Hello friends, family and supporters of the Iraq Sanctions Challenge. We received a fax this afternoon from the delegation. They have kept very busy and made five stops today -- an Elementary school, a University, a water treatment plant and a sewage treatment plant. They also met with the Minister of Trade and the Deputy Prime minister.

At the elementary school, they saw students in class. The school was run down but the children were very nice and in good spirits. They chanted in Arabic in support of the Palestinians and against Zionism: “ Palestine is Arab Land, Down with  Zionism”.

The delegates met with the head of El Moustanserya University, which was founded 600 years ago.  The university offers different programs -- medical, law, engineering, etc -- and serves many thousands of students. They haven’t had new textbooks and equipment since the sanctions. They can’t buy any chemicals or biological materials to learn with. They still have free education. Many students have had to quit school to get jobs and help their family.  Our group had a good time talking with the students and report that it was “hard to leave”.

They visited the Al Wathba water treatment plant in Baghdad. They treat 35,000 cubic meter of water a day from the Tigris river,  meeting 35 % of Baghdad’s needs. Without full access to chlorine, the plant is unable to work at its full capacity, which would treat 70,000 cubic meters per day.

The sewage treatment plant at Rostamia in Baghdad is in similar state of disrepair. Only forty percent of the plant is working.  One plant worker has died and another has been hospitalized due to lack of protective equipment.  The delegates asked about the condition of the pipes and the response was “They’re terrible, don’t ask”.

They met with the Minister of Trade, Dr. Mohammed Mahdi Salih, who talked about food in Iraq after the sanctions.  After the sanctions of August 1990, all imported food was cancelled,  though they depended on that food for over 60 % of the national supply. After the Security Council Resolution 687, Iraq adopted an efficient rationing system that provided equal amounts of food to all people living in Iraq, including people of different religions and foreigners.

They met with Tariq Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, who declared  "We are determined to protect our sovereignty".

Quote of the day from Ramsey Clark: “ Whatever the Security Council does, the nations and the people of the world will see that sanctions do not continue”.

International Action Center
39 West 14th Street, Room 206
New York, NY 10011
email: iacenter@iacenter.org
web: http://www.iacenter.org
CHECK OUT SITE
http://www.mumia2000.org
phone: 212 633-6646
fax:   212 633-2889
*To make a tax-deductible donation,
go to  http://www.peoplesrightsfund.org