GZ, does twelve years seem about right to you?
‘I Saw the Suffering’
A retired teacher who served as a human shield during the war recounts her experience in Iraq and braces herself for the fines and jail time she faces now that she is back
By Lynn Waddell
NEWSWEEK WEB EXCLUSIVE
msnbc.com
Aug. 27 — Faith Fippinger, a 62-year-old retired teacher of the blind, was one of more than 200 international human shields who hunkered down in Iraq early this year in hopes of discouraging a U.S. attack.
FOR FIPPINGER, it was the latest in a long series of global-idealist adventures. She’s lived in Alaska with Eskimos, with the Aborigines in Australia and taught in Fiji and Japan. But it may be the first time her travels land her in jail. While more than half the human shields left Iraq before the war started, Fippinger was one of 10 who stayed into May, long after the U.S. bombing strikes began—and even past the official end of the conflict. Now back in the United States, she faces a $10,000 fine and jail time for violating a U.S. ban on travel and trade to Iraq. NEWSWEEK’s Lynn Waddell caught up with her with her in Sarasota, Fla., where Fippinger wept as she spoke about her experience and plans to defend it. Excerpts:
NEWSWEEK: Why—and how—did you become a human shield?
Faith Fippinger: On March 25, 2002, I left the U.S. on a personal pilgrimage to visit sacred Buddhist sites in Tibet, Nepal and India. For six months I traveled all over this area. By the time I reached India I began to hear about the “shock and awe” war plan, and I decided it was time to return to the United States to join all the other patriotic citizens here in protest of the war. While in India I heard about the human shields. I decided I’d be more effective in stopping the war by going to Iraq. I traveled to Amman, Jordan, on Feb. 15, the same day millions of people from around the world protested the war. In Amman, I met up with 25 to 30 human shields from around the world. We obtained a group visa, rented a bus and arrived in Baghdad on Feb. 20.
Have you been involved in other protests?
Perhaps, not quite to this extent, but I’ve always felt there was an alternative to war. During other conflicts, I’ve made telephone calls and written to my congressmen and went to demonstrations.
After you returned, you were threatened with jail time and fines for your actions in Iraq.
When I returned on May 4, [I received] an initial letter that said I would be penalized by up to 12 years in prison and a $1 million fine. In my response I said, “If it comes to fines or imprisonment please be aware that I will not contribute money to the U.S. government to continue to build up weapons of mass destruction. Perhaps consider the alternative.”
Have you heard from the government again?
Just recently I received a telephone call from the Treasury Department asking if I would be agreeable to a quick settlement. They had read my reply but they felt that I must pay $10,000. [The Treasury official] said if I didn’t agree with that penalty, notice would be sent soon. If I chose to ignore that notice, she said they would garnish my retirement and Social Security. I asked twice if this would be instead of having a trial, and she said there would be no trial.
How do you plan to respond?
I and other shields are seeking legal advice. I don’t want to go to prison, but I do understand that is what I face for what I have done.
Why would a retired woman leave her home in sunny Florida to sleep on a cot in a desert halfway around the world where there was an impending war? Couldn’t you have protested the war from America?
It was a humanitarian reason: to serve justice, help the people and instill good will. I follow Gandhi’s principle to nonviolent resistance. I wanted to stand beside and protect those who had already suffered. They were caught between their domestic tyrant and United States’ ambitions. I went in hopes of stopping what I perceive as an illegal and unnecessary war.
What happened once you reached Baghdad?
The human-shield protesters met and went over the places that the [United Nations] had designated as humanitarian sites. All [of them] had been totally destroyed during the gulf war. They were places like water-treatment plants, food silos, communications and power plants and oil refineries.
Other human shields, including leader Ken O’Keefe, have been quoted saying that the Iraqi government controlled where human shields were placed. Did the Iraqi government tell you to go to the oil refinery or suggest it?
I haven’t read Ken’s comments, but we did choose all of our own sites. I choose to go to Doura.
Why did you choose to go there?
Keeping day-to-day life going was vital. The refineries are an important part of that. I personally chose Doura Oil Refinery not only because of that but it also had a community of 400 homes, a clinic, a mosque and a school.
