SOAWW: News from Ted Sexhauer in Iraq Thu, 16 Jan 2003 17:02:56 -080 Dear Members of SOAWW, As many of you know, SOAWW member, Ted Sexhauer, is serving in Iraq with Voices in the Wilderness.  While in Iraq, Ted is going to send  us updates on his experiences for his friends here in the US,  including members of SOAWW.  Here is his first report, provided by Clare Morris. Thank you, Julia Dowd Hello Everyone--         I spoke at length and at last with Ted on January 12, Sunday, through the only possible mode of timely communication with him for the present.  As you must already know, Iraq has closed its e-mail networks, due to U.S. government e-mail campaigns in that country.  So, for now, Ted has agreed to let me summarize his news for you.         First of all, he is well, glad for a more relaxed dress code than he had anticipated, and enjoying 60 degree "nearly spring" weather.         He has inherited Charlie Liteky's hotel room, bike, hot plate and cooking ware.  Fortunately, the hotel is small and in a neighborhood of families, as well as an orphanage and hospital connected with a Catholic Church.  Though central Baghdad at night, and the city's grand architecture at any time of day or night, are magnificent, he prefers the smaller, quieter neighborhood setting.         Ted is currently coordinating the logistical needs of the Voices in the Wilderness peace team.  He is also putting together first aid kits, and managing the Voices medical supplies. Then, of course, there are meetings and meetings -- for orientation and education.         Since five of the Voices people have recently had to leave the country, Ted feels like one of the old-timers, even though he has been there for barely a week.  New Voices people will soon be arriving, to join individuals and delegations from Italy, Japan, Germany and the U.S.         He spoke of increasing tension on the streets, as well as of  the need to avoid being out and about at night.  He carries with him a letter in English and Arabic that describes why he is there, and has already found this to be a useful way to allay people's anxiety as to who he is.  He also said that markets are stocked with a limited supply of food, as are restaurants, though there are few patrons in the latter.  The "Oil for Food" program has evidently had an effect, especially for middle class families, who have been able to stock a three-month supply of a few staples.         He described a German musician he has met, who is interested in Ted's poetry.  If the "Minder" (the liaison between Voices and the Iraqi government) agrees, Ted will be able to read some of his poems at a literary cafe event.  There is even some interest in translating his book of poems into Arabic.  Ted said he has found a fine book of contemporary Iraqi poetry, and is hoping an e-mail opening will happen soon, so he can send us a few poems from the Iraqi people.         In the few days he has been in the Middle East, Ted has also been interviewed by a Swiss periodical, FACTS, and this will be published next week (January 20).         Ted described two forthcoming actions in Baghdad:         On January 15th, Martin Luther King's birthday, people in peace teams from different countries and organizations will read sequentially from Dr. King's "Riverside Speech." They are hoping that Amy Goodman will agree to pick up the story, and speak of the marches and rallies planned for January 18th.  Someone said to Ted, "If a million people show up in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, the U.S. won't go through with military action."  May it be so! Then, on January 17th, a Japanese group, including a monk from Palestine, will launch paper boats for peace in the Tigress--or some other waterway, if they are not allowed to go near the river.         Finally, Ted wanted the First Congregational Church in Sonoma, and their Pastor, Rev. McCracken, to know that the medical supplies they sent arrived in Iraq in good condition.         As we closed our conversation, Ted described the Middle Eastern manner of saying "Hello," which can be translated, "Peace be with you--" along with the response, "And with you."  For this brief exchange, many Arabic speaking people put a hand to the heart.        May we too greet each other from the heart.         Clare Morris SOAWW: News from Ted Sexhauer in Iraq (#2) Sun, 19 Jan 2003 13:11:07 -0800   JANUARY 15, 2003 Hello Everyone--         As with the first message from Ted, the following summary is from a phone conversation I had with him on Tuesday evening, January 14.         Ted described a conference he and the Voices Peace Team members attended.  400 American academics were invited to Baghdad to meet with their Iraqi colleagues.  