News From Human Shields - March 2003

Monday 31st March, 2003

Members of the Iraqi Peace Team (unaffiliated with Human Shields) were involved in a car accident yesterday on the road from Baghdad to Jordan.

Stranded on the side of a road in hostile territory and injured they were picked up by an Iraqi civilian who drove them to the closest Iraqi town, Rutba, about 6 km from the site of the accident. Rutba is a city of about 20,000 people located 140 km east of the Jordanian Border. The group was astounded to see that this civilian town, with no apparent military structures had been devastated by US/British bombing three days earlier.

Much of the town was destroyed including the children's hospital in which two children were killed in the bombing. Read article one and two.

Friday 28th March, 2003

We have been unable to get through to Baghdad today due the bombing of telecommunications facilities. Despite the rhetoric about targeting Saddam's regime the U.S. imperial forces have shown they are prepared to target civilian infrastructure after all, just like they did in the 1991 Gulf War.

In this possibly terminal phase of human existence, democracy and freedom are more than just ideals to be valued - they may be essential to survival. Noam Chomsky

Tuesday 25th March, 2003

The Independent ran a story today reporting that Leo Warren of Feltwell, Norfolk (a Human Shield volunteer in Baghdad) is feared missing.

Leo was seen yesterday at the Palestine International Hotel in Baghdad. He is staying at the Tejio Food Silo in Baghdad and is believed to be fine. Tejio Food Silo - Ph: 00-964-1-885 2846 or 00-964-1-885 2842

None of the shielded sites have been hit to date. However power and water have been cut in Basra, the second largest city in Iraq, due to UK/US bombing. We do not have Human Shields stationed in Basra.

Sunday 23rd March, 2003 18:06 +0300

Latest report from Human Shield in Baghdad - "a plane shot down, just outside the press centre as I just happened to be there, was getting interview by Canada T.V with Reuters. They were burning down the grass trying to find the other pilot, caught a female British pilot. The atmosphere was one of pandemonium and exhileration.

Saturday 22nd March, 2003

A plea from Rosemarie Gillespie, in Baghdad, for ordinary people around the world to do everything they can to stop this crime against humanity. Calling On All World Citizens

Friday, 21st March, 2003

"The Pentagon admits that it has no intelligence at all..." CNN, 11:25pm (GMT+2)

Latest reports out of Baghdad indicate that everything's not quite as smooth as the BBC and CNN are reporting. Word is there are far more 'allied' casualties than are being reported. There are also reports that the highway from Baghdad to Jordan is littered with bombed buses, bridges and petrol stations.

"I will never apologise for the United States of America–I don’t care what the facts are" President George Bush in 1988 (On the shooting down of an Iranian commercial airliner on July 3, 1988 by the US Navy warship Vincennes. All 290 civilian people in the aircraft were killed. The plane was on a routine flight in a commercial corridor in Iranian airspace.)

Thursday, 20th March 2003 16:37 GMT

This morning first day of bombing started approximately 5am, all sites are fine/no hits. Approximatley 2-5 bombs in Baghdad and many anti-aircraft fire. Communications still working.

Voice of America Radio Station (funded by C.I.A) has stated today that the 'human shields' are protecting the 'Regime'. This is to advise all families and media that this report is not true. All Shields remain at there civilian sites supporting the people of Iraq and this support is and will continue of our own free will.
 
Uzma Bashir
Direct from Baghdad

Wednesday, 15th January, 2003

Looks like the war-makers are getting worried.

The latest propaganda coming out of the U.S. war machine is that we are being "deployed by Saddam Hussein." You really gotta to giggle. Voluntary individuals exercising their free will are being deployed by Saddam Hussein? This is a blatant (as per usual) effort to paint us as Saddam's shields instead of the shields of innocent Iraqi people that we intend to be.

For the record each and every one of the TJP Human Shield volunteers is required to write a personal statement as to why they are joining this action to Iraq. Not one of these statements has said that the individual is conducting this act to support Saddam Hussein and furthermore, not one has to our knowledge been deployed by Saddam Hussein.