A Welsh angle on recent events.

IRAQ REPORT
Date Tuesday, April 06 @ 22:26:12

Before I begin this report, I just want to say that, while you are all hearing of turmoil, death and violence erupting all over this poor country, I still feel safe here in Kerrada. Kerrada is an area of mixed religions - mainly Shia and Christians - living together in perfect harmony. It is situated in central Bagdad and from our appartment we have a view of Sheraton/Palestine Hotel complex some 800 metres away. Kerrada is still peaceful and life continues here as normal during the day - we still walk around with no problems - we know lots of people here and feel very safe.

Hi Tuesday 6 April 2004
Last night in Kerrada the internet centre I went to closed 2 hours early at 8pm and others were already shut, so were many , though not all, shops. This was because the local community felt worried that Sadr's supporters were going to march through Kerrada.

Earlier in the day there was a big demonstration on Saduun Street - they thought it was coming our way - and apparantly a gang attacked a clinic on Saduun Street, probably from the same demonstration - Iraqi police arrested them. We expected the demo to pass through here at about 10 pm last night, but a friend popped to the shop at across the road at that time and said everything was as normal. So Kerrada stayed quiet and the only thing we heard were some distant bombs - although there were many of these.

I now include some news that we hear in Iraq that you may or may not have heard in Britain.
Yesterday:
In Sadr City - an impoverished Shia suberb - 42 Iraqis were killed and 259 injured - the area was attacked by helicopter gun-ships.
The Mahdi Army (Sadr's supporters) controlled all of Nagaf's police stations.
They also tried to take all the public buildings in Kerbala but were prevented by coalition forces.
US troops entered the Howza office in the district of Shula near Khadhimaya - 5 Iraqis were killed.
Fallujah was completely sealed of and the residents attacked with helicopters.
Bremer called Moqtada Sadr a criminal (a big help) and the coalition have a warrant for his arrest for his alleged involvement in the murder of Qooay in May, another Shia Cleric, who had taken refuge from Saddam in Britain and had recently returned to Iraq. Yacoubi, Sadr's 2nd in command, has already been arrested.
More than 20 coalition force soldiers have been killed today.
Today:
12 Iraqis have been killed and 27 injured in Amara in 48 hours of demonstrating.
Students marched in Bakuba - an Iraqi translator working for the Americans was killed there.
6 Italian soldiers have been injured in clashes in Nasyria.
Iraqi Police have found 3 RPGs in Bagdad and a bomb was found in Al Daura, Bagdad and defused.
There was RPG rocket attack on a shop in Al Wazerya (where the boys' home is situated).
A missile/rocket hit a house in Al Cairo, Bagdad.
Muqtada Sadr is in Imam Ali Mosque in Nagaf holding a vigil.
And in Adhimaya they are burying their dead today after fighting there yesterday.
4 soldiers are killed in Fallujah and 3 in Bagdad.
Moqtada Sadr states that he is not angry with the British soldiers, just the American occupation soldiers.

Moqtada Sadr
Moqtada Sadr is the 30 year old son of Ayotollah Mohammed Sadiq Al Sadr. Ayotollah Mohammed Sadiq Al Sadr was highly regarded and much loved by the Shia majority in Iraq and Shias all over the world. He was opposed to Saddam, America and Western 'Values'. All through Saddam's regime he remained in Iraq with the suffering people, even though his life was in constant danger and even though his older brother was murdered by the regime in 1981 or 2. In 1999 he paid the ultimate price for his commitment to his country when he was murdered by Saddam's security men. He was in a car in Al Kefil travelling to Nagaf with 5 of his sons (the older brothers of Moqtada) when his car was shot up, killing all inside. It is this Sadr that Sadr City is named after. During Saddam's time this area was called Saddam City officially, though amongst the people it was always called Sadr City. It is here that most of Moqtada's Bagdad support can be found and it is here that American forces have been attacking with such deadly force and killing so many yesterday and today.
Moqtada Sadr is held in the same high regard amongst the Shia, although it seems many see him as a little too young and head strong. He is certainly determined to get the occupying forces out and to gain more support for his (at the moment) minority movement. Until a few days ago he constantly made passionate speeches against America. Then the coalition shut down the Howza newspaper for 60 days after an editorial appeared in it that criticises Bremer and called on people to rise up and resist. This free speech could not be tolerated and by shutting down the paper the coalition have caused this uprising and resistance to occur. Also, the arrest of Moqtada's 2nd in command, Yacoubi, and the subsequent warrant for Moqtada's arrest have just added fuel to the fire. It is as if the coalition planned it. Angry young (and old) Shia men in this country have been waiting, listening to the clerics in the mosques and waiting for their time, watching the Sunni resist alone. This is what they have been waiting for - the reason, the excuse and the call to resist. It is difficult to imagine that the situation will calm down from this, even if their demands are met (ie re-opening of Howza newspaper and release of Yacoubi) - these men have tasted their right to protest and resist, in some cases using violence in their cause. Whether they march peacefully, throw stones or use violence, the force they meet is much greater - more of them (and innocent people around) suffer and die. I fear a 'Palestine' situation occurring here - Fallujah has already been sealed off, incursions are taking place and a curfew is in operation - and please do not forget that Fallujah is a Sunni area. Both Sunni and Shia are resisting now. Stop talk of civil war. Any civil war that happens will probably only happen if and when the occupation ends during the ensuing power struggle that would be bound to occur.

