Iraqis 'don't want to be liberated'
2003-04-01 16:29
Johannesburg - A group of 20 battle-weary South African human shields returned from Baghdad on Tuesday, declaring that the Iraqi people do not want to be "liberated".
Abie Dawjee, the leader of the group called the Iraqi Action Committee, said every Iraqi he had spoken to was passionate about fighting the invaders.
"We spoke freely to Iraqis from all walks of life, in the streets, in hospitals, in country areas and in houses, and without exception the message was the same: the invaders must get out, we do not want you to liberate us," Dawjee told reporters at Johannesburg International Airport.
Asked about the perception of Iraqi civilans toward President Saddam Hussein, Dawjee said the strong resistance against the coalition forces reflected the anger of the Iraqi people over what had been done to them since the first Gulf war in 1991.
"The indiscriminate bombing in the first Gulf war that destroyed so many civilan targets, the US-led sanctions that have lead to the deaths of 1.3 million Iraqis and the dropping of depleted-uranium bombs in the final days of the last war which gave so many Iraqis cancer, have caused tremendous anger."
Thirty-two South African shields arrived in Iraq shortly before the first bombing of Baghdad on March 19. Eight arrived home last week, while four others are assisting at a refugee border camp in Jordan.
A number of the shields cried and embraced as Dawjee recounted the events of the past 12 days.
"When we got there we plugged into the other human shield groups that were already operating. We shielded a water purification plant, an oil refinery and a water treatment plant," Dawjee said.
He said Iraqi civilians often visited the human shields and brought them gifts and food.
"We even went into some of their houses. They were very appreciative of us being there, especially of our South African contingent which was by far the largest from any country.
"We were staying in prefab houses at the sites and when the bombs dropped the houses would shake and rattle, it was unbelievably frightening. I can only imagine how the Iraqi families were feeling."
The group had visited a residential area where five homes had been flattened by bombs. They had also been to a hospital where they saw the broken bodies of little children.
One of the woman shields, Ridwana Jooma, said the worst part of being in Iraq was leaving.
"Every breath you take might be your last, because you never know when a missile might go astray," she said.
"By being there I learned the gift of life. I did not want to come home."