A friend in deed.
Eyewitness to Occupation: AFSC Members Tell of Ten Months Living in Baghdad
PHILADELPHIA, PA - March 1 - Since May 2003, Rick McDowell and Mary Trotochaud, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Iraq Country Representatives, have lived in a neighborhood of Baghdad. They have witnessed nights of terror; days of profound sorrow, hope, and anger. They have seen inspiring grassroots efforts to rebuild an Iraq struggling to come to terms with its past and the present reality of occupation.
Sharing their insights and the voices of Iraqi friends and colleagues, they will speak to the human cost of war and occupation in a nationwide speaking tour, Eyewitness to Occupation, March 1-20, 2004. The tour includes San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco, California; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Portland, Oregon; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C.; and New York City, New York.
Living under occupation is both a witness and an opportunity to accompany families surviving in difficult and trying times — an occasion to listen and convey their experience to the outside world. Based on the representatives’ insights, AFSC calls for an end to the U.S.-UK occupation and the establishment of Iraqi self-government.
With over a hundred thousand American troops in Iraq, they believe it is “critical for Iraqis to observe Americans without guns.” Rick and Mary have the chance to listen to their neighbors’ hopes and dreams while experiencing some of their frustrations. They are peacemakers, building bridges. As outsiders on the inside of occupation, they provide a channel for understanding and cooperation, reporting their stories to a wide audience at www.afsc.org/human-face.
Recent US History With Iraq
U.S. History with Iraq is defined by war, economic sanctions and occupation. These actions drained the energy of the United Nations, frightened neighboring countries, and prevented international institutions the opportunity to resolve conflict through peaceful means including weapons inspections and diplomacy.
Iraqis suffered for more than two decades under Saddam Hussein and the Ba’ath Party. The thirteen years of UN-imposed economic sanctions caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, destroyed the economy and infrastructure, and dangerously isolated Iraq from the world community. A legacy of sanctions is a generation of children denied an education, robbing them of an opportunity for a richer life, a legacy which will challenge Iraq and the world for years to come.
The Impact of War and Occupation
Iraqis struggle with new violence and a lack of security unheard of in recent years. Electricity functions sporadically while 50 to 70 percent of the workforce is unemployed. An estimated 9,000 to 15,000 people are in prison, many without charge, while family members search to find them and wives are left to provide for their families.
These are the stories of struggle and forbearance that Rick and Mary will bring to the United States in March, on behalf of the Iraqi people. AFSC works internationally for social and economic justice—putting the principles of Quaker belief into action. The Service Committee has programs in the United States, Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, focusing on economic justice, peace-building and demilitarization, social justice, and youth. Founded by Quakers in 1917 to provide conscientious objectors with an opportunity to aid civilian war victims, AFSC was co-recipient with British Friends Service Council of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947 on behalf of Quakers worldwide.
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