Report: Violence scarring Iraqi children14 Jun 2007The dark underside of the world’s fastest growing refugee crisis is the indelible scarring of millions of Iraqi children, alarming numbers of whom have witnessed gruesome violence and have had close family members murdered, a new report from World Vision finds.
Sectarian violence and displacement follow Samarra attack13 Jun 2007Civilians are defying a curfew to flee their homes in fear of an increase in sectarian violence after insurgents blew up two minarets at a revered Shia shrine in Samarra on 13 June. Partial destruction of the shrine last year sparked spiraling sectarian bloodshed.
Now it’s the food poisoning…12 Jun 2007According to a doctor at Baghdad’s Yarmouk hospital, there is a new enemy in Iraq: food sold and consumed past its sell-by date. Iraqis are suffering in greater numbers from food poisoning. ‘Some patients bring with them the empty cans or packs of food and we can easily see the expiry date,’ says the doctor from Yarmouk.
Child labor on the rise as poverty increases11 Jun 2007Iyad Abdel-Salim, 12, left school six months ago and has been working to boost the family income. His father was killed in Iraq’s political violence. As the only boy in the family, and with three smaller sisters to look after, he was forced to go onto the streets and work.
Poor municipal services worsen Iraqi living conditions6 Jun 2007Corruption, neglect and insurgent attacks have left Iraq’s public services in tatters, residents and officials say. Limited electricity and drinking water are the main problems, causing disease and frustration.
Hundreds go missing or get killed at checkpoints6 Jun 2007Manned by the Iraqi police, Iraqi soldiers or sometimes by militias, checkpoints are adding to the immense strain already felt by Baghdad residents. Locals say that people are often arrested at checkpoints on suspicion of working with armed groups – and after being arrested, anything can happen.
Photostory: Baghdad car wreck displayed in Amsterdam4 Jun 2007The Leidseplein, a popular square in the centre of Amsterdam (The Netherlands) formed the backdrop for the display of a bombed out vehicle from Baghdad on Sunday. The Bazaar, a discussion platform of the Greenleft and various NGOs brought the Iraqi car wreck to the Netherlands. The groups wanted the Mutunabbi Bookmarket car bomb wreck to form the centre piece to a debate on the fate of civilians in Iraq and a “way out of the violence and Dutch responsibility.”
Displacement Situation continues to worsen4 Jun 2007‘We have 300 staff working full time on Iraqi displacement. Since the beginning of the year, our offices have registered more than 130,000 Iraqi refugees. By the end of May, UNHCR had interviewed some 7,000 of the most vulnerable Iraqis and sent their dossiers to potential resettlement countries for their further assessment and action.’
I was forced to give up my humanitarian work to save my daughter4 Jun 2007Hilal Naim, 33, has stopped working with humanitarian agencies in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, after his son was killed and the life of his only daughter threatened by militants. Naim had never had any trouble in his job helping displaced families until militants one day demanded that he give it up.
Drive to raise awareness of unexploded ordnance in south4 Jun 2007Southern based non-governmental organizations have been providing local children with information about mines and how to prevent accidents in areas still affected by Unexploded Ordnances left over from 25 years of war.
Four journalists killed in less than a week by armed groups4 Jun 2007Reporters Without Borders has voiced deep shock at the murders of four Iraqi journalists by armed groups within a space of five days. The body of a local TV station employee was found in the boot of his car in the northern city of Kirkuk on 26 May 2007. A Turkmen journalist was killed in Kirkuk on 28 May. Gunmen burst into the home of a journalism teacher and contributor to several media outlets in Amariyah, near Fallujah, on 29 May, killing him and seven members of his family. A Shiite journalist was fatally shot on 30 May in the southern town of Amara.
Words in a Time of War4 Jun 2007‘If we are an empire now, as Mr. Rove says, perhaps we should add, as he might not, that we are also a democracy, and therein lies the rub,’ Mark Danner says in this commencement address. ‘A democratic empire, as even the Athenians discovered, is an odd beast, like one of those mythological creatures born equally of lion and bird, or man and horse.’
Cancer emerges as major cause of death in south4 Jun 2007Recent studies have shown a higher than expected number of cancer-related deaths in Iraq’s southern provinces. According to specialists, the main causes are the increased use of unsafe products in agriculture and the long-term effects of war on health.
