Conditions in Iraq exposed in lecture

By Marta Brill

Daily Staff Reporter

Toting $2 million worth of medicine, food and school supplies, Rackham student Andrew Freeman and local minister Thom Saffold recently traveled to Iraq with a group of more than 50 others to provide relief for its citizens.

Last night they shared movies and slides of their experiences with about 30 students and faculty members in the Michigan League.

The group wanted to bring supplies to Iraqi citizens to compensate for the United Nations sanctions that limit medicines, food and supplies considered to be potential components for chemical weapons.

"It's hard to go to Iraq and not come away with the feeling that lifting the sanctions is the most important thing to do right now," Freeman said.

Although Freeman said the U.N.'s Oil for Food program permitting the exchange of Iraq's oil for money to buy food and medicine was designed to provide relief for Iraqis, he said, less than half of the money from the Oil for Food program actually is arriving in Iraq to be distributed.

"Even if they were allowed full access to that money, that's $23 per Iraqi citizen per month," Freeman said. This $23 per month must cover food, medicine and rebuilding infrastructure destroyed in the Persian Gulf War, he said.

"How evil can the Iraqi people be that they must be punished so hard?" Freeman asked.

While in Iraq, Freeman said he visited a water treatment plant. He said bombing during the Gulf War broke pipes in the plant and the sanctions prevented them from ordering new pipes. Epoxy and waterproofing materials needed to fix the plant's leaky walls were also banned, Freeman said.

Since chlorine is also blocked due to its potential to be used as a chemical weapon, disease caused by unsafe drinking water has become a significant problem, Freeman said.

Rackham student Tara Javidi said the experiences Freeman shared didn't surprise her because she has been involved in these issues for two years.

She said it is important to educate people about the sanctions because "most Americans are not aware of the affect of the foreign policy. I don't think any American, knowing the truth, would accept it."

Saffold said more action is needed to put an end to the sanctions.

"We're not really winning the fight to end the sanctions," Saffold said, adding that recent arrests of sanction protesters on the steps of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. in New York were a good sign. He suggested putting pressure on defense contractors at all levels to realize the destruction caused by the weapons they manufacture.

DAVID ROCHKIND/Daily

Rackham student Andrew Freeman shows a video he taped while on a trip to Iraq during which he distributed food and educational supplies.