By Anna Sophia Bachmann
Voices in the Wilderness
Baghdad, Iraq

In coming to Iraq as an advocate for peace and human-rights, I have to admit that I come in with a set of preconceived notions. My own personal set of blinders if you like. There are some wonderful peace and justice groups working in Iraq, but as one member told us, “We have to admit that the reason why a lot of us are here is not because we love Iraqis. We’re here because we hate what our government is doing.” This set of blinders makes it possible for one to see only what is bad about the U.S. occupation of Iraq. The Iraqis are the poor and helpless natives, while the U.S. military are the cruel and heartless invaders. But no situation is so black and white.

The following was reported to me by Lorna Tychostup, my travel partner and the editor of Chronogram Magazine, a Hudson Valley monthly, and Mike Ferner, an independent journalist. They went several times to the small farming village north of Baghdad, called Abu Hishma, famous for having been enclosed within a wall of concertina wire by the occupation forces. On their trip, they talked to members of the community and to the U.S. commander and various soldiers at the local base that is in charge of the area.