The Courage to Listen: Women of Iraq Tour U.S.
By Sonia Nettnin
Fifteen-thousand bombs have dropped on Iraq. Twelve years of brutal sanctions and two wars have killed 4 million Iraqi people. After the U.S. invasion of civilization’s cradle, Amal Al-Khedairy and Nermin Al-Mufti are on their U.S. tour. The objective: to build an international nexus between Iraqis and Americans.
“We can talk heart-to-heart, eye-to-eye,” stated Al-Kheidary. “Iraq is not Saddam. It’s generations, it’s history, not one man.” A well-known expert in Iraqi art, archeology, history, culture, and music, Al-Kheidary is founder and curator of Al-Beit Al-Iraqi (Iraqi House). In 1988, it became Baghdad’s first arts and crafts center.
In the early 20th century, her father built the house along a strategic bridge, over the Tigris River. Throughout the ‘90s it developed into the cultural and intellectual center for musical concerts, poetry readings, art exhibitions, and lectures. “The people needed it spiritually and financially,” she said.
With 5,000 years of culture and heritage, the house was damaged badly in 1991. The second floor of the house was lost to daily bombardments of bombs and cruise missiles. Despite the poverty and death caused by the war and the embargos, they rebuilt the house with courage.
In the spring of this year, U.S. bombing destroyed the house. “It caused irreplaceable artwork and architecture to be lost forever,” she explained, with tears in her eyes. “Baghdad was all in smoke, burning all of it.” The burning of the ministry buildings caused looting. “About 14,000 museum pieces lost not just Iraq, but all of humanity.”
Al-Kheidary pointed out that sanctions forbid everything from entering the country, so the black-market-smugglers became Iraq’s new wealth of society. As a result, Iraq value skills were lost and the embargos inflicted the children.
When the war began, refineries and the ministries of petrol were protected by U.S. forces. Now Iraqis have no telephone lines, the electricity is unstable and gasoline is imported.
“They said we had the arms, mass weapons, for ten years they ransacked our country through the oil-for-food program,” she said. “Iraqis appreciate freedom from oppression, but it’s been replaced by another oppression.” The people want rights to government, culture, history, medical care, and their rights as human beings on this planet.
Al-Mufti continued the same sentiments. For 22 years, Al-Mufti has been a prominent, international journalist. She has received fellowships from Hungary and the UK; and she has written for several international media agencies. Until this year, she wrote a column in a journal known as the “Troublemakers.” She writes for Al-Ahram Weekly, based in Cairo.
When she was interviewed on NPR’s “Worldview” program, Jerome McDonnell asked Al-Mufti how the Iraqi people functioned during the sanctions. She said:
“Psychologically and intellectually the sanctions affected us because the inspectors came in and ransacked us. Intellectually we were cut off from the outside world.”
When Al-Mufti saw the capture of Saddam Hussein, “I cried for myself, my friends and for generations,” she stated. “I cried for my son because he was a teenager during the sanctions.” She explained that 23 years of hardship were endured by millions of people to find Saddam. Al-Mufti stated President George W. Bush has been quoted as saying:
“This guy tried to kill my dad, he tried to kill my daddy.”
Al-Mufti explained the relationship between the U.S. and Hussein figuratively when she said: “Like Frankenstein, they created him and lost control of him.” She stated the U.S. should rebuild Iraq, but it should be under the UN umbrella, not the occupation umbrella. America is not the United Nations and that it is not their responsibility to bring democracy.
According to Al-Mufti, seven million Iraqi people are on the poverty line. Prior to the April 9, 2003 occupation (the same date Baghdad was destroyed in 1258), 62 per cent of women were in the labor force. Now, 60 per cent are jobless. The Fourth Geneva Convention states the occupying power is responsible for keeping the women safe. Al-Mufti stated that between May 10th and July 10th, 400 women were kidnapped and raped. She interviewed one of the girls, nine-years-old, in a hospital. The girl could not come to terms with what happened to her. A father of a fourteen-year-old had to sell everything he owned, worth forty-thousand dollars, to get back his daughter.
“We are very alone, isolated and demonized under hardship,” Al-Mufti said. “They looted and burned everything to make us lose our identity.”
She added that all Arabic grammar is dependent upon the Qur’an. However, they have no more than one hour of Qur’an lessons in schools –modifications to textbooks are taking place also.
In some of the villages, they want the peoples’ ids in English, Al-Khedairy explained to the audience.
During the Q & A session with the audience, Al-Khedairy responded to the capture of Saddam:
“We really in our hearts are really very sad. It could’ve happened 12 years ago . . and saved human lives.” Revenge is not in her dictionary because it creates more revenge and massacres.
Women’s organizations such as the League of Iraqi Women and the Organizations of Iraqi-Muslim Women train women for computer-related positions. Moreover, they teach women how to work with sewing machines and are helping the women rebuild their lives. Most of these women are single mothers and/or are in charge of their families.
The goals of their U.S. tour are to find channels for intercultural and academic exchange. Women from both countries can network solutions together, so they can fund rebuilding projects in Iraq. Hopefully, these efforts will encourage interest by the international community. They have been invited by many universities, mosques and synagogues. This appearance was sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee, Students for Social Justice and Voices in the Wilderness.
In her closing remarks, Al-Khedairy asked that we practice speech that includes, not divides . . . that reaches out to those who are different . . because we need to see ourselves in the other.
The cradle of civilization teaches us that women sustain the world.