Ted thought about 100 responded from the U.S.         One of the attendees, a law professor from somewhere in the U.S., spoke eloquently of our country's violations of international law, especially with regard to prolonged sanctions and the announcement of possible pre-emptive strikes.  The professor also stated that the proposed war with Iraq is unnecessary and unlawful, particularly since there appears to be no proof of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.         After the talk, the conference (which was lasting for three days) provided a kind of operetta sung by children with Down's Syndrome.  They sang about everyone looking at them and whispering, and that their needs haven't been met because of the lack of medical supplies.  This was followed by group singing, "Talking Iraq Blues."         With a group of writers, Ted attended a writing critique session at a cafe.  He was grilled on what he knew of Arabic literature.  "Nothing" was his response--an honesty which seemed to be acceptable.         The group discussed mixing the arts and politics, concluding that "We cannot NOT do it."  However, everyone there knows that it is a serious crime to criticize the Iraqi government.  They also said that Iraqi poetry has moved steadily toward free verse since World War II.  (That's an interesting metaphor.)         Among the 20-25 people present, there was an atmosphere of mourning, because a leading Iraqi poet had just died of a heart attack.  His name was Raad Abdul Qadir, born in 1950.         Ted said the gathering itself reminded him of the Veterans Writing Group, and that the one picture he carries with him is the one Ann Marks took of the VWG a few months ago.         Ted had a chance to read some of his poems for those present, and was asked how war had shaped his poetry.  He responded by talking about his narrative and autobiographical style.         Ted also had a chance to attend a concert with some of the Voices Peace Team members.  The program included three selections from opera (Britten's "The Sally Garden," Bizet's L'Arlesienne Suite" and an aria from Rossini) as well as selections of music for the oude--for which the musician was given a rose by a little girl.  Then Ted read two of his poems ("Poem For Tet" and "Progress Report") which were then translated into Arabic.  He also introduced the Voices Peace Team.  Finally, a group of German singers sang peace songs.         In addition, Ted has been taken to art galleries in the city.  "This is a great place for the arts--you should come over next time!" he told me.  He spoke of bronzes and paintings, all done in contemporary styles.         But art is not all that is happening.  Ted described many groups of men going in and out of basements.  "They are fortifying their basements as bomb shelters, because they don't trust the official shelters," he said.  "Ever since 500 people were killed in a shelter during the Gulf War, when it was hit by two Cruise missiles, many people would rather try to take care of themselves."  He also told me, "People are battening down, but going on with their lives."         As yet, Ted doesn't feel the danger of being in Iraq.  "The hard part was the journey to get here," he said.         Indeed, may the danger decrease--for him, for the Iraqi people, for all living beings.   Clare Morris SOAWW: News from Ted Sexhauer in Iraq (#3) Tue, 21 Jan 2003 09:44:06 -0800 Hello Everyone--         E-mail continues to be erratic or nonexistent in Iraq, so I will send another summary of my latest phone conversation with Ted.         I spoke with him last night, January 18th, after hours of trying to connect by phone.  He wanted to know about the protest marches and rallies, and said that a group of Peace Team members had wanted to tell people in Baghdad via leaflet that the world was marching for peace. However, they were asked to forego such a plan by their "minders."         However, the Team's reading of Martin Luther King's words last Wednesday (Dr. King's actual birthday) worked well.  Because of the e-mail blackout, a recording of it was sent to Amy Goodman in the U.S. with someone who was leaving Iraq the following day.  Hopefully, she will include it in her column tomorrow, January 20.  Ted said that foreign journalists seem interested in the Peace Team, and that his latest interview was with a French Reporter.         The next day, Thursday, members of the Peace Team attended a sunset peace ritual on the banks of the Tigris River.  A Japanese monk from Palestine organized a busload of Iraqi children, who arrived carrying peace cranes and pictures of Saddam Hussein.  