Iraq: on Widows (February 22, 2006)
According to locals, in Iraq, widows of all ages can be found everywhere. Most of them, who lost their husband during Saddam's regime, receive no pension from the State. As a result, their conditions have deteriorated since the recent conflict, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released last month, Authorities no longer guarantee the general security of women (among whom are 250,000 widows). That's why Al-Khuzai, who manages the New Iraq Association for Social Services, plans to start an organization to help women who suffered psychologically, socially and economically from Iraq's past.
Iraq: Thousands of Families Still Displaced After Flooding (February 21, 2006)
Nearly 6,000 families forced to leave their homes in the wake of heavy flooding in northern and southeastern Iraq earlier this month remain displaced, mostly due to the destruction of their houses. Nearly 150 houses in Missan governorate and 75 in Salahuddine and Diala governorates have been totally destroyed by the flooding. Vulnerable groups, and among them, the elderly, are at risk since the situation keeps them from their usual medical care and has lead to dehydration and gastrointestinal problems that may be life threatening for these vulnerable persons.
Iraq: UK in Iraq Radio Plea for Hostage (September 27, 2004) PIC
The fate of British hostage Kenneth Bigley, who was taken captive September 16 is still unknown. The 62-year-old engineer was kidnapped from his Baghdad home along with two Americans, who were later beheaded. The demand made by the Iraqi resistance is to release all the women held captive. The relatives of Bigley (including his 86 year-old mother) are making desperate attempts to rescue him, together with a Muslim Council of Britain delegation that arrived in Iraq to appeal to the kidnappers to free Bigley.
Iraq: Illegal Combatants, Kidnappers and Betrayal (September 24, 2004)
The carnage and destruction, theft of Iraq's resources that currently take place at all levels verifies the UN General Secretary, Kofi Annan's definition of the war in Iraq as illegal and a clear violation of the UN charter. The old Iraqi women who US soldiers steal from during the raids have the full right to call them 'illegal combatants' and demand responsibility for the criminal actions.
Iraq: Dozens Killed in Massive Baghdad Blast (September 14, 2004)
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has described the US-led invasion of Iraq as illegal and a violation of the UN Charter. Nevertheless Baghdad streets are still covered with blood of the civilians and the eyes of elders are never dry because of grief. The last huge explosion left 47 dead and 114 wounded at the crowded Baghdad market place. Iraqi analyst Dr Hani Ashur considers that nothing could be done in terms of peaceful resistance (which US forces always speak about) until a suitable environment is created for Iraqi political parties and individuals, religious scholars and tribal leaders to express their points of view.
Iraq: No Space for the Dead in Sadr City ( August 30, 2004)
74-year-old Bidu Abbass earns $140 per month running a hospital mortuary in Sadr City. Sadr City hospital became a field clinic for fighters and others wounded in clashes between US occupation forces and fighters loyal to Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr. The tired old man complains about the absence of the necessary conditions for the work and the lack of the space in the morgue.
Iraq: Residents of a Shattered City Begin to Pick Up Its Pieces (August 29, 2004)
After 23 days of unrelenting combat, fighting came to a halt in the Iraqi city of Ajaf. Together with Al-Sadr Brigade fighters, a lot of civilians were also killed. Those who were lucky enough to find themselves alive, started to identify the dead. The dead here are marked by slips of paper and one of them simply said: "old woman, medium height, black dress, dark skin." .
Iraq:
US
troops Trap Najaf Holy Shrine, Sistani Tells Iraqis to
March to Save the City (
August 25, 2004
)
Bakka Ibrahim is a 79 year-old Iraqi Shi'ite. His
weekly routine since he was a young boy has been his weekly visits to the
Imam Ali shrine for spiritual comfort. He didn't stop his regular visits
even when fierce fightings broke out around the golden shrine last week.
However, the situation has worsened even further since then because the
US
troops have trapped Najaf holy shrine and fierce
clashes with Shiite Muslim militiaman seem inevitable. Will Bakka ever be
able to continue with his routine in peaceful times?
Iraq: Iraqi 'Human Shields' Flock to Najaf (August 16, 2004)
The US military offensive against Shia leader Muqtada Al-Sadr in Najaf faces more opposition than expected and hoped for. Around 2,000 Iraqis, many of them aged and without prior military training, have taken AK-47 rifles in their hands and are ready to fight for Al-Sadr and against storming of shrine.
