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Where is Madame Cynthia? by Kathy Kelly

29 April 2003

Kassem lives at the Al Monzer Hotel in Amman, where he is treated always with affection and respect. I feel puzzled now, not to know many details about him, though I've known him for years. Every time we'd enter the hotel, coming or going from Iraq, often in a great hurry, we took it for granted that this huge giant, a former Iraqi professor recovering from an illness that impairs his speech, this delightful character with deep pouches beneath his large, beautiful eyes, would take us into the slow motion of his life, pronouncing carefully each syllable of welcome. Last week, he radiated familiar child like happiness when Cathy Breen and I returned from Iraq. But his first words were, “Where is Madame Cynthia?”

“She's in Baghdad,” I said. “They love her so much. How can she leave?”

“Of course,” he said, moving his head up and down twice. “She must stay. Good.”

Cynthia, a 72 year old librarian from Vernon, New York, has spent decades working for peace. Her work has taken her to beleagured communities in Central America and Haiti. With Voices in the Wilderness she has joined forty day fasts, spent many nights in New York City jails, and helped lead delegations to break the economic sanctions. This was her first time living in a war zone. Without fail, she flinched at each explosion. “What are we going to do?” I whispered to Cathy after the first day of the war. “Cynthia's liable to have a heart attack.” Cynthia's heartbeat is strong as ever, but yes, each blast struck her in the deep heart's core. Mortars, anti-aircraft, cluster bombs, land mines, cruise missiles, Massive Ordnance Air Bombs, the roar of C-130 transports, JDAMs, Rocket Propelled Grenades, --each and every one of the murderous, ugly attacks on human decency ripped into her mind and heart and she visibly cringed. She is the bravest woman I know.

When the US troops arrived, outside the Al Fanar Hotel, Cynthia quickly scooped up banners for us to hold, stating “Courage for Peace, Not War” and “War = Terror.” We stared at the Marines, young men laden with many pounds of gear and weapons. They were sweaty, tired, thirsty, and, well, friendly. “Where are you from?” they shouted to us. “Are you a Red Sox fan?” “They're just kids,” Cynthia observed, and within minutes she was walking toward an Armored Personnel Carrier, carrying a six pack of bottled water.

Two days later, Cynthia approached the kid soldiers again, carrying a sign that quoted the Geneva Accords which state that an Occupying Force is responsible to maintain law and order. Ever the librarian, she had the exact document at her fingertips.

When Cathy Breen and I packed our bags to leave Iraq, Cynthia had planned to go with us, but I wasn't surprised when she changed her mind. Raad, a young and brilliant professor of architecture and engineering, had come to tell her about a special project for which he needed her help. Before the war began, he had set April 24th as the due date for students to turn in model bridges. “They can learn a so much that is useful,” he told Cynthia, “constructing these models. It requires creativity. They use spaghetti noodles, scraps of cardboard, twine…but they will begin to understand many things about stresses and tensions, about the importance of details, about solving problems. And they need to care about such things now more than ever.” Raad decided that he would somehow notify his students that as far as he was concerned their projects were still due. He had already visited a poor neighborhood where many of his students could pass the message through word of mouth. “Tell everyone you can,” he said, finding one student, “that they should bring their projects to me. He planned to make a radio announcement in hopes of reaching more students. And he especially wanted Cynthia to witness and welcome their efforts.

Hisham Sharaf, of the Iraqi National Orchestra, also encouraged Cynthia to stay. Months ago, she had marked April 21st on our calendar: Spring concert, Iraq National Orchestra. She wouldn't miss it for the world. We often sighed, looking at that calendar as the war raged. No spring concert this year. Hisham Sharaf came to us, after the war, with daily updates of new destruction that had wrecked his hopes of ever again creating music with his colleagues. Like so many Iraqis I know, it seemed that his bright, gleaming, dark eyes had a changed hue, akin to the soft brown of deerskin. An ineffable sadness had set in as he told us that he was too tired to attempt rebuilding his dreams again. He'd seen too much destruction following too many battles. On the afternoon of the day Cynthia had packed her bags, Hisham came back to tell her that he'd changed his mind. The concert was postponed, not canceled. Could Cynthia plan to attend?