What did you do there?
I had a little bit of exchange of English in the school, but I also taught them about my country. I think it’s important for all of the Iraqis to have some firsthand knowledge about our customs. This firsthand knowledge is a wonderful way to tear down stereotypes. I worked with the children in the nursery ages 6 months old and up. Each night when I went to sleep, I would think of these children.
Did you ever think that you might be aiding Saddam Hussein by being there?
I went with no intent of supporting Saddam Hussein. I went to protect innocent people fight an invasion of a foreign country. Both when with the children at school then later at the civilian hospital where I saw and held dying children, I saw the suffering and it made me cry. I cried for the U.S. soldiers who were put in a position of dying for a big lie. U.S. children suffer as well as Iraqi children. There are American parents who are suffering.
What happened when the bombing started, were you scared?
The first missile didn’t go over our house until 5:30 at night [on March 19]. I have never experienced that sound before. Knowing it was so close, my heart definitely pounded harder than it has before. More than feeling fear, I was overwhelmed by sadness that our government would do such a thing. I knew why I went to Iraq, and I was prepared to give my life if need be for those innocent civilians. When all labels and names are taken down, we are all just human beings.
Did you see Iraqis rejoice at Saddam’s fall from power?
Yes, people were relieved, but they were also concerned about what’s going on now. They worry if worse is coming. Their motto to America is: “Drink your oil, take your oil, bathe in oil, and get out.” I did not see people dancing through the streets.
How long were you at the refinery?
I was there through the bombing to when American tanks arrived to take possession of the refinery. Then I went to Medical City in Baghdad where I shared a small windowless room with another human shield. I basically have no medical training, but I knew that the hospitals would be overwhelmed.
How did people in the hospital respond to you when you told them you were American, and were you ever hesitant to tell them?
I always said I was American because I wanted the Iraqi people to see that our country has concerned caring people. Usually when I did say that I was from America, they would say, “Thank you for helping us. Why this war?” One time there was a man standing beside his dying wife. Six of their children had been killed in the bombings. With tears streaming down his face, he asked me where I was from. I said America, but it was very difficult to admit.
How long did you volunteer at the hospital, and what other experiences did you have there?
Actually I spent about a week, but to me it seemed like a lifetime. Many of the horrors [I saw] will stay with me the rest of my life. There was this beautiful, young pregnant woman whose right arm had been taken off and her left was badly damaged. They took her baby by Cesarean; fortunately she was almost full term. Then the mother in fact lost her left arm. When I would pass by her room, I could hear her crying. She would say, “I can’t hold my baby.”
Another Iraqi woman, Dena, went in for surgery on her leg. Bombing had destroyed her home and her whole block. They had to remove her entire left leg. After her surgery, she looked up at me and said, “And this is liberation?”
I saw doctors sobbing while they worked. One doctor would point bed to bed, telling the names of the children who had died there.
There were vans in back of the hospital for the dead bodies. Due to sanctions they had no air conditioning. I witnessed families who had sent their children to relatives thinking they would be safe, try to find their children’s bodies there.
Why did you return to America if you disagree with its actions and policy?
I have to admit thoughts [of relocating] did enter my mind. But part of my reason for going over there is because I love the country that I grew up in. I’m concerned with what our government is doing with our domestic as well as foreign policy. For that reason, I felt I needed to return to act.
Also, I was low on money. My family hadn’t heard from me in a long time. I felt perhaps it was time to tell my story of what was going on in Iraq. I had a feeling that some of the media were not totally reporting what was happening there. But I really didn’t want to leave.
Would you be a human shield again?
Yes, I would if we continue illegally attacking the world. It is my belief that a preemptive aggressive action would increase, not diminish the threat of terrorism. I believe to combat terrorism we cannot become a terrorist.
How has this experience affected you?
I’m able to see what’s important and what isn’t. When I see a beautiful young pregnant woman I can’t help but to think of the pregnant woman in Iraq. When I see a child, I think of all the innocent dead children that I saw in the hospital.
© 2003 Newsweek, Inc. |
