"Fallujah: An Unnatural Disaster"

Joe Carr

Today, I did what few internationals have dared to do, I went to
Fallujah.

Fallujah is completely surrounded by US Forces, the only way in or out is
through one of four very restrictive checkpoints. People normally have to
wait hours, but since we had our magic US passports, we made it through
in
about 45 minutes. We did not observe them searching any cars, soldiers
just held-up traffic and slowly checked IDs. Like Palestine, these
checkpoints seem to have little to do with security and more to do with
harassment and intimidation.

Fallujah is devastating to drive through. There is more destruction and
rubble than I've ever seen in my life; even more than in Rafah, Gaza. The
US has leveled entire neighborhoods, and about every third building is
destroyed or damaged from US artillery. Rubble and bullet holes are
everywhere, the city is indescribably ravaged. It looks like it's been
hit
by a series of tornados; it's hard to believe that humans could actually
do this. I have a new understanding of the destructive potential of
modern
warfare.US troops, Iraqi military, and Iraqi police have an overwhelming presence
in the city. I've never seen such dirty looks directed at the passing
forces; I guess in most places people get used to the occupier, but in
Fallujah, the hate is still very alive. 16,000 Fallujan police lost their
jobs after the US attacks and were replaced by Shiite from the South. The
US intentionally sends Shiite to patrol Sunni strongholds to breed
resentment and abuse, and it works. Soldiers shoot anyone who drives too
close to their convoys, which makes driving anywhere in this small city
incredibly dangerous. It is very easy to accidentally turn a corner and
find yourself in the midst of a convoy. The hospital said that around 1-2
people a week die from the indiscriminate fire of US and Shiite
occupation
forces.

There are horror stories everywhere. We visited a family's home in a
neighborhood where every structure is damaged or destroyed. Their home
was
full of holes and completely black inside from fire. They said that
they'd
left during the fighting with their home in tact, and returned to find
all
of their possessions had burned. Three families are now living in this
3-room house because their homes were completely destroyed. Over 25
people
live in this burn-out shell of a home, including four infants. Some of
them tried to get compensation from the US military but were denied.

There is the hopeful site of rebuilding. Around 25% of families who
suffered damaged property have gotten a little bit of compensation from
the US military, however it usually covers less than half of the cost for
building materials for a new home. Particularly because the compensation
rates are based on the price of building materials before the attacks,
and
now supplies cost nearly double because of the restrictive checkpoints.

Food prices have also dramatically increased because of the checkpoints.
We talked with one shop-keeper who said that farmers from around Fallujah
can no longer deliver their produce unless they have a US-issued Fallujah
ID. The shopkeepers now have to go out and pick up the produce each day.
He said it takes him around four hours because of the checkpoint delays.
"They mistreat us," he said, "they point guns at us and insult us, even
the women". He said that both US and Iraqi troops search through the
vegetables roughly, even dumping them on the ground and sometimes
smashing
them. As soon as he's finished with one checkpoint and cleaned up the
mess, another will ransack his load all over again. This can happen as
many as four times he said. Sometimes, much of the produce rots from
sitting in the hot sun. For all these reasons, the prices have gone up
and
more Fallujans are going hungry.

Fallujah has only one hospital with inpatient care. Other clinics and
treatment centers were bombed by US troops, and soldiers prevented many
people from getting to the hospital during the attacks. Even after the
fighting, the US kept the bridges closed which caused several people to
die of heart attacks when they couldn't get to the hospital fast enough.
People from the rural areas surrounding Fallujah are also now dying of
treatable illnesses because they can't get through the checkpoints to the
Fallujah hospital. One hospital employee said that many patients die when
they try to transfer them to hospitals outside Fallujah. "It's better to
take them in a civilian car than in an ambulance" he said, "because the
troops delay and search ambulances more." During the first attack, the
hospital became a main source of information for the outside world. So
when the US attacked the second time, they took over the hospital area
first and controlled what information got out.

Meeting a Sunni cleric was the highlight of the trip. He was a young,
passionate man and a quite eloquent speaker. He told us about some horror
stories he'd witnessed. During the first invasion, several families near
his Mosque took cover in a home. US troops used megaphones to order all
them out into the street and told them to carry a white flag. They did
this, but when they all got out, the soldiers opened fire into the group,
killing five. He said one boy had run to his mother who'd been shot, and
Americans shot him in the head. He said he saw a US commander cry as this
happened, "but what good were his tears?" he asked, "he didn't do
anything
to stop it."

While meeting with the cleric, a man told us some of his horror stories.
"The Americans shot and killed my 15-year-old daughter" he said, "was she
a terrorist?" He said the US military denied killing her and refused to
give him even minimal compensation. The US gave him only half the
compensation for his house that they destroyed. "With all respect to
you,"
he said, "I hate Americans, they killed my family. My children cannot
play
in the street, they shot and killed my sister-in-law while she was
washing
clothes, and my other brother's hands and feet were blown off." He
apologized for interrupting, but said that he had to tell us because he's
in so much pain.

I felt incredibly safe in Fallujah; the people I spoke with were kind and
gentle. They are rightfully angry and indignant at what the US has done
to
them, but they seemed to understand that it wasn't me or all American's
that did it. The cleric said, "We are grateful that you come here and
share in our suffering and agony, it shows that there are good and human
Americans."

Fallujah is the face of US occupation. It shows how ruthless the US will
be toward anyone who dares resist its agenda. But Fallujah has not
stopped
resisting. It is said that "you can't bomb a resistance out of existence,
but you can bomb one into it." The unnatural disaster the US has
unleashed
on the Middle East is horrifying, and we all must resist it.