With the help of fellow DUers and other anti war people, I made a cross that carried twelve pictures of injured and deceased Iraqi children. ... six on each side. Hear are the sites that were recommended to me that have pictures of people injured, tortured and/or killed in the war. Some of them are very graphic. I chose not to use the most shocking ones given the fact that children would be present and also knowing that being too shocking can make people dissociate instead of learn anything. I will say moe below about the impact, which was profound, but first let me give you the links to the photos:
Pictures of Children:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x672390Pictures from Dhar Jamail:
http://209.97.202.24/galleryPictures from Abu Ghraib:
http://www.salon.com/news/abu_ghraib/2006/03/14/introductionhttp://rawstory.com/news/2005/Australian_TV_station_releases_new_Abu_0215.htmlPictures of the coffins of US troops:
http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/coffin_photos/doverVery Graphic pictures of the dead:
http://www.awitness.org/journal/real_iraq_war.htmlFour galleries of Iraq War pictures:
Gallery One:
http://www.krysstal.com/democracy_iraq_war01.htmlThe other galleries can be accessed from the bottom of Gallery One
Very graphic pictures of victims of white phosphorus:
http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=Iraq+phosphorusImages from the war zone - mostly children:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x686999If you have any other links to pictures from Iraq, please post them below or PM me with the links.
THE RALLY AND MARCH:
Even before I get to the rally, I knew that the pictures were going to have the impact that I had hoped for. I took the bus over to the rally, and he even there, people were commenting on how important it was for us to see the real impact of this war. Once I got to the rally, people kept coming up to me to say thank you, God bless you, and ask me where I got the pictures. I told them they could check mom cat's Journal at DU
and that the pictures had been a collaborative effort. One person even ask me if I could bring the cross with the children's pictures to his church next week when they will be showing the film Beyond Treason, a political documentary about the use of depleted uranium in Iraq. I can't tell you how many times the cross with the children's pictures was photographed and videotaped, I completely lost count. I gave several interviews, one was to New England cable news, and also to the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald and several independent media producers, one of whom said he would me the footage. As soon as I get that I will post it.
During the rally, one if the speakers pointed at the cross and said "Look at that! It's about the children! Look at the children! Look at them! This is why we must stop the war!" Needless to say, everybody looked, and me were filled with deep compassion. As I was leaving the rally, I came to a man in his wife who were holding up a framed picture. It was an enlargement of one of the pictures that I had on my cross. We were all too choked up to even try to talk, but hugged each other like old friends.
After we had marched for a little while, my old legs got a bit tired, so I thumbed a ride on the sound truck. Besides sparring my legs, the pickup helped to make the cross with the children's pictures even more visible. So many people are giving a thumbs up, flashing a peace sign, nodding their heads, or just looking with sincere compassion. I felt as if at least some of the children's pain was being witnessed.
The only negative feedback we've received was from a very small group of hecklers by the State House. As we turned the corner, I moved over to the side of the truck where they were. As our sound truck was approaching, they had been screaming out: "Shame! Shame! Shame!". I intentionally held the cross in a way that they would be most likely to see it and stared at them. It actually silenced them, at least for the period of time when the truck was passing by.
Today demonstrated what I had expected, that the pictures of the children who have been harmed by this war can make a powerful statement. The resistance to the war in Vietnam increased after the photo of that poor napalmed girl running in Vietnam. The Iraqi children have a story to tell to, if we will only take their story to the people.
I wanted to give special thanks to everybody who collaborated on this project by supplying links to pictures. It was the collective effort that brought all of this together so the children could tell their stories.:hug: