MCC delegation to Iraq sees first-hand sanctions' devastating impact


	 
MCC delegation to Iraq sees first-hand sanctions' devastating impact
Mennonite Central Committee Communications


 BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Strict economic sanctions imposed on Iraq in 1990
 prior to the Persian Gulf War have created widespread suffering in
 this once prominent Middle Eastern country.  A seven-member Mennonite
 Central Committee (MCC) delegation saw this first-hand during an
 October 27 to November 5 visit to Iraq. The group, composed of MCC
 staff, a U.S. journalist and a Canadian hospital administrator, toured
 hospitals and a school and met with  government and church leaders.
 
 The Iraqi Red Crescent Society, similar to the Red Cross, hosted the
 MCC delegation.  MCC's only MCC worker in Iraq, Wanda Kraybill,
 organized the delegation's schedule.  Kraybill is from Lancaster, Pa.
 
 Eight years of  sanctions:  Snapshots of an unfolding disaster
 
 * Bob Herr of MCC's Peace Office noticed especially the devastated
 state of Iraqi children's heath.  "It's becoming quite evident that
 the impact of years of war, and now sanctions, are taking a toll, and
 that impact is landing with brutal force on innocent children.  Rates
 of child malnutrition and disease are all up sharply in recent years,"
 he noted.   Many of Iraq's water filtration systems remain in
 disrepair and even the most basic medicines are scarce.
 
 *  Pearl Sensenig of  MCC's Communications department recalled
 visiting a hospital in the southern city of Basra.  There a 52-year
 old school superintendent lay in a fly-infested ward, facing a
 hysterectomy, knowing that no painkillers were available.  The head
 doctor said the anesthesiologist would have to do his job with "his
 hand on his heart," knowing that he'll have to rely on guesswork
 rather than proper medical supplies to put the woman to sleep for the
 operation, and then wake her again.
 
 *  Peter Peters of White City, Sask., reflected on the young beggars
 and shoe-shine boys who crowded around him.  "Every kind of emotion"
 from annoyance to frustration to anger to horror -- welled up in me.
 The ongoing, all-encompassing sanctions place children --  who should
 be society's greatest treasure --  into the streets."  Iraqis too
 expressed horror at the growing phenomenon of street children, which
 they say was formerly unheard of.  With huge increases in food prices
 and the collapse of the Iraqi currency, many families need every bit
 of income they can gather.
 
 * Daryl Byler, director of MCC's Washington office, reflected,
 "Everywhere tired eyes told the story of millions for whom life has
 become a daily struggle for survival.  In hospitals poorly paid
 doctors are squeezing the last drops of healing from out-dated medical
 equipment and scarce supplies.  We met and heard about doctors,
 engineers and lawyers working as taxi drivers to supplement their
 meager incomes."
 
 * Tim Wichert of MCC's Ontario office remarked on both the frustration
 and the hope he noticed among Iraqis. "At the pediatric hospital we
 met kids with their mothers, unsure where enough medication would be
 available for their treatment.  That evening we watched as more than
 100 newlyweds, accompanied by their extended families and hired
 musicians, checked into our hotel, obviously hopeful for a brighter
 future."
 
 Others on the delegation included Elizabeth Cummings, editor of the
 Central Penn Business Journal in Harrisburg, Pa., and Paul
 Pereverzoff, former MCC Jordan program director.
 
 The MCC Peace Office organized this delegation in response to a call
 from MCC workers in the Middle East for greater attention to the
 impact of U.N. sanctions on Iraq.  MCC staff at the United Nations in
 New York and in the Washington office will continue discussions with
 officials.
 
 Another delegation is scheduled to visit Iraq in January 1999, further
 focusing attention on the impact of sanctions on Iraqi people,
 especially on children.
 
 -30- pls13november1998
 
 MCC photos available:
 
 1) At Al Monsour Pediatric Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, Canadian
 hospital administrator Peter Peters delights Stalone, 7, with a packet
 of toys and candy.  Stalone, who suffers from leukemia, is one of the
 lucky few.  In December his mother plans to take him to Italy for a
 bone marrow transplant.  Most parents with sick children struggle to
 afford even basic medicines, often selling off refrigerators, TVs and
 other household items.   Peters of White City, Sask., was in Iraq from
 October 27 to November 5 as part of an MCC delegation.  Currently
 Peters is executive director of the Saskatchewan Cancer Foundation in
 Regina, Sask., and is a member of Regina Peace Mennonite Church.  (MCC
 photo by Pearl Sensenig)
 
 2) At the Red Crescent center in Basra, Iraq, a woman implores MCC
 worker Wanda Kraybill (right) for insulin for her diabetic child.  Due
 to strict economic sanctions, Iraq imports only a portion of the
 medicines it did prior to the Persian Gulf War.  Those Iraqis with
 chronic illness are especially affected because they need a
 continuous, steady supply of medicines to remain well.  Kraybill is
 from Lancaster, Pa., where she is a member of East Chestnut Street
 Mennonite Church.  (MCC photo by Pearl Sensenig)
 
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