At 7:30 each morning, throughout the bombing, we gathered for reflection, taking turns to offer a prayer, a story, a favorite poem or reading, and, often, music. Cynthia loves music as she loves life. Neville had come equipped with marvelous tapes. Frequently, we listened to a song from Les Miserables. “Take my hand and point me to tomorrow…To love another person is to see the face of God.” Cynthia would close her eyes, a soft smile on her face. Almost inevitably, a blast would startle her.

Here in Chicago, we're working to produce new literature defining our future campaign efforts. We want to continue voicing cares and concerns of ordinary Iraqi people. We feel sure that preventing a “next” war requires effectively countering the present war propaganda. Honestly, I'm not sure how to answer the question “Where is the peace movement?” But as we hold fast to the fact that the critical mass needed to prevent a war before it starts was almost attained, let's also be confident that answers will come if we join Kassem, our beloved Iraqi refugee at the Al Monzer Hotel, and simply ask, “Where is Madame Cynthia?” Iraqis begged Cynthia to stay. I believe that she'll return, but not before she raises her voice, here, to insist that war and occupation are not the answer.

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Heavy and Hopeless

17 April 03

Dear Friends,

First, an apology for the typo in our most recent update. The $1.1 should have read $1.1 billion: the amount our government is squandering daily to fund its illegal war on Iraq. In the time since I began typing this message, a costofwar.com reports that over $41,265,540,319 plus, have gone to pay for the war: that money could have paid for at least 1,046,706 four-year scholarships to public universities. We can only reflect on the words of Martin Luther King Jr.: "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."News from Baghdad: we learned just a few hours ago that following a meeting between IPT members and representatives of the US Military’s Civil Operations Center (CMOC), all Voices in the Wilderness members are banned from the Palestine Hotel, home not only to CMOC but also the international press corps. (See http://electroniciraq.net/news/677.shtml for that story). Following is the report of the meeting between Iraq Peace Team members and representatives of the CMOC: Heavy-handed & Hopeless, The U.S. Military Doesn't Know What It's Doing In Iraq Ramzi Kysia, Iraq Peace Team

16 April 03

Voices in the Wilderness representatives met today with the U.S. Military's Civil Military Operations Center (CMOC) in their headquarters at the Palestine Hotel to discuss the emergency, humanitarian crisis facing Baghdad. Trash removal has not occurred for a month. Electricity, Sanitation and Communications were all seriously damaged during the U.S. war, and have yet to be restored in Baghdad. Cholera outbreaks have been reported in Basra, and rumored to have been found in the central Iraqi city of Hilla. Some of the local clinics are up and running, but medications for conditions such as hypertension and diabetes are no longer available. Quality control equipment and systems are also unavailable, and the lack of quality control could lead to serious problems in treatment, as well as creating the potential for epidemics due to contaminated blood products.

The previous distribution system set up under the "Oil-for-Food" program is in total collapse, and - unless essential services are immediately restored - Iraq faces a humanitarian catastrophe.
Prior to the war, the Pentagon set up Humanitarian Operations Coordination Centers (the HOC in Qatar and Kuwait, and the HAC in Jordan), as well as disaster assistance response teams (DART), to coordinate relief efforts between the U.S. military and United Nations and non-governmental organizations. Not only are HOC, HAC, and DART personnel not in Baghdad yet, CMOC was not even aware of the existence of these other military-humanitarian coordinating bodies. CMOC reported that they did not yet have a plan for how to restore essential services in Baghdad, but are working on creating such a plan today. However, that information will not be publicly available for review, and will only be shared with organizations that agree to work with the U.S. military in Baghdad - cutting out any humanitarian agency that insists on maintaining neutrality. CMOC also reported that they spent several days locating hospitals, power plants, and water & sanitation plants in order to do needs assessments. Apparently no one in the U.S. military thought to ask the United Nations, or other international organizations working in Iraq, for any of this information prior to, or even after, the fall of Baghdad. The World Health Organization and the Red Cross have been working in Iraq for years. The United Nations Development program has been working to assist Iraq in restoring electricity since 1996. Locations and assessments of civilian infrastructures are not secret information - except in the Pentagon's world. Why didn't anyone ask for this information? Why wasn't a plan for rehabilitation developed prior to the war? When told that of rumors of a cholera outbreak in Hilla, CMOC even asked Voices in the Wilderness where that neighborhood was located in Baghdad - unaware that Hilla is a major Iraqi city located approximately 1 hour south of Baghdad! The biggest problem CMOC reported is the lack of local workers needed to get civilian systems up and running. However, CMOC seemed unaware that the mostly unmanned roadblocks put up throughout the city are making it difficult for anyone to get to work, as is the lack of a coordinating body responsible for organizing these efforts.

