite. She told me how to say the names of these rivers in Arabic. Before we left I told her how many people in the United States were praying for her, sending their love and wishing for her to get well. Little did Ed and I suspect as we said goodbye that we wouldn’t see her again.

Ed Kinane
Voices in The Wilderness
Baghdad
September 21, 2003

SEEKING PROFESSOR DR. ALIM

At 10a.m. Cathy and I set out with Mr. Waddah in his old car for the Al-Mustansirya University’s College of Medicine. Mr. Waddah has long been associated with Voices in the Wilderness and Iraq Peace Team. Having been attached to the Iraqi UN delegation, he lived in NYC for a couple years back in the nineties. Being linked to the ancient regime as a former government minder, these days Mr. Waddah is “between things” and most willing to be at our disposal.

At the medical college we learn that Dr. Alim Yaqoub is out of town and won’t be back until tonight. This isn’t the first time Cathy and Mr. Waddah have tried to find him. Cathy is particularly interested in linking up with him to discuss the depleted uranium issue in hopes of helping to facilitate research on the ground here. She has correspondence from medical people in the States who think it would be good if Dr. Alim could attend an international conference on DU in late October in Germany.

At the medical college we meet Dr. Jamal Rasheed who provides us with the April and July 2003 issues of the Iraqi Journal of Community Medicine quarterly [volumes 16 (2 &3)] . Dr. Alim is on the board of editors of the April issue and is the editor-in-chief of the July issue. Most of the articles are in English. Given the givens, I’m pretty impressed that this community of medical folks has managed to publish these publications. I look forward to checking out some of the articles. Cathy and Mr. Waddah will try to catch up with Dr. Alim tomorrow.