They were given small candlelit paper boats to launch in the water to the rhythms of Tyko drums.  At one point, Ted spoke to the group, and was then presented with a "bouquet" of cranes from the children.  For the event, all traffic was stopped on the country road alongside the river.  Motorists had no idea what was going on, so Ted went from car to car, letting them know.  Only one driver was upset at the delay--wanting to get home to his dinner; Ted reached into his car to shake his hand, and at this moment, the traffic began to move again.  Extricating hand and arm was not easy.         Ted didn't know what the busload of children did with the pictures of Saddam.  He said portraits of the Iraqi leader hang everywhere--in every public building and in many stores and shops. The pictures are "custom-made" to fit the context where they are hung.  For example, a school will show Saddam with an academic gown and mortar board; a police station will portray him as captain of the ranks; a more casual setting will show him in sports clothing.         Repeatedly, Ted described the Iraqi people as "warm and open hearted." He and the Peace Team cannot imagine that the general populace supports the use of weapons of mass destruction.         He told of tension that comes and goes on the streets.  He can tell when people have heard something that has generally upset them, and periodically notices fear on the faces of friends and strangers.         One must not talk politics in public, though occasionally someone will ask him questions, referring to the U.S. military buildup around Iraq. "What do you think will happen?" the person will wonder. Ted answers, "We don't know.  We're here to help.  Hopefully, the demonstrations of protest will slow down the violence."  He and other Peace Team members assume their every e-mail (when there is e-mail) and phone call is monitored.  Ted also said that if an Iraqi spends too much time with one of the internationals, the former will be  interrogated.  He told me that"It's hard to get to know anyone well, though there are a few who seem to overlook the risk."         Baghdad itself is a bustling, beautiful, ancient city, whose weather is "like Palm Springs" at the moment, and whose economic forecasts have been poor for many years.  Many people, who have been trained as professionals, now drive taxis (and seem reluctant to pick up foreigners, as Ted discovered during a heavy rain storm).  Elders and children often shine shoes to pick up a little extra money, and everyone, except the few who are rich, holds cars together with duct tape, it seems--there being few auto parts available.  Many buildings appear to be closed, while others are being reconstructed.  City streets are good, but sidewalks need much repair.  And--there are NO CELL PHONES!         Ghettoes of the poorest Iraqis are areas foreigners are discouraged from visiting.  Recently, a bus of German internationals went to Saddam City, one of the slums of Baghdad, and were greeted with rotten vegetables thrown at their bus.         Last week, Ted conversed with the Dean of an Iraqi medical school.  The doctor had conducted two major experiments on depleted uranium and its effects.  After 12 years of investigation, he presented his findings to  American academics, who, for unaccountable reasons, have declined to publish them.  The doctor pointed out that after exposure to radiation from sources of depleted uranium, a period of dormancy often occurred, and lasted 8 or 9 years.  After this phase, mutations would begin to appear, and multiply.  Many of the affected children do not survive, or do not reproduce.         A Japanese man, Tayashi Morizumi, who photographed CHILDREN OF THE GULF WAR, giving examples of many of depleted uranium's victims, is now in Iraq.  Ted also had a chance to speak with him.         Ted continues to sort out the medical supplies brought to Iraq by Peace Team members.  ("Don't send any more bandaids!" he pleaded.)  He has also been making first aid kits for present and future teams, and will begin teaching first aid classes for team people who are in Baghdad now, and the 12 who will be newly arriving Monday and Tuesday, January 20 and 21.  Another group of 10 - 12 is expected at the end of the month.         Our conversation concluded with Ted's reflection on regime change:  "The Iraqi people are sovereign, and have a right to make their own choices." Clare Morris SOAWW: Baghdad News from Ted Sexhauer (#4) Prepared by Clare Morris on the basis of phone conversations Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2003 The Iraq Peace Team is spending time preparing for a U.S. attack.  One member was part of a peace team at the time of the Gulf War.  He and others were camped near the Iraqi-Kuwait border before being called to Baghdad.  While there, U.S. bombing raids began, and he couldn't Leave the city.  He has many ideas for the current Peace Team members about how to prepare. Ted's role is to assemble a first aid kit for each member of the Peace Team.  He is doing what he can with the few materials available. Preparing for an attack is a sobering reality.  The Peace Team is not just about visiting warmhearted Iraqis; the members are aware they have entered a possible war zone. The weapons inspectors' press conference on Monday, January 20, was an occasion for the Peace Team to go to the Canal Hotel (or "UN Central") and stand before waiting lines of reporters from all over the world.  The team held a banner that read, "We support the UN Charter."  Military guards asked the team to move, so the Voices group relocated to the gate at the entrance to the hotel driveway.  They were in full view of the reporters there and were approached by those wanting to take photos or conduct brief interviews.  Some of the team was able to attend the press conference led by Hans Blix. Ted visited a hospital that is in his neighborhood.  It is run by Dominican nuns and specializes in obstetrics and gynecology. Neither newspapers not TV are available in English.  A Voices team member consults Internet news sources daily and reports events to the rest.  Ted continues to notice the children who seem to live on the streets as well as the children who are accompanied by their parents.  "Who would ever think of bombing them?" he asked. Thursday, Jan. 23, 2003 Twelve new Iraq Peace Team members have arrived, some of who have formed an affinity group to study and publicize information about depleted uranium.  "DU" has been used on bullet and missile tips since the Gulf War and becomes highly radioactive when the weapons explode. Two people brought gifts for the Iraqis they might meet during their stay.  One of these was a postcard photo of most of the town of Port Townsend, Washington, participating in a peace vigil.  The other was an earth button to express solidarity with the Iraqi people. The Voices team members were interviewed by Charles Hanley, a reporter for the Associated Press.  He was interested in questions such as, "If you've been a longtime activist, what gives you hope?" and "How do you prevent and/or cope with burnout?"  He said there are three wars being Directed toward Iraq: military, economic and psychological.  He sees a "sea change in reporting" the military threats against Iraq and feels hopeful that U.S. military attacks will not occur. The team joined a Belgian labor union group in a visit to the Ameriya Shelter, now a shrine, the place where 408 civilians were killed by two Cruise missiles in the Gulf War.  Ted wonders how radioactive the place might be--given the uranium-tipped missiles that had been used.  For a memorial ceremony, a German delegation provided candles, which were put on the ground to form the numbers 408.  After these had been lighted, several people, including Ted, read poetry.  "We read while the candles burned down," he said.  "Those were beautiful moments."    Saturday, January 25, 2003 Ted reported that tension seems to be mounting, in advance of Monday's report by Hans Blix to the UN and Tuesday's "State of the Union" address.  People are not only concerned about imminent military attacks but also about the possibility of civil war in Iraq, should the Americans try to construct a new regime. Tomorrow, the Peace Team may vigil at the French and German embassies to show gratitude for their stand against a U.S. invasion of Iraq. In response to Ted's messages from Iraq, Poet Fred Marchant has written and agreed to share the following: Imminent even the heavy machinery seems tentative, as if the engines would like to quit, as if the road itself was glass, as if iron or ice or anything solid we touch wants only to fall apart, give way in relief the jets cut across the morning nothing seems to stop them, says the pessimist but sometimes I think the cold deepens forever and more, and like us even bombers will be grounded and all the good pilots will stay inside go nowhere all day, speak with no one they do not love --Fred Marchant (1/23/03)   Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2003 "Everything feels urgent," Ted says.  "There is so much tension now.  People are on edge."  Arguments seem to erupt everywhere.  "People are afraid that [their lives and their land] will be smashed."  And yet, a relational warmth and hospitality persist despite the sense of human vulnerability. Ted continued to speak about the underemployment.  "People have turned their cars into taxis.  