PROBLEMS THAT NEED TO BE IMMEDIATELY ADDRESSED: - A coordinating body, not associated with any military organization, needs to be created to direct humanitarian assessment and relief efforts by all of the agencies working, or seeking to work, in Iraq. Previously, this was the corrupt, but functional, Iraqi Red Crescent Society.

- Senior-level administrators at hospitals and other civilian centers fled with the collapse of the previous regime. This has led to chaotic conditions where lower-level staff are unsure who, if anyone, has the authority to make urgent decisions. This "power vacuum" must be immediately filled by creating new, decision-making-structures, not corrupted by the previous regime.

- The U.S. military has demonstrated that it is neither prepared, nor interested in becoming prepared, to deal with the humanitarian crisis caused by their war. The international community must exert itself, and return UN control to dealing with this crisis, until Iraqis can form a government of their own to deal with the problems created by 12 years of sanctions and war.

Time is short.


Voices asks you to consider the following actions:

+ Make phone calls and send faxes and emails to members of both the Senate Committee on Armed Services (See http:/armed-services.senate.gov/ for listing of members and their contact information) and House Armed Services Committee (www.house.gov/hasc/) to demand that US occupying forces allow UN organizations and other NGO’s to perform the work they--not soldiers bearing massive armaments--are commissioned to do and were doing these last 13 years.

+ Send the same message to your Senator, Congress people, the White House and the Pentagon. Demand meetings with any of the above, to insure your message is heard. We’ll be sending more news in the coming days. Thank you all for your continued support--in all of its forms. There is so much important and difficult work ahead of us. May we continue to find renewed energy and creativity with which to carry it out.

In peace and with hope,

Stephanie Schaudel
Voices in the Wilderness Chicago

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IPT Update and Call to Action

14 April 03

Dear Friends,

Over the weekend, IPT members Wade Hudson, April Hurley, Jooneed Khan, Ed Kinane, Robert Turcotte and Neville Watson left Baghdad and arrived safely in Amman. With costs mounting in Baghdad and communication both within and outside Iraq still very difficult, these peace team members decided to return to their home communities to continue the crucial work of "getting the word out." Six team members remain in Baghdad and were joined today by Ramzi Kysia. We look forward to their news and reflections under US occupation.

Domestically, we're reaching a crucial day in the on-going funding of war. April 15--tax day is tomorrow.

Currently, the US government is spending $1.1 billion daily to finance its war on Iraq.

Some of us in the Chicago Voices office, US members of the Iraq Peace Team, and some of you in the Voices network deliberately earn less than taxable income. Others refuse to pay part or all of our federal income tax.

We do this because roughly half of that tax is used to fund the US war machine. Monstrous amounts of dollars which could reinvigorate our ailing health, housing, and school systems are instead diverted to increase the profits of defense corporations and simultaneously destroy life. As federal support for education programs are slashed and more and more young people are told by military recruiters that the best way they can get a college education is to enlist, the spirit of our society takes a beating.

Tax resistance is the most direct way US citizens can avoid being complicit in this war. If all of us who have written our Congressperson or taken to the streets also refuse to financially back the war, the decision-makers in Washington have a much harder time ignoring our resistance.

By now, those of you who plan on filing have already done so, but we ask you to consider war tax resistance next year, and in the years to come. The best way to stop the war machine is to refuse to fund it.

