The daily struggle of Iraq's widows of war

[slipslidingaway]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/09/us-iraq-widows-idUSTRE7A841T20111109

"Halima Dakhil lost her husband in the sectarian slaughter that engulfed Iraq after the U.S. invasion in 2003 and now spends her days tearful and scared, knowing her $250 monthly wage won't pay the rent and feed five children.

One of an estimated 2 million women who are primary breadwinners in Iraq, Dakhil is but one face of the humanitarian crisis left behind as U.S. forces withdraw from Iraq nearly nine years after toppling dictator Saddam Hussein.

...As Iraq emerges from nearly nine years of what many here think of as an occupation by U.S. forces, and the decades of Saddam's reign before, it faces an uphill battle to help the poor, the wounded, the widowed and others scarred by war.

[tuckessee]

1. Those people don't count.

They remind us of unpleasant things we wish to forget. So America, including DU, will ignore them.

[slipslidingaway]

4. Pretty much, we're moving forward, but we really need to glance in the...

rearview window.

Thanks for noticing :)

[sad sally]

12. It used to be that lessons learned were gained by looking closely at history.

But you're right in that 'moving forward' is what our government wants us to do - to never look back, as if doing so might come back to haunt them when they're "history."
#####

Reports on displaced paint grim picture of poverty and status
Recent reports on Iraqis displaced by war show a chronic disaster. In a Brookings-LSE account, for example, scholar Elizabeth Ferris writes: "The governments of the region have generally allowed them to remain but haven’t recognized them as refugees nor given them formal residency rights. Not yet persuaded that it’s safe to return to their country, they live in limbo." UNHCR, the UN agency for refugees, noted in a July report that "an estimated 1.3 million IDPs are in Iraq. 467,565 IDPs and destitute persons reside in 382 settlements countrywide. The conditions in the settlements are extremely poor." Only one in eight of Iraqi displaced persons has returned to their homes since the violence subsided in 2008, says the agency. One reason for the trickle of returnees may be the Iraqi economy: Another U.N. agency says that more than half of all Iraqis live in “slum conditions,” compared with 17 percent in 2000. (Sept. 30)

Human trafficking reports fault Iraqi state
Among the consequences of war is the corrosion of social and institutional barriers to crime, and none is sadder than the rise of human trafficking. Iraq is apparently undergoing a spell of increasing trafficking, or at least more noticeable violations of sexual and labor trafficking. A few weeks ago, the State Department issued its annual assessment of human trafficking worlwide, and Iraq was criticized for nearly non-existent enforcement of laws relating to both forced prostitution and involuntary labor servitude. Journalists reports confirm that the problems are acute and possibly growing. "Violence against women appears to be increasing, though it is difficult to be sure," says an assessment in Middle East Report. "Though Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and MADRE have published field reports, this violence remains one of the least studied aspects of post-invasion Iraq." The link to poverty among women--some 75 percent say they have no propsects for jobs or very few prospects--may explain a rising incidence of sexual trafficking, prostitution, and child abuse. (August 29)

http://mit.edu/humancostiraq/?du

[slipslidingaway]

13. Exactly ...

" ... to never look back, as if doing so might come back to haunt them when they're "history."

Thanks for that link and the refugees, internally displaced, wounded, increased prostitution and trafficking are all part of what we left behind.

[cliffordu]

18. What have YOU done for them??

[indepat]

14. The American psyche is geared to ignore/not care about the incalculable

collateral damage it inflicts upon others which, in no small measure, surely has to define us as a society and people, for good or bad. :patriot:

[cliffordu]

17. So:

What the FUCK are YOU doing for them?

Please. Let's have some documentation, too.


Me thinks y'all protest too much....

[akbacchus_BC]

2. Thank you for this thread and I agree with you. I too wonder how many

people have any idea how the Iraqi people are trying to cope. I met a girl from Iraq who got a prize from my organisation for studying under difficult circumstances, our forum was in Jamaica. I had to organise her travel and thank goodness, Jamaica did not require a visa from her. She was a joy to meet and the only thing she wore was a head scarf, otherwise she was dressed in jeans just like the rest of us.

I could not understand the Bush invasion of Iraq and still the shit continues in other Arab countries. When will this fuckery end?

[slipslidingaway]

5. And thanks for your comment, how can some people wonder why others ...

have a negative view of US policies. Maybe it will end when we're out of money.

:shrug:

[slay]

3. Like we give a shit

i mean us, the USA, the county - not DU or people in general. Our country does not care - we went to WAR under false pretenses and war criminals Bush and Friends got away with it cause even the elected Dems don't care. pretty fucked up. :(

*on edit: personally i think this is terrible and that something should be done - take haliburton, kbr, blackwater, etc to court, bankrupt them, and take their money to rebuild the place as best we can. it's a horrible horrible thing we did over there - most people don't even want to think about it. :(

[slipslidingaway]

9. You're right, we do not care. And the millions of orphans :(( while the war ...

criminals sit in their comfy environments knowing they will not be held accountable.

Corporations will not be held accountable, but they do have new business opportunities.

http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2011/06/11/clinton-urges-u-s-companies-to-invest-in-iraq

11 June 2011

"Iraq is open for business, and American companies should make an effort to invest there, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (pictured) has said, according to a report from CNN.

The Secretary was addressing the Business Forum Promoting Commercial Opportunities in Iraq, which included executives from companies as far-ranging as Occidental Petroleum, JP Morgan Chase, General Electric, Microsoft and Lockheed Martin in a round-table discussion aimed at getting companies focused on commercial opportunities in Iraq despite its current “tough environment.”

Secretary Clinton said, “President Obama and I and our government believe strongly that expanding economic opportunity is as essential as building democratic institutions. We think they go hand in hand. And in particular, it’s very important for people going through the changes that are sweeping the region and that Iraq has, in many ways, been a leader in demonstrating, to believe and to see that democracy delivers: Is your life better or not? Do your children have a better opportunity or not? ..."

[slay]

15. The whole thing sickens me

if i were younger i would try and join the peace corp and go to iraq and help these women. i can't believe we've wasted a decade there and in afghanistan as the USA goes to hell. we needed that money - and the Iraqi widows needed their husbands! and the fact that the Dems have helped cover it up - having no intention of helping - i dunno how much longer i can support the Dems if something big doesn't change.

[slipslidingaway]

16. Yes, sickens me as well and many people probably do not think...

about the destruction we left behind, both in Iraq and here at home.

The Dems must cover it up, too many were complicit, and yes that makes it hard to support them. Hoping the OWS protests will wake up a few more people!

:)

[SammyWinstonJack]

6. USA! USA! USA!

:puke: SHAME!

[slipslidingaway]

10. Yes :( nt

[Solly Mack]

7. K&R

[slipslidingaway]

11. Thanks n/t

[Solly Mack]

8. oopsies