I met a civil engineer who has three menial jobs.  Teachers have to moonlight, because they are only paid $5 a month.  A chemist has a support job here at the hotel," he said. Ted has had brief meetings with Charlie Clemens and Dennis Halliday.  Charlie is a Vietnam Vet who became a medical doctor and traveled with the FMLN in El Salvador in the early 1980's in order to serve their medical needs.  Dennis is a former UN Oil for Peace worker, an Irishman now living in New York, whose specialty is the study of weapons using depleted uranium. In conclusion Ted commented, "It should be obvious that the Iraqis are real people.  You would never want to bomb them.  It's crazy.  Aside from the danger of being here now, I wish everyone could come here." Ted expects to return San Francisco on Feb. 8. SOAWW: Baghdad News from Ted Sexhauer (#5) Prepared by Clare Morris on the basis of phone conversations February 4, 2003 The President's State of the Union address evoked new fear among the Iraqi people, as well as peace team members.   Ted says that the working people are defiant.  "They will rise up.  It's a matter of sovereignty.  They don't want the U.S. to come in and take out Saddam."  The Iraqis know there will be many more immediate casualties than in the Gulf War.  They are aware of the kind of "carpet bombing" that has been publicly discussed by the U.S.  They understand what the word, Dresden, means. "It's wearing.  It's unreal," Ted said.  "The peace movement must do all it can.  We need to lean on every member of the government, letting them know they won't be reelected if they support this war.   Everyone in Baghdad seems to be convinced that war is imminent.  It's our last chance to stop it."    February 5, 2003 A group of women from the U.S. arrived in Iraq today, called Code Pink.  (They are also called the Ladies in Pink.)  Their name is an echo of our government's color-coded alerts, it seems.  Although they comprise a separately operating group, they have close ties with Voices in the Wilderness, and collaborate with Voices peace teams. For example, yesterday, Code Pink women (including Medea Benjamin) and the Voices people went to an Iraqi oil refinery, where they gave blood at a Red Crescent blood donation tent.  They were assured their blood would be given to the Iraqi people. Voices and peace team members also went together to the American Office of Interest, located in the Polish Embassy in Baghdad.  (The U.S. has no embassy in Iraq.)  There they held gas tank nozzles and signs, reading, "We've found the smoking gun.  No blood for oil!" Ted visited the Saddam Center for the Arts in Baghdad.  It features 19th and 20th century paintings by Iraqi professionals and amateurs.  He liked the effect of showing work from artists of all levels. Now he is looking toward last farewells and packing.  In speaking of suitcases and such, Ted noted that the people in Baghdad can be trusted not to bother your bags and bundles, if you need to put them down somewhere for a while.  "They're trustworthy," he said.  His final reflection included these words:  "The idea of bombing this place...  The people are suffering through 'Will they [the U.S.] do this or not?'  Americans can really learn something from these people about behaving in a civilized way."   February 6, 2003 From Ted... Dear friends, Here's a little tune for y'all.  I'll be back February 8.  I fly from here to Amman on Friday 2/7, and then the whole darn 18 hour flight to SFO in one day (minus 11 time zones).  It's a simple tune, really.  We can do it.  (I don't know why she called it "talking"--the tune is great.) peace be with you   -t- __________________ Talking Iraq Blues 2002    Theresa Kubasak   We’re going to the Fertile Crescent The cradle of civilization The land between two rivers We’re going to Mesopotamia 1. Law of Hammurabi The wheel of the Assyrians Irrigation and the Sumerians The Gardens of the Babylonians 2. Architecture and geometry Mathematics and libraries The vaulted arch and cuneiform Gilgamesh and epic poetry 3. The land of the Prophet Jonah Abraham and Sarah Ezechial and Daniel The people of the Holy Book 4. House of Wisdom, universities Translations and calligraphy Three religions live in harmony And a shining city named for peace 5. Land of Depleted Uranium Congenital malformations Children dying of leukemia Isolated, no economy Water sickness and the stolen air Endless sanctions, how they grind and tear Mass destruction’s what we’ve got here For a dozen years the world’s not cared. 6. And we want to take you with us As we stand in solidarity We’re Iraqis and Americans*        /*alt: Internationals And we’ll work to stop this war Chorus x 3 Last line:    We’re going to Iraq