For specific information on refusing to finance war, see warresisters.org and nwtrcc.org

In peace,

Voices in the Wilderness, Chicago
Iraq Peace Team, Baghdad

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Do You Try to Put Yourselves in Our Shoes?

12 April 03

Dear Friends,

It was with great relief that we received an update from Kathy today. Only through unreliable satellite connection have we received sporadic word from our team still in Baghdad. We think Kathy's letter which follows, speaks volumes to the current tragedy playing itself out on the streets of Baghdad and undoubtedly, throughout Iraq.

Please bear with us as we discern next steps, not just with our team in Iraq but here at home as well. As government and media pundits alike insist that this war is "ending," we urge the doubling of efforts to call attention to the fact that war doesn't end for those who have lost limbs, loved ones, homes, and precious sense of security to blind greed.

April 10, 2003

Hello Friends,

Early this morning, Umm Zainab sat quietly in the Al Fanar lobby staring at the parade of tanks, APCs and Humvees that slowly rolled into position along Abu Nuwas Street. Tears streamed down her face. "I am very sad," she told me. "Never I thought this would happen to my country. Now, I think, my sadness will never go away."

Wanting to give Umm Zainab some quiet time, I took her two toddlers, Zainab and Miladh, outside to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. Several soldiers stood guard not far from me and the children. I wanted to bring the children over to them, to let them behold these tiny beauties. But, no, too much of a risk-what if it would add to Umm Zaineb's pain?

Eun Ha Yoo, our Korean Peace Team friend, unrolled a huge artwork created by a Korean artist, Chae Pyong Doh, and sweetly laid it out in the intersection just outside the Al Fanar. As I write, Neville Watson and Cathy Breen are taking their turns sitting in the middle of it.

A map of the world covers the top third; grieving victims of war fill the middle third; piles of ugly weapons with various flags scattered over them bulge out of the bottom third. Neville has set up his prayer stool and a small wooden cross where he sits. Cathy is wearing her "War Is Not The Answer" t-shirt.

At least a dozen soldiers have stopped to talk with us since we began the vigil at 3 this afternoon. "OK, can you tell us your side of the story?" asked one young man. "Can I sit there with you for awhile?" asked another. Each of them has assured us that they didn't want to kill anyone. One young man said he was desperate for financial aid to care for his wife and child while struggling to complete college studies and work full time. He felt he could gain some respect in this world and also help his family by joining the Marines. He's relieved that he was stationed at the rear of a line coming up from the south. His role was to guard prisoners. He didn't shoot anyone. But he saw US soldiers shoot at a civilian car with three passengers as it approached. The child in the car survived - both of his parents were immediately killed. "They could have shot the tires," said the soldier. "Some just want to kill."

One soldier offered earnest concern for us, saying "You're sitting in a dangerous place." We smiled. "Thanks," I said, "But we've been in a dangerous place for the past three weeks." He was puzzled. "What do they mean," said a soldier standing next to him, "is that they've been here all through three weeks of bombing."

"Do you try to put yourselves in our shoes?" asked one soldier after he'd respectfully listened to me explain major contradictions between US rhetoric and practice regarding Iraq. "Well, yes," I said, "We try. We're taking the same risk as you by being here, and perhaps an even greater risk since we're unarmed and unprotected. Actually, just now we're lucky not to be burdened by all that heavy gear."

"Yeah," said the soldier, "It's really hot. I don't have much of an appetite. Ijust give away most of my rations, - give 'em to these people."

Hassan, one of the shoeshine boys, came over to join us, carrying a ration packet. He opened it, came across processed apple spread, and a few other curious items, then decided to donate it to us. Now the flies have discovered it.

It looks like we're on "lock-down" for a while longer. Iraqi minders are gone, --US soldiers are here. They're uncoiling barbed wire at the intersection. Anyone wanting to walk across the street is stopped, questioned and searched. Since I began this letter, there have been four huge explosions nearby. Looting and burning continue, here in Baghdad. I'm sick of war-disgusted to the point of nausea. I think all of us at this intersection, residents of the Al Fanar, journalists in the Palestine Hotel next door, and soldiers on patrol, share the same queasy ill feeling. The line, "War is the health of the state" makes no sense whatsoever here.

