From the abyss of the Iraq War (2): 'I will die. But I am not sad'
November 24, 2010 - ...Iraqi doctors from Baghdad, Mosul, Basra and elsewhere were attending a JIM-NET conference to discuss cancer treatment procedures and other issues. "Our beds for children with cancer are full. Some of them have to sleep on the floor," said Janan Ghalib Hasan, 54, who devotes himself to providing treatment in Basra, still a high-risk area where power outages are a regular occurrence..."Iraqi doctors are saying that more children are contracting leukemia due to the depleted uranium ammunition used since the Gulf War of 1991." This ammunition uses depleted uranium, a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process for use as fuel in nuclear reactors and weapons. It gives off trace amounts of radiation, and increases the penetrative power of anti-tank rounds...
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From the abyss of the Iraq War (2): 'I will die. But I am not sad'
BY KAZUYA MATSUMOTO STAFF WRITER
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Sabreen Hafed (Shinobu Yamagata of Save Iraqi Children Nagoya)
Asahi.com/, November 24, 2010
I visited the city of Arbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region in northern Iraq, in April.
I traveled with doctors from Shinshu University in Nagano Prefecture and the Japan-Iraq Medical Network (JIM-NET) based in Tokyo, a nongovernmental organization that provides assistance for Iraqi children suffering from leukemia and other serious illnesses.
Unlike Baghdad, where security remains volatile, Arbil is safe and stable.
The markets bustle with energy. Piles of bananas are lined up in front of street vendors.
The aroma of roasting mutton kebabs wafts in the air.
Iraqi doctors from Baghdad, Mosul, Basra and elsewhere were attending a JIM-NET conference to discuss cancer treatment procedures and other issues.
"Our beds for children with cancer are full. Some of them have to sleep on the floor," said Janan Ghalib Hasan, 54, who devotes himself to providing treatment in Basra, still a high-risk area where power outages are a regular occurrence.
* * *
JIM-NET's origins go back to 2003.
During a visit to a hospital in Baghdad, current secretary-general Maki Sato, 49, encountered children with leukemia lying limply on their beds. There was a shortage of medicine and other supplies. He wanted to help, but was wondering what medicines to send.
Then by chance, Sato read a magazine article that focused on Suwa Chuo Hospital honorary head Minoru Kamata, 62, and the medical support he provided to children in areas affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. He thought, "This person might be willing to help," and paid him a visit.
At the same time, Kamata was skeptical of the Koizumi administration's policy on humanitarian aid, which centered on the use of huge sums of taxpayer money to dispatch the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq to carry out road maintenance and other projects.
"When so many people are suffering from the effects of war, shouldn't the first act of humanitarian aid be to save that country's children?"
As such thoughts ran through his mind, Kamata was briefed by Sato on what he had discovered.
"Iraqi doctors are saying that more children are contracting leukemia due to the depleted uranium ammunition used since the Gulf War of 1991."
This ammunition uses depleted uranium, a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process for use as fuel in nuclear reactors and weapons. It gives off trace amounts of radiation, and increases the penetrative power of anti-tank rounds.
Kamata consulted with doctors and physicists and was told it is difficult to prove a causal association between low level radiation exposure and damage to health.
"If that's the case, then there is reason for me to become involved," he thought.
People living in the vicinity of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine whom Kamata had assisted since 1991 complained of serious health problems.
But their pleas were dismissed by Russian authorities, who said they were being unnecessarily paranoid about exposure to radiation. However, the fact that many children subsequently developed cancer proved they were right.
"The same thing happened with Minamata disease," Kamata said to himself.
Minamata disease was caused by mercury poisoning, the result of industrial waste being discharged from nearby factories into Minamata Bay, Kumamoto Prefecture.
Doctors desperately tried to establish a causal link, but until they were able to confirm their suspicions, people continued to come down with the disease.
He believed in the importance of trusting the instincts of Iraqi doctors, and made up his mind.
Kamata summed up his decision thus: "While keeping the events of Chernobyl and Minamata at the front of my mind, and saving the lives of children who are obviously in need of help, I will endeavor to scientifically ascertain the relationship between depleted uranium ammunition and childhood cancer."
JIM-NET came into being in 2004, and Kamata became its representative.
* * *
JIM-NET currently sends medical supplies, mainly anti-cancer drugs, to five hospitals in Iraq.
To help fund its activities, Sato and his colleagues run a Valentine's Day campaign in Japan. They solicit donations of 500 yen ($6), for which contributors receive chocolate.
The drawing printed on the label of the can containing the chocolate was drawn by Sabreen Hafed. In 2005, she lost her right eye to cancer. She had a talent for drawing cute pictures of little girls raising their hands and asking, "How are you?"
However, her cancer progressed.
In October 2009, she died at the age of 15.
On the day before, she left the following message:
"I will die. But, I am not sad. That is because I have heard that my drawing is helping other children who are suffering from cancer."
The greatest victims of war are the innocents: the children. Sabreen's death reminds us of that.
Sabreen's drawing (Provided by JIM-NET)
* * *
Editor's note: This is part of a series titled "From the abyss of the Iraq War" that originally ran in the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.
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:: Article nr. 72159 sent on 25-nov-2010 02:03 ECT
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