Iraq: Fighting Persists for 7th Day in Najaf (August 11, 2004)
Constant clashes between the Coalition forces and Iraqi fighters continue. The number of war casualties is going up day by day. An older Iraqi mother who has lost her son gestures in grief as she sits next to the lifeless body of her son killed in the crossfire during fighting between US forces and militants loyal to the Shiite Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in the eastern Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq. The opposing sides are killing civilians; health officials complain that ambulances can't reach the wounded, according to this Associated Press report.
Iraq: US Air Strikes Destroy Falluja Home (July 29, 2004)
Ongoing acts of hostility between the US-led forces and Iraqi fighters bring about deaths and devastation. Recurring air strikes of the US forces that reportedly target the "terrorist safe houses" actually kill vulnerable civilians, including children and elderly, and destroy their houses. Recently, US aircrafts dropped leaflets in Falluja, one of the Iraqi cities, warning its residents that they will lose $102 million in rebuilding funds if they do not halt attacks on US troops. But how can they?
Iraq: Mortar Attack in Central Baghdad Kills Iraqi (July 27, 2004)
The number of civilians killed by the Iraqi fighters increases day by day. There are always people who mourn them and can find no justification for human loss. An elderly Iraqi woman kneeling at the body of a man in a Baghdad street may not necessarily be his relative, but this old woman who has witnessed so many deaths still mourns for each innocent life taken away.
Iraq: Two Pakistanis, Iraqi Kidnapped (July 26, 2004)
Iraqi fighters have kidnapped nearly 70 people in their campaign to drive out coalition forces and put pressure on the victims' home countries to withdraw support for the war. The series of kidnapping have intensified even more after the coalition forces transferred power to the Iraqi interim government. Several days ago two Pakistanis and an Iraqi were taken as hostages. Zarina Naeem is a mother of one of the kidnapped Pakistanis -- Sajjad Naeem. There is nothing much the elderly mother from Kashmir can do to help her son but to pray and wait for him.
Elderly Iraqi Line up for New Passports (July 11, 2004)
Iraq: With the Occupation transferring some powers to the Iraqi's, a few public services emerge. This brief story shows an elderly man applying for a new passport in July.
Iraq: Kurds Anxious Over Iraq's Future (July 6, 2004)
The recent handover of "governing" power in Iraq made the Kurds residing in northern Iraq anxious about their future. The elderly retired teacher from Irbul mentions that their freedom and independence is crucial for the future generation of the Kurds.
Iraq: Documents Give Different Explanation for Inmate's Death (June 28, 2004)
An elderly Iraqi man accused of planning bomb attacks against the US died at Abu Ghbaib prison. The official medical record reads that the death was caused by instant cardiac attack. The witnesses, however, give a different picture.
Iraq: Iraqi Prime Minister Defends U.S. Strike, (June 21, 2004)
The US strike on a residential house killed 22 people, mostly elderly. Before this deadly attack, the US authorities believed that the house belonged the militants, not to peaceful residents.
Iraq: Iraqi Instability Threatens Education System (June 6, 2004)
Every day an elderly woman swaps her mop for an AK-47 rifle and stands guard outside a primary school in central Baghdad.
Iraq: "Hero" GIs Abuse Elderly Iraqi Woman (May 7, 2004)
American soldiers severely abused an elderly Iraqi woman, riding her like a donkey. They claimed she had links to a former member of Saddam Hussein's regime.
Iraq: Eyewitness: On the Ground in Falluja (April 29, 2004)
The habitants of Falluja, in Iraq, are the first victims of the fight between US troops and insurgents. The population is frightened and most of the citizens stay in their homes, since they worry about snipers from both camps. According to Sabah Alani, a retired doctor, the population is running out of food, and doesn't receive enough water to survive. This terrible situation and the pressure it puts upon the population may increase the fear and the violence.
Iraq: Eyewitness Report from Falluja (April 13, 2004)
This article straight from the field in Iraq details the crimes committed by both the US army and the Mujahedin against innocent men, women, children and old people. In the clinic of
Falluja, the reporter Jo Wilding saw an old woman lying down in a room with an abdominal bullet wound stitched up. She was still holding in her hand the white flag she waved at US snipers as she was leaving her home, with her grandchildren, to go to Baghdad.