With love,

Kathy Kelly

We hope Kathy's words have moved you as much as they have us. There is not a single person who partakes in or experiences this war, these acts of violence, who is not profoundly effected, be they a soldier or a civilian. War, and all the misery that it brings, is truly our common enemy.

Peace and hope,

Stephanie Schaudel, for Voices in the Wilderness

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Word from Baghdad; A Campaign that is just Beginning

9 April 03

Friends,

Our team in Baghdad just called. It is difficult for us to convey the obvious relief that we experienced upon hearing from them. The phone disconnected three times giving us less than 10 minutes to communicate with them. They told us U.S. soldiers and tanks are on streets and street corners, they seem to be everywhere. Further, they expressed with great emphasis that an excessive amount of bombs have rained down on Baghdad for the last week.

Today as we watch on television the countless hours of reporting on the tangible and symbolic destruction of a Saddam Hussein statue, the number of injured civilians, families losing loved ones, lootings, fires, and fighting increases. Meanwhile our team in Amman attended a press briefing where they heard statements from United Nations humanitarian coordinators.

These statements have gone unmentioned in the mainstream media.

Carel de Rooy director of UNICEF in Iraq stated, "Before this conflict took place UNICEF had networks and systems in Iraq that helped achieve our life-saving vaccination campaigns, nutrition campaigns, and work in education. What is horribly worrying about the looting, chaos, and break down of order, is that those systems we counted on may completely collapse," he added that at the beginning of this week, the UNICEF Iraq appeal has received just 1/5th of its funding. "This is obviously and simply not enough. We have an emergency on our hands. Our actions in the next few weeks will determine the physical and mental well-being of a generation of Iraqi children."

A representative from the World Health Organization, speaking to the increasing humanitarian crisis added, "Reports from Baghdad tell of serious civilian casualties and growing pressure on hospitals and health workers. Electricity supplies are erratic, the standby generators are being overworked to the point of collapse; many hospitals are running short of clean, safe water, staff are working extremely long hours in unimaginable circumstances and some vital surgical and medical supplies are running short...in a hospital with a basic infrastructure not functioning, and where doctors and nurses have to perform difficult emergency surgical operations and provide intensive care without access to some of the most basic services and supplies."

Months prior to the "shock and awe" onslaught, UN officials, as well as delegates with the Iraq Peace Team, had warned and protested against the use of such violence due to the realities Iraqis are faced with today, the realities as outlined in the statements above. Adding greater concern to an already desperate situation, UNHCI commented on the inability for UN agencies to enter Iraq at the current time, because of the lack of safety on the roads and access to warehouses and offices.

As our team in Baghdad continues to bear witness, we ask all of you to continue to do the work that has just begun. The urgency for water and relief that is felt by many civilians throughout Iraq is one that must be heard and echoed throughout the world until their needs are met. In the most recent diary from our team in Iraq, Cynthia Banas wrote, "Death, destruction, maiming, and lifetime trauma are the consequences of war. We have witnessed children frightened beyond their years, and have seen their mangled bodies in the hospital. War for them will never end."

Thank you for your work. Thank you for caring.

Bitta Mostofi, for Voices in the Wilderness

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IPT Stays in Baghdad; American Public Continues Opposition

4 April 03

Dear Friends,

Sorry for the lapse in communication. Our own inbox is flooded every day with more email than we can keep up with, so we try to write only when we have something urgent to share.

Our team in Baghdad is now down to thirteen (for a list of IPT members still in Baghdad, see delegates currently in Iraq). Citing restricted movement, difficulty communicating with the outside world, and diminishing funds, a convoy of Iraq Peace Team and Christian Peacemaker Team volunteers left Baghdad for Amman, Jordan on Tuesday. Many of them will be returning to their communities to share their experiences and organize against this war.