I have to scrounge around rubbish bins to feed my children4 Jun 2007Adeela Harith, a 39-year-old widow and mother of three, says she misses the days when her husband was daily bringing them food and when they used to sleep in a safe house in comfort. As a recently-widowed displaced person, she has no support and is now collecting left-overs from rubbish bins to feed her children.
New screening procedures for Iraqi refugees a start4 Jun 2007Refugees International applauds the US Department of Homeland Security for finally announcing new procedures for screening Iraqi refugees applying for resettlement in the United States. It has taken many months to get these processes in place, and we expect this to lead to an increase in the number of refugees who are allowed to seek safety here.
Car bomb wreckage from Mutanabbi Bookmarket to be exhibited in Amsterdam31 May 2007The Bazaar, a whole day of workshops, lectures, films, debates and interviews, brings the symbol of the fear and destruction to the Netherlands: the wreckage of a car bomb that has been used in the bomb attack on Mutannabbi Street bookmarket on 5 March 2007. The bookmarket was the meeting place for writers, artist en students from the different ethnic and social groups in Baghdad. With this symbolic and powerful action the Bazaar wants to demand attention for the horrible fate of the civilians in Iraq.
Car bomb wreckage Mutanabbi Bookmarket to be exposed in Amsterdam31 May 2007The Bazaar, a whole day of workshops, lectures, films, debates and interviews, brings the symbol of the fear and destruction to the Netherlands. The wreckage of a car bomb that has been used in the bomb attack on Mutannabbi Street bookmarket on 5 March 2007. The bookmarket was the meeting place for writers, artist en students from the different ethnic and social groups in Baghdad. With this symbolic and powerful action the Bazaar wants to demand attention for the horrible fate of the civilians in Iraq.
Women forced to give up their jobs, marriages29 May 2007When Suha Abdel-Azim, 38, received a letter from her boss saying she had to stop working for security reasons, she couldn’t believe it. After three years as an engineer for a local company, she was fired without compensation. ‘They tried to explain,’ Suha said, ‘saying it was too dangerous for the company to employ women: the company had received threats.’
From Worse to Worst?29 May 2007More than four months after the launch of the U.S. government’s new Iraq strategy aimed at curbing violence in this war-torn country, the situation here shows no clear signs of improvement. Indeed, a recent report by a British think tank warns that Iraq is a ‘failure’ on the verge of ‘collapse and fragmentation.’
Mud Schools in Forgotten Land29 May 2007Enterprising tribesmen, fed up with officials’ failure to address their education needs, build their own makeshift schools. Sheikh Dha ger al-Hashim and his tribesmen did something unusual for Iraq, where there is a tradition of waiting for the government to solve any given problem – they built a school of mud and wood.
The Colossus of Baghdad: Wonders of the Imperial World29 May 2007Of the seven wonders of the ancient Mediterranean world, only the Great Pyramid of Giza remains. We no longer know who built those fabled monuments to the grandiosity of kings, pharaohs, and gods; of more modern architectural wonders, we have a clearer idea. Our vast $592 million ‘embassy’ – 20-odd buildings on 104 acres in Baghdad’s Green Zone – turns out to have a builder.
UN report highlights plight of over 800,000 Internally Displaced29 May 2007Escalating fighting and sectarian violence are forcing hundreds of families in Iraq to flee their homes on a daily basis, aid agencies say. According to a report released on Sunday by the United Nations Refugee Agency, an estimated 822,810 Iraqis are now displaced within their country.
Women forced to give up their jobs, marriages29 May 2007When Suha Abdel-Azim, 38, received a letter from her boss saying she had to stop working for security reasons, she couldn’t believe it. After three years as an engineer for a local company, she was fired without compensation. ‘They tried to explain,’ Suha said, ‘saying it was too dangerous for the company to employ women: the company had received threats.’
From Worse to Worst?29 May 2007More than four months after the launch of the U.S. government’s new Iraq strategy aimed at curbing violence in this war-torn country, the situation here shows no clear signs of improvement. Indeed, a recent report by a British think tank warns that Iraq is a ‘failure’ on the verge of ‘collapse and fragmentation.’
Mud Schools in Forgotten Land29 May 2007Enterprising tribesmen, fed up with officials’ failure to address their education needs, build their own makeshift schools. Sheikh Dha ger al-Hashim and his tribesmen did something unusual for Iraq, where there is a tradition of waiting for the government to solve any given problem – they built a school of mud and wood
Electronic Iraq