US forces accused of Iraq 'massacre' (December 3,
2003)
A fierce gunfight in Samarra spurred numerous conflicting reports about how many
people were killed and who they were. But contrary to claims by the U.S. that most of the dead were insurgents, Iraqi witnesses
consistently report that a 73-year-old Iranian, who had been on pilgrimage
to a Samarran shrine, was among the bystanders shot dead in the battle.
Iraqi fears, U.S. ways trap village (October 16, 2003)
As one village in Iraq attempts to rebuild, a council meeting reveals the numerous difficulties and disagreements that lie ahead. The tribal elders of Salman Pak village reveal their anger with American officials who haven't consulted them in reconstruction plans, and their frustration at not being respected or recognized for the know-how they could contribute to the rebuilding process.
Older persons victimized by occupation forces (October 16, 2003)
A Swedish journalist witnesses how in their search for guerrilla
attackers, US occupation forces beat an elderly religious man in a
village on the outskirts of Baiji, north of Baghdad. Another elderly man
still awaits return of money and gold confiscated by the troops because
his son was suspected of being a fedayeen.
American, British Troops Open Fire on Iraqi Rioters (October 5, 2003)
Accounts of the Baghdad riot which ended with U.S. soldiers firing into a crowd vary widely according to various sources. According to Iraqi witnesses, the crowd began rioting when American troops beat an elderly man walking near a line of people waiting for unemployment payments.
The First Days of War: A Newtown Soldier's Iraq Journal (October 3, 2003)
In this personal journal, one American soldier describes, among other things, an elderly couple who were injured by American artillery. "This couple," Sgt. Stephen A. Belair explains, "thought we were targeting their house, so they ran into the woods. The man had shrapnel wounds all over his left side from head to foot. His wife had some in the shoulder, but she was okay. As we were treating him, I could hear random fire that steadily got closer."
Another Day in the Bloody Death of Iraq (September 21, 2003)
In the post-war chaos, the elderly are very often among the lost, untraceable, injured, and killed. This feature provides an overall view, as well as individual stories, of the violence and unaccountability that plagues Baghdad several months after the war. Among the tragedies described in this article are the stories of an elderly man coping with the murders of his only two sons, and another family trying to locate their missing 71-year old relative who disappeared a week earlier.
War in Iraq leaves
families bereft
(July 24, 2003)
Bombings in the southern city
of Basra took the lives of many innocent civilians, ripping families
apart. A 72 year-old man saw his son, daughter, and nine other family
members perish when a rocket hit his home, leaving him with only
"his dreams" as solace.
"Dreaming
of return helps me survive," say Baghdad's evicted Palestinians
(June 25, 2003)
After the fall of Saddam's regime, hundreds of
Palestinian refugees in Iraq were forcibly evicted from their homes.
Elderly Palestinians who had been refugees all their lives now find
themselves living in makeshift tents.
UNHCR made some provisions to help older refugees survive the heat and
poor conditions.
Do You Get It, Yet? (May 7, 2003)
An elderly bus driver was injured when his convoy of mostly women and children was fired upon by a U.S. tank at a military checkpoint. 27 of the 31 passengers died
as the driver drove the bus to a hospital after the attack. Twelve "misunderstandings" like this one resulted in the deaths of over 90 other older persons and civilians attempting to travel to safety during a 10-day period in the Besuniya area alone.
Good Kills (April 20, 2003)
In this account, a reporter describes the elderly and civilian deaths caused by the third battalion, Fourth Marines' indiscriminate killing as they crossed the Diyala river to enter Baghdad. Among the victims was an old man, killed simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Refugees Are Iraq's Forgotten People (April 20, 2003)
The elderly make up a large part of the Palestinian refugee population that was forced to live in a tent camp in central Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. For more than two months, as the refugees suffered intolerable living conditions, the U.S.-led Coalition's Provisional Authority did not even know they were there. The invisibility of these refugees highlights the lack of a clear vision or strategy in Iraq, and consequently the hardships and unmet needs faced by many other elderly and displaced.
Enduring Storm Revisited (March 31, 2003)
A reporter tells the story of Amal, an elderly Iraqi woman who has been left homeless and angry after her doors were blown out, windows shattered, and finally her whole house destroyed during the ongoing bombing in Baghdad. The article also features two elderly sisters furious about the suffering they have endured.