Those who remain in Baghdad face many difficulties. For now they are severely restricted by a government bracing for invasion. The authorities are concerned about the long hours spent transmitting messages back home via satellite phone. One government official suggested that we submit our reports to officials before sending them out to assuage suspicions. The team refused, choosing to sacrifice frequent reports for the integrity of independence. We will continue our struggle to maintain an independent presence in Iraq, regardless of the circumstances.

There is also the question of how to face occupation forces if and when they enter Baghdad. The team is constantly planning for any number of possible outcomes. There are still many uncertainties.

So stay tuned, we are expecting an update soon. There is much work to be done.

Sincerely,

Jeff Guntzel, for Voices in the Wilderness

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Another Team Arrives Safely in Amman

1 April 03

Dear Friends,

Last night we received word that 13 members of our team in Baghdad would
be leaving Iraq. We woke up this morning to CNN reports that a convoy of
as many as 20 'human shields' leaving Iraq for Jordan were attacked by US
missiles. This brief note is to let you all know that the reports are false. The
story was first reported by Iraqi State radio and picked up by the BBC. At the
height of panic, a call came in from the Jordan border: our team was safe
and headed for Amman.

We have received many calls from people concerned for our team. We are
glad we can deliver good news. There is not a lot of that to go around these
days.

More later,

Jeff Guntzel, for Voices in the Wilderness

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Dear friends,

In Baghdad as I write, things are relatively quiet.  Today IPT delegate Wade Hudson had a chance to take a limited drive around Baghdad with a driver and a government minder.  After passing by the still smoking Ministry of Foreign Affairs building, he drove to a residential neighborhood where he reports having seen "a bomb crater 8 to 12 feet deep in the middle of awide, divided street. Traffic in one direction was blocked."  He also reported passing by  "many small homes in the neighborhood with all of their front windows blown out, presumably from the blast that created the crater."

A few hours ago, we spoke with Kathy Kelly at the Al Fanar hotel in downtown Baghdad.  Kathy told us that they will be going around and visiting some hospitals tomorrow where there are apparently quite a lot of children.  It is expected that the worst is yet to come.

This grim forecast is not mitigated by Gen. Tommy Franks' promise earlier today of "a campaign unlike any other in history, a campaign characterized by shock, by surprise, by flexibility, by the employment of precise munitions on a scale never before seen, and by the application of overwhelming force."

We are getting unconfirmed reports of fighting in Basra, Iraq's second largest city.  Regretfully, we have no IPT presence outside of Baghdad.  We are trying to reach friends in Basra and have had little success.  Just two very shaky connections that were terminated after less than a minute.

This war is an explosion of uncertainties.  In the recently "liberated" town of Safwan, on the Iraq-Kuwait border, a reporter for the Guardian may have unwittingly provided a window into the next weeks,months or years in Iraq:

"Yesterday afternoon a truck drove down a side road in
the Iraqi town of Safwan, laden with rugs and furniture. Booty or precious possessions? In a day of death, joy and looting, it was hard to know."

"[T]he marines' presence was light. They had not brought food, medicines, or even order. All day hundreds of armoured vehicles poured through the town. But they did not stop, and the looting continued. Every government establishment seemed to be fair game. People covered
their faces in shame as they carried books out of a school. Tawfik Mohammed, the headmaster, initially denied his school had been looted, then admitted it. "This is the result of your entering," he said. "Whenever any army enters an area it becomes chaos. We are cautious about the future. We are very afraid."

Exactly one month ago, also in Safwan, the Iraq Peace Team released an open letter to members of the United States Military.  The letter, read to the press as nearly 100,000 soldiers prepared an invasion just miles away, attempted to provide some measure of clarity in a time of hysteria:

"To U.S. soldiers and sailors: our prayer for every one of you is for a quick return to families and loved ones without having to participate in the horrors of war. We recognize that you have been placed in a position full of anxiety and danger, and we share in the responsibility for you being here. We recognize you are in this position because back home we do not truly govern ourselves but are instead ruled by a minority who decide questions of war and peace in the interests of the few instead of the many. Our inadequate democracy has led us into deadly quagmires in the past, and now to the brink of another conflict that can only be described as a tragic war of empire.