Jean Michel visited the CPA HQ at the Conference Centre two days ago. Sadr's supporters were holding a demonstration and praying. They searched Jean 7 times - he asked why, why do they want to become like the Americans (they search us 7 or so times to go into the CPA HQ). Then he saw one angry demonstrator kick an American woman in the face for taking a photo, even though there were many other journalists and photographers around. I find this worrying and so unhlepful to their cause. I hope it was an isolated incident.


Yesterday we went to Adhimaya to attend a Christain Peacemakers Team (CPT) vigil and to visit a friend.
The vigil was held outside Abu Hanifa Mosque which was badly damaged during a 9 hour battle in the square there during the war. The vigil was for the Iraqi detainees being held by the coalition, some have been held incommunicado for months. CPT know of 18,000 and have reliable information that the figure is up over 100,000. During the demonstation, I met Issam. We knew him form our last time in Iraq - he used to translate and do filming for 2 of our friends who were making a documentry. He told me that in February he spent 17 days in prison in Abu Gharib. The Americans came to his house and raided it at 3 am, terrifying and searching his wife and 2 small children. He was arrested for being a journalist and filming resitance (so much for free speech). His family made demonstrations, wrote letters and, with the help of a lady from the Italian media, they were able to secure his release in only 17 days!! Imagine the compensation he would be due in Britain for that.
I enquired after Junis and his brothers.
During the summer Junis had been helping a British film crew carry out film work, relating to the resistance.Some of his filming has been aired on British terrestrial television. On the night of 23 September 2003, the Americans sealed off his family's neighbourhood, it was the middle of the night, helicopters hovered over their house, the front door crashed open. Dozens of armed soldiers stormed the house. Present in the house that night were: Junis, his 3 brothers, 2 sisters and his parents. His elderly father has the obvious signs of a stroke, his mother is a small, frail old lady who suffers the shakes from Parkinson's. Their house is a typical, rather bare, crowded Iraqi house. The living room is divided to make an extra bedroom, using a vertically hung curtain. The Americans ransacked the place, looking for something that they didnt find. All clothes were thrown onto the floor, and were trodden underfoot - I know this because I had to clean boot prints off a dress that I wore to a wedding. The few books they possessed were thrown onto the floor, including The Koran, the mother, crying, fell to the ground, she picked up the holy book , and while on her knees held aloft the book and began to pray. Her husband and 4 sons had been forcibly removed from her home. And in this her most desperate moment an American soldier held a handgun to her head and yelled again and again at the top of his voice. The father was not taken away, and the one son was released a few weeks later. But as for Yunis and his 2 brothers - Khalid and Abbas they effectively disappeared. On the 11 December 2003, we went to the Coalition Provisional Authority Headquarters (most Iraqis are too scared to go there) to find out what had happened to them. We found out that they are being held in Abu Gharib Prison. Their reason for being held, and Kevin has the paperwork saying so, was "planning the assasination of Tony Blair"!! It is not a joke - this innocent family is suffering, the mother's health deteriorates.
The family HAVE STILL NOT SEEN Junis or his bothers since their arrest on 23 September 2003. But Issam said that it is known that they are okay (as okay as one can be in Abu Gharib) and Junis is actually working as a translator in the prison, which can only serve to help the other detainess and maybe help to get some out earlier.
Issam is now a volunteer guard at Abu Hanifa Mosque when he is not filming. He has even managed, on one occasion, to stop American soldiers from entering.

Then we went to visit Saad. He has a small shop opposite the mosque in the bottom of a badly shot up and burnt building from the battle that took place there. During the war half of his house was blown away by a missile. Thankfully he and his family were in another part of the house, badly shocked, but alive. He fully understands the real reasons for the war and occupation, as do many in Adhimaya. He says America is here for oil and Iraq's assets - that America has no interest in rebuilding the country and that Iraqis have no rights, no free speech. He believes that, now the Shia are uprising, the Americans will be pushed out; Shia and Sunni will join together, they are the same and they suffer the same. He told us that, after the 10 Moharram bomb in Khadimaya Mosque, a unexploded missile was found - it had markings on it indicating that it belonged to America.
One sad thing about Saad - in 1982 he had been accepted to go to Oxford to study applied maths and physics and English - he could not go because he had to fight in the Iran/Iraq War. I saw his acceptance letter - he had even paid a non-refundable 150 pounds reistration fee.


Back in Kerrada in the evening we bumped into a waiter we know. He had just returned from Basra where he had been visiting his family for 2 days. His home is right by the Governor's Building and he watched the occupation of the building by Sadr's supporters. He described how the British troops had surrounded the building and how there had been lots of shooting during the day. The skies had been full of planes and heliciopters and some missiles had been dropped from them.
He has a mum there and 4 sisters and a little brother, his father died 3 months ago - he works here in Bagdad as a poorly paid waiter - their only support.

After this we went to the baker's to buy some bread. In the queue in front of us was a small boy chewing gum. I teased him and told him he looked like an American chewing his gum - all he needed was a helmet and gun to be a soldier. He said no, no, not American. He hates them and laughed when I tried to say "amerique bilkernadar" - kick the americans out with your shoes.

This is the feeling amongst everyone, I mean everyone now. Everyone is sick and tired of America, they hate the occupation and they want them out. A far cry from November when we first returned - then we found many people tolerant, even liking, the Americans.

A few days ago, we were walking up Kerrada when an American convoy passed us with Iraqi troops with them in one of the humvees. They stared and made rude gestures at them. We shouted to them to go home, saying they were not wanted here any more. With that the surrounding Iraqis manning their stalls along the street joined in telling the Americans to F**k off - it was amazing. So many convoys drive up and down here and around Bagdad with no one shouting at them, yet as soon as we did people joined in.
When we walked back down the street later, the same convoy passed us again. This time they were even ruder, doing gestures with their mouths. Again I shouted at them. This time, one jumped up idiot got out of the humvee but seeing us walk on got back in. We stopped and walked back to him and he got out again and crossed the road to us, surrounded by about 6 others, guns at the ready. He marched straight up to me, pushed into me a bit with his gun. I told him to back off, which he did, and I cheekily offered him a crisp! He wanted to know what the problem was. I informed him of his colleagues rudeness and said I was exercising my right to free speech in the new Iraq. I also told him to go home (which he said he wanted to do). He said American soldiers are dying everyday here to which I replied that no one asked them to come here and I told him that many more Iraqis were dying than them, being murdered by American soldiers. He said no so I asked him about Adhimaya etc - he did not know what to say and backed off with his 6 protectors. The surrounding Iraqis loved it, saying 'good, good'.

As many of you know, I have been searching for another appartment here in Kerrada. We search the agencies in the area. One of the men in one of the agencies is a really nice guy. He says he is my father and even gave me a necklace (not in a creepy way, in a nice way). He used to be an actor. One day he showed me an identity card for his membership of the Iraqi Political Prisoners Institute. He had spent 5 years in prison under Saddam. He was held in Abu Gharib and in one of the now notorious underground prisons. His crime? He damned Saddam and called him a son of a bitch. He was due to be hung for this but was forgiven at the last moment. In spite of this, he hates America and said how he would give his two sons to get America out of Iraq.
He said the Shia were giving America a chance and, while they were sleeping, the Sunni were resisting alone. He said after June both will join together and resist - it might have started a little earlier than we all expected. That was three days ago - a long time in Iraq.

Some interesting figures:
23 US soldiers have killed themselves in Iraq and Kuwait during the last year. That rate is 1/3 higher than elsewhere where the US army are serving in the world. That rate is half that of the equivalent male civilian population.
52% of soldiers in Iraq and Kuwait say they are suffering from low morale.
72% of army units in Iraq and Kuwait say they are suffering low morale.

A reported, but not widely enough, fact:
The 4 US construction workers, killed in Faluja last week were not construction workers. They were armed employees of "Blackwater Security". The BBC reports this, but doesn't go as far as to reveal their true identity - mercenaries.

All for now.
Helen Williams
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This article comes from IndyCymru
 http://www.indycymru.org.uk

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