Sonia Nettnin
Article republished, courtesy of The Palestine Chronicle: http://www.palestinechronicle.com
By Sonia Nettnin
Fifteen-thousand bombs have dropped on Iraq. Twelve years of brutal sanctions and two wars have killed 4 million Iraqi people. After the U.S. invasion of civilization’s cradle, Amal Al-Khedairy and Nermin Al-Mufti are on their U.S. tour. The objective: to build an international nexus between Iraqis and Americans.
“We can talk heart-to-heart, eye-to-eye,” stated Al-Kheidary. “Iraq is not Saddam. It’s generations, it’s history, not one man.” A well-known expert in Iraqi art, archeology, history, culture, and music, Al-Kheidary is founder and curator of Al-Beit Al-Iraqi (Iraqi House). In 1988, it became Baghdad’s first arts and crafts center.
In the early 20th century, her father built the house along a strategic bridge, over the Tigris River. Throughout the ‘90s it developed into the cultural and intellectual center for musical concerts, poetry readings, art exhibitions, and lectures. “The people needed it spiritually and financially,” she said.
With 5,000 years of culture and heritage, the house was damaged badly in 1991. The second floor of the house was lost to daily bombardments of bombs and cruise missiles. Despite the poverty and death caused by the war and the embargos, they rebuilt the house with courage.
In the spring of this year, U.S. bombing destroyed the house. “It caused irreplaceable artwork and architecture to be lost forever,” she explained, with tears in her eyes. “Baghdad was all in smoke, burning all of it.” The burning of the ministry buildings caused looting. “About 14,000 museum pieces lost not just Iraq, but all of humanity.”
Al-Kheidary pointed out that sanctions forbid everything from entering the country, so the black-market-smugglers became Iraq’s new wealth of society. As a result, Iraq value skills were lost and the embargos inflicted the children.
When the war began, refineries and the ministries of petrol were protected by U.S. forces. Now Iraqis have no telephone lines, the electricity is unstable and gasoline is imported.
“They said we had the arms, mass weapons, for ten years they ransacked our country through the oil-for-food program,” she said. “Iraqis appreciate freedom from oppression, but it’s been replaced by another oppression.” The people want rights to government, culture, history, medical care, and their rights as human beings on this planet.
Al-Mufti continued the same sentiments. For 22 years, Al-Mufti has been a prominent, international journalist. She has received fellowships from Hungary and the UK; and she has written for several international media agencies. Until this year, she wrote a column in a journal known as the “Troublemakers.” She writes for Al-Ahram Weekly, based in Cairo.
When she was interviewed on NPR’s “Worldview” program, Jerome McDonnell asked Al-Mufti how the Iraqi people functioned during the sanctions. She said:
“Psychologically and intellectually the sanctions affected us because the inspectors came in and ransacked us. Intellectually we were cut off from the outside world.”
When Al-Mufti saw the capture of Saddam Hussein, “I cried for myself, my friends and for generations,” she stated. “I cried for my son because he was a teenager during the sanctions.” She explained that 23 years of hardship were endured by millions of people to find Saddam. Al-Mufti stated President George W. Bush has been quoted as saying:
“This guy tried to kill my dad, he tried to kill my daddy.”
Al-Mufti explained the relationship between the U.S. and Hussein figuratively when she said: “Like Frankenstein, they created him and lost control of him.” She stated the U.S. should rebuild Iraq, but it should be under the UN umbrella, not the occupation umbrella. America is not the United Nations and that it is not their responsibility to bring democracy.
According to Al-Mufti, seven million Iraqi people are on the poverty line. Prior to the April 9, 2003 occupation (the same date Baghdad was destroyed in 1258), 62 per cent of women were in the labor force. Now, 60 per cent are jobless. The Fourth Geneva Convention states the occupying power is responsible for keeping the women safe. Al-Mufti stated that between May 10th and July 10th, 400 women were kidnapped and raped. She interviewed one of the girls, nine-years-old, in a hospital. The girl could not come to terms with what happened to her. A father of a fourteen-year-old had to sell everything he owned, worth forty-thousand dollars, to get back his daughter.
“We are very alone, isolated and demonized under hardship,” Al-Mufti said. “They looted and burned everything to make us lose our identity.”
She added that all Arabic grammar is dependent upon the Qur’an. However, they have no more than one hour of Qur’an lessons in schools –modifications to textbooks are taking place also.
In some of the villages, they want the peoples’ ids in English, Al-Khedairy explained to the audience.
During the Q & A session with the audience, Al-Khedairy responded to the capture of Saddam:
“We really in our hearts are really very sad. It could’ve happened 12 years ago . . and saved human lives.” Revenge is not in her dictionary because it creates more revenge and massacres.
Women’s organizations such as the League of Iraqi Women and the Organizations of Iraqi-Muslim Women train women for computer-related positions. Moreover, they teach women how to work with sewing machines and are helping the women rebuild their lives. Most of these women are single mothers and/or are in charge of their families.
The goals of their U.S. tour are to find channels for intercultural and academic exchange. Women from both countries can network solutions together, so they can fund rebuilding projects in Iraq. Hopefully, these efforts will encourage interest by the international community. They have been invited by many universities, mosques and synagogues. This appearance was sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee, Students for Social Justice and Voices in the Wilderness.
In her closing remarks, Al-Khedairy asked that we practice speech that includes, not divides . . . that reaches out to those who are different . . because we need to see ourselves in the other.
The cradle of civilization teaches us that women sustain the world.
Sonia Nettnin
Article republished, courtesy of The Palestine Chronicle: http://www.palestinechronicle.com