Cynthia Banas
Voices in The Wilderness
From the Occupied City of Baghdad
October 13, 2003

From October 2002-2003 I lived in Iraq: during the build-up to the war, during the war, the bombardment , the invasion, the “liberation”, and the occupation. Returning to the States, I accepted many invitations to speak about my experiences in Iraq, and was gratified that so many people were eager for information about Iraq; especially from a perspective different from the USA official view.

12 days ago I returned to Baghdad to rejoin members of the Voices in the Wilderness Team. We are here to renew acquaintances with friends, to listen to their stories; to be present to them; to communicate these stories to people back in the U.S.A.. A strong bond was formed between people who remained with the ordinary Iraqis during the terribly anxious time of the build-up to war, the reality of war and all its terror, the bombardment, the looting, the very short “liberation” which turned into an inept, unbelievably cruel occupation in which the Iraqis are once again the victims. And the American soldiers are also victims. They are victims of fear caused by many factors, among them, irresponsibility and failure of the people who planned this war. The number of suicides of American soldiers here is increasing and 478 soldiers were sent home for mental-health reasons. (USA TODAY-Gregory Zoroya)