Uradhi

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."
- Anne Frrank

Uradhi is a Swahili word that means sanction (noun). Sanctions has been a topic that has been on my mind and many others since the US coerced the United States to put economic sanctions on Iraq in 1990. The sanctions that were placed on Iraq and the war that followed left a "bad taste in my mouth." This is because the sanctions and the war were unjustified; also many of the Bush administration's arguments for justifying their actionS were outright "lies."

It wasn't until recently that I began to uncover some of the "hidden truths" that could have prevented "Desert Storm" and kept the sanctions from destroying the civilians of Iraq, their culture, and environment. By 1999/2000, the sanctions had already killed 1, 000, 000 (one million) people and the recent statistics have confirmed 1.5 million dead, with approximately 500, 000 being children! This is sad, the US says that they want to see justice done and want to help the people of Iraq, but the U.S. has only brought death and destruction. The hypocrisy of this nation needs to be brought forth to the world and the US "corporament" has to take responsibility for the deaths they have caused and the lies that they have told and continue to tell.

Read the following excerpt from the "Introduction: Break the Silence," by Sara Flounders:

Gathering and sifting through the material included in this book, revived the turmoil of my impressions of Iraq when, in own February 1994, I saw the wrought by war and damage sanctions. Three years earlier, bombs with a total explosive equal to seven Hiroshima nuclear blasts had crumpled the sewage lines, water pipes and electrical grid. I saw how a modern vulnerable industrializing society is built on a fragile, network. Vast modern housing developments with boulevards, built so proudly on had the outskirts of Baghdad, become fetid swamps, lacking pumps or sewage lines for drainage. Chlorine to purify water and pesticides for the swarms of mosquitoes and flies are both banned under UN sanctions.

These sights all came back to me as I went over the contributions to this book from doctors, journalists, photographers and film makers. They have recorded vivid personal impressions of a policy that invades every crevice of Iraqi society. The book uses many different resources to explain the catastrophe in Iraq today. Cold hard statistics about crop output, caloric intake, water purification, and infant mortality prove the crime. Photos make the victims' faces unforgettable. Impassioned letters and testimony to the United Nations Security Council show the anger against the criminals. Documents and resolutions of international conferences show how opposition is mounting.

The history of sanctions is not new at all, it has been used between warring countries, or between "super powers" and the countries they wish to bully or oppress since 432 B.C. However, one thing that seems to stay true is that they don't work! There were comments made by Dennis Halliday, who after a 13-month stint in Iraq had the following to say, "It doesn't impact on governance effectively and instead it damages the innocent people of the country," he told Reuters news agency. "It probably strengthens the leadership and further weakens the people of the country." For the complete story, click here.

There has to be something done to stop this genocide that is happening NOW to the people of Iraq. There are many groups, organizations, parties, and countries who want to see the US/UN sanctions on Iraq dissolved, can they all be wrong? If not, then, why hasn't our government decided to stop the sanctions? What are they waiting for?

If you don't want to stop the sanctions because of humanitarian reasons, then how do you feel about the economic losses ( Sanctions on Iraq Cause 200 Billion Dollars in Losses Worldwide) the world has suffered from because of not having an opportunity to trade with Iraq? Or the devastating impact that the sanctions on the environment, social, medical/health of Iraq?

We must stop the sanctions before more innocent people die; what will happen if some of the children are able to live pass the age of 5, and they see what has happened to their country, families, and communities because of the US (and British) government? Does the hate and anger many countries and people have for the United States stem from that the US "corporament" (and citizens traveling abroad) treat them?