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Departments War Waiting is the hardest part What we are currently experiencing here in Iraq is nothing new. Iraqis civilians are kidnapped often. Almost every Iraqi knows someone who has been kidnapped. The day before the abduction of our colleagues, Jim, Harmeet, Norman and I visited a Chaldean church where we met a 17 year old who was kidnapped a year ago. His kidnappers held him for several weeks. They didn't know him; they only wanted money from his family. He told us they treated him well. Recently, I was in a police station. While I sat there, a man walked in and asked how many kidnappings the police were familiar with in 2005. "I couldn't tell you the real number," the police officer said. "There are too many. It is too high." After some questions and guess work the officer behind the desk concluded he was familiar with around three hundred cases. And these are just the ones that people reported to the police in his designated area of Baghdad. Many families do not say anything when one of their kin is abducted. They choose to deal with it as quickly and quietly as they can. How often do those of us outside of Iraq hear about kidnapped Iraqis? Very rarely. In the news we hear about the bombs and ambushes. We hear about the assassinations of political and religious leaders and the fighting in Anbar province, but we rarely hear anything about the many Iraqis held hostage. And what about the innocent Iraqis arrested in sweeps by Multinational Forces or Iraqi Security Forces? If they are innocent yet still have to sit in jail, isn't that similar to a kidnapping? Just because governments do it with a "legal" force while others do it as criminals, doesn't change the circumstance for the people that are taken. We have witnesses that prisoners in the custody of the Multinational Forces and Iraqi security forces can be tortured and killed. How is that different than what criminal kidnappers are capable of doing? In the past few weeks we have taken a lot of cues from our Iraqi friends. They are more experienced, and we are in Iraq. Our Iraqi friends have told us how to word letters or statements, how to talk to the local press and how to find the ear of people of influence. If we in CPT have received a lot of press over our kidnapped colleagues, it is only because we are foreigners. It is disturbing that CPT's personal tragedy outshines the more frequent abductions of Iraqi civilians but in the end, it doesn't matter if you are Iraqi or a foreigner, the waiting is still the hardest part. -- Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical violence-reduction program with roots in the historic peace churches. Teams of trained peace workers live in areas of lethal conflict around the world. CPT has been present in Iraq since October, 2002. To learn more about CPT, please visit http://www.cpt.org. Photos of our projects may be viewed at http://www.cpt.org/gallery Donate to CPT Iraq and our other CPT projects on-line with your credit card! Go to http://cpt.org/donate.php and click the DONATE button to make a contribution through Network for Good, a secure way to help support CPT. |
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White phosphorous: the U.S. used it; the U.S. says it's illegal Behind the steel curtain: the real face of the occupation Waiting is the hardest part Scotland: stop the war! Not even to save our lives Inconvenient journalists How pre-war Iraq intel was cooked Chalabi pushes Iran card in last ditch self-promotion offensive Staying a wrong course US war photos Banging at the gates of empire -- Washington, DC; September 24-26 What Else Shall We Do? Will we use the power we have on September 24? The war in Iraq is increasingly unpopular and must end -- An interview with Dennis Kucinich What eating Cindy Sheehan? Waiting for the outside world Families ask that fallen soldiers be honored Sunday by a tolling of bells Making the Iraq War and Occupation Personal President Bush Knows the True Reasons He Started A War in Iraq, But He's Not Going to Tell Armstrong bikes with president over Sheehan grave Sheehan breakthroughs, unbridgeable divides, and taboos unbroken The people must demand peace: An interview with Tom Hayden Will celebrity-addicted America miss the point? Jefferson would have stood with Cindy Sheehan Why is violence escalating in Iraq? How the United States Marked the 3rd Anniversary of the Downing Street Memo Someone Tell Bush That Iraq Wasn’t Responsible for 9/11 Before another War Breaks Out More damning than Downing Street Messengers of Truth: Untangling a Knot of Lies How Much Proof Needed Before the Truth Comes Out? Silent Death in Iraq Media Black Out Downing Street Minutes Getting Out of Iraq Will Be Tougher than Getting Out of Vietnam No Troops, No Wars Iraq’s Election Will Not Guarantee Democracy The U.S. Supreme Court is AWOL on Iraq Read War Articles by Year: |
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