Good Morning
Bomb
By Dahr Jamail
17 June, 2004
The New Standard
I havent slept
very well the last couple of nights, as the growing anxiety of car bombs
has me waking at the smallest noises outside my window nowadays.
Dave was typing
on his computer as I walk past him to the kitchen to make some coffee
at 8:15 this morning and a huge explosion rumbles down the street near
Tharir Square.
Morning, man,
I said. Morning, he replied as we both stare at the huge,
brown mushroom cloud that rises above the buildings out our window.
Our daily car bomb
viciously welcomed another day of this wretched occupation of Iraq.
At least 13 people
died in this one, according to wire reports. The targets were the passengers
in several of the typical SUVs used by CPA contractors. Five of
the foreigners are killed, in what was apparently a carefully planned
and orchestrated attack.
In the aftermath
of blood and chaos, reports said, the front of a nearby building was
left sheared and scores of Iraqis began dancing on and around the charred
vehicles while holding pieces of twisted metal blown from the vehicles
over their heads and chanting, Down, down America! and America
is the enemy of God! Then the vehicles were set abaze.
As the crowd grew
in size and furor, US tanks with soldiers in riot gear arrived to seal
the area. Soldiers kept their guns aimed at the angry crowd as investigators
attempted to collect evidence from the scene of devastation.
I went back to Sadr
City to interview doctors at Chuader Hospital. Dr. Qasim al-Nuwesri,
the head manager there, said his hospital often receives upwards of
125 dead and wounded Iraqis each time fighting between the Mehdi Army
and US soldiers breaks out in the Shiite slum, which the US military
refers to as the Black Zone of Baghdad.
Whenever large
groups like this are brought in, we know it is because of the Americans,
he said in a rare slip of sentiment. For during the rest of the interview
he was very careful not to reveal too much about the misdeeds of the
occupation forces in his area. He, like so many other doctors and hospital
administrators Ive interviewed over the last 2 months, wont
answer some of my more pointed questions regarding civilian casualties
or troops raiding the hospital to interrogate or arrest wounded fighters.
He was quick to
point out the struggles his hospital is facing under the occupation.
We are short of every medicine, he said while insisting
that this rarely occurred before the invasion. It is forbidden,
but sometimes we have to reuse IVs, even the needles. We have
no choice.
This hospital treats
an average of 3000 patients each day.
Another major problem
that he and other doctors spoke of was their horrendous water problem.
Of course
we have typhoid, cholera, kidney stones... but we now even have the
very rare Hepatitis Type-E
and it has become common in our area.
As a quick google
search reveals:
HEV
is transmitted
by the fecal-oral route. Transmission is associated primarily with ingestion
of feces-contaminated drinking water. The highest rates of symptomatic
disease (jaundice) have been in young to middle-aged adults... particularly
among pregnant women in the second or third trimester. Fetal loss is
common. Case-fatality rates as high as 15%25% have been reported
among pregnant women. Perinatal transmission of HEV has also been reported.
Signs and symptoms, if they occur, include fatigue, loss of appetite,
nausea, abdominal pain, and fever. Hepatitis E has a low (0.5%4.0%)
case-fatality rate in the general population.
The best prevention of infection is to avoid potentially contaminated
water and food.
Dr. Qasim al-Nuwesri said a German NGO called APN was bringing in water
trucks for a while, but they still only had 15% of the necessary clean
water supply to operate hygienically.
Upstairs in a room
full of 7 younger doctors, we found them even more forthcoming with
information.
The most important
thing is no clean water, said Dr. Ali, a 25 year-old resident
physician, while the other six doctors in the room nodded in agreement.
This problem is affecting us so much, Ali added.
He also said that
US soldiers have periodically stormed his hospital looking for wounded
resistance fighters. They come here asking for patients, and are
very rough because they shout, cuss, and aim their guns at people,
he said. We have patients run away when the Americans come, and
then we hear that they die at home because they didnt get their
treatment. According to Dr. Ali, US soldiers also entered the
hospital in order to remove posters of Muqtada Al-Sadr from the walls.
Dr. Ali described
more of the horrendous conditions the hospital has faced under the occupation
like the ongoing power, water, medicine and equipment shortages. Again
the other doctors nodded in agreement. I think the cause of these
worse conditions is the Americans, he said firmly at the end of
our interview.
Driving out of the
sewage-filled, garbage-strewn streets of Sadr City we passed a wall
with Vietnam Street spray-painted on it. Just underneath
this was written, We will make your graves in this place...
Shortly after taking
this picture from the car window, we were pulled over by two men in
a beat up car who had waved us down. One of them, holding his hand on
a pistol beneath his dishdasha, asked what we were doing, who we are,
and why we were taking pictures. After our interpreter does a brilliant
job of explaining to him that we were writing about the situation of
the hospital and are Canadian, the self-proclaimed member of the Mehdi
Army begged our pardon. Excuse us, Sir, but we are defending our
city. We are at war with the Americans here, and we are responsible
for patrolling this area.
When we told him
we photographed the Vietnam Street graffiti, he said, We
call it this because weve killed so many Americans on this street.
Hed wanted
to take us to a sheikh to question/interrogate us, but thanks to Hamid
being quick on his feet, we avoided the detention and promptly left
Sadr City.
Later today, after
visiting the Baghdad Morgue (thats another story for another time),
Hamid and I picked up some food and were driving back to the hotel.
We passed yet another
group of Humvees and soldiers near a fuel station. As drove by them
in the blazing heat, Hamid shook his head. He was pro-invasion, but
now does his best to cope while watching what is left of his beloved
country disintegrate with each passing day. I tell him I think Iraqis
are amazing... for all they have dealt with, and now this, how do they
go on?
Each day we
know it is up to God to decide if we will be spared from a bomb. We
Iraqis have no choice but to take it day by day, he calmly explained.
I understand,
I say while nodding.
Tonight Ill
remember his words when I lay down to sleep, knowing theywill bring
me deeper sleep for a change.
Dahr Jamail is Baghdad
correspondent for The NewStandard. He is an Alaskan devoted to covering
the untold stories from occupied Iraq. You can help Dahr continue his
crucial work in Iraq by making donations. For more information or to
donate to Dahr, visit The
NewStandard.
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