February 26, 2006


Further attempts to destabilise Iraq and destroy the unity of the people, have been made this week, through the bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra, which houses the tombs of the 10th and 11th imams of Islam.

The attack was carried out on Wednesday 22nd February 2006 and the repercussions have been attacks on Sunni Arabs and demonstrations of Shia Muslims calling for revenge on those who orchestrated the attacks.

The reaction has been a deafening choir of voices, all equal in their disgust at the attack upon the fabric of our countries history, culture and upon those of all religious beliefs.

Some commentators have declared this attack has been a psychological blow for the Shia Arabs of Iraq, who won the majority in the countries parliament in the December 2005 elections. Others are claiming this is one step closer to Iraq falling into civil war and further ethnic strife.

On the most part, this is actually neither of the above but it is infact an attack upon all Iraqi’s, with the central aim of imposing a division upon the country, that is based on ethnic and religious lines.

This has been proven time and again, through the devastation that Iraq has been facing for over a decade now, first through the imposing of the in-discriminate Sanctions and the systematic in-discriminate slaughter of our countries innocence. Infact over 1.5 million of Iraqs children died due to medical shortages, malnutrition and water born diseases in between the years of 1991 and 2003.

Sanctions also created a long-term economic situation, which was the brain drain of an entire country, which made many thousands of skilled workers; intellectuals and scholars leave Iraq and seek work in other countries.

Even Ahmed Chalabi was compelled to recognise the destructive nature of the Sanctions, when in 1994 he described, "A journey through Iraqi countryside today would be a journey of horror through a wasteland of disease, hunger, repression and war. In this rich land of oil and great agricultural potential, millions are subsisting on UN handouts."

The 2003 invasion of Iraq, similar to the destruction we have witnessed at the Golden Mosque, was the destruction of Iraqs sovereignty and dignity as a country. It was also the day that should be held as the water shed of Western democracy, when George Bush and Tony Blair ignored the millions of people against the war and proceeded to role their tanks across Iraqi borders.

On January 15th 2005, The Guardian published an article on the destruction, by the US occupation of Babylon. A "city renowned for its beauty and its splendour 1,000 years before Europe built anything comparable, (Babylon) was chosen as the site for a US military base in April 2003, just after the invasion of Iraq".

The report included one account, from an expert on Iraqi historical sites for the British Museum. Invited by antiquity experts on his arrival found: "a 2,600-year-old brick pavement crushed by military vehicles" and "archaeological fragments scattered across the site." Other damage included; "large" areas being covered in "gravel brought in from outside, compacted and sometimes chemically treated to provide helipads, car parks, accommodation and storage areas."

Anger has also arisen at the vandalism caused to the 1,200-year-old minaret of Samara, which was damaged by mortar fire. Mohammed Alawsy of the Knight Ridder newspaper, reported on October 19th 2005, the bronze bust of Jaffar al Mansour, the founder of Baghdad was "reduced to rubble by a roadside bomb".

In "Pillaging the Gardens of Babylon", Kim Sengupta of the Independent (9/11/2005) reported that since the US proclaimed liberation of Iraq, "10,000 items, including some of the most precious treasures of antiquity in the world, are still missing" from the National Museum of Iraq.

The impact of the invasion and occupation has also created an unbearable situation for Iraqs’ children, with many being reported as suffering from trauma brought on by death and insecurity, imposed by the occupying powers.

According to the Association of Psychologists of Iraq, the extreme stress that children are confronted with has left many with learning disabilities.

It has been estimated by the Iraqi Red Crescent that "2 million Iraqi families", are living on less than one dollar a day, in a country that rests on the second largest oil reserve in the world and malnutrition rates are roughly on par with that of Burundi, a central African nation that has been torn apart by more than a decade of civil war.

In a study by the Iraqi Health Ministry in 2004, it was estimated that nearly 400,000 children were suffering from a condition called "wasting", which is characterised by "chronic diarrhoea" and "dangerous deficiencies in protein".

Other victims of Iraq’s destruction include the countries women, with estimates being made that over 250,000 war widows are residing in Baghdad. It was reported by Deepa Babington of Reuters, that many widows are being forced to separate families and take up menial jobs, whilst holding qualifications because of financial hardship.

This is a far cry from the advance that was being made in women’s rights, when in 1958 Naziha Dulaimi made history, by becoming the first ever female cabinet minister in Iraq, whilst under the government of Abdul Karim Qasim.

One famous story goes back as far as the 1920’s, when under the British occupation, one woman "whose brother had been taken by the authorities" went and confronted his captors "unveiled and with her long hair flying loose, declaring that she too would fight for the freedom of Iraq."

Women are as much the victim of wars aggression and after the Gulf War of 1991, a study conducted by Harvard, "revealed a fourfold increase in child mortality and a high incidence of other health problems".

This was followed by an increase in domestic violence, when according to Dr. Suha Omar of the book: Iraq Since the Gulf War, "traumatised conscripts returned home to take out their aggression, frustration, distress and anger on wives, daughters, mothers and sisters. Not only was there no clinical support for them in shouldering this burden but they all faced a drastically worsened economic situation as victims of the pauperisation of Iraq."

In 1991, there was also an increase of young Iraqi’s, residing in other countries who would declare themselves as being of Jordanian nationality to avoid persecution. Many would face direct prejudice as a result of Iraq being deemed the "enemy".

With the destruction of the Mosque of Samarra at the front of my mind, along with the great disasters that have faced Iraq and all Iraqi people, it is said by many that out of the ashes the Lion of Babylon will rise again.

It will rise from the rubble, of its now ancient kingdom and glance over the ruins of the land between the two rivers. Each second will encompass its own recollection of betrayals and tragedies. It will recall all influences, which made Mesopotamia great and will unleash a mighty roar, that will not just send shivers throughout the land of my father but indeed the lands, of the world over.

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