Soldier bringing the war home...
A short but very moving photo essay on the BBC website about a victim of post-war trauma and his family.
Helena,
My sympathy with them and his family, if you and other Americans looks to the other side of post-war trauma in Iraq its worse than any one can imagine the only people they can tell are the Iraqi and there families.
One thing I would say to you Helena this my finding from our family member both side (My Family and my Wife Family) we feel they are not ok when we speak to them almost weekly, its reach me from another friends these two experiences I would like to put it forward to you and to all the reader from the west what they have done to 25 Millions of Iraqi by rushing to this war for regime change
1- One our friends she got here mother from Iraq recently for a visit she found here mother most the time silent and not speaks well, when we asked here about her, she told us “I Found Here She is Not My Mother That I Left in Iraq!!, I Feel She is Totally Different Women “
2- Another family friend of us had left to Jordan to see another family members came from Iraq, there 13 years daughter telling his brother (20 years old reaming with us) she explained here nephew (here mother sister) “she is scary women” she told here brother!!!!
From this two pictures and more from our family defiantly that Iraqi had a big impact of this Shock & Owe War the officials they designed this ware should one day brought to Justas for the suffering of Iraqi which they still suffering after more than two years now on promises made that the future will be bright and better.
Believe me Helen there are shocking views and pictures more to shock you than Abu Grab fiasco.
God help all and God will guide the leaders to the peaceful end of this war.
Salah, I can certainly imagine how much worse things are for Iraqis inside and outside your country, because (1) so many more Iraqis have been killed, wounded, and affected than US or UK troops, and (2) the whole fighting is taking place over the remnants of your national infrastructure and in the heart of your communities-- not ours.
Thanks so much for sharing those two very sad stories. "God help all", indeed. And we humans should also do all we can to help each other...
"He came into Basra hospital after an air strike, with the spattered remains of his fellow soldiers who were not so lucky still strewn around him."
His face was like a mask, he said, describing the soldier as "clearly shocked."
Salah,
Some of us clearly recognize that the suffering of Iraqis is much, much worse than for Americans. I imagine the whole population of Iraq has Post Tramatic Stress Disorder from the conditions that have been present there since 2003. I imagine that I cannot imagine how bad it really is in Iraq.
But the US media will not cover Iraqi civilians much, particularly if Americans are the cause of their suffering. I make a regular habit of printing up pictures of Iraqis from Yahoo News and putting them on the back of the envelopes that I send to my Senators. This past week, I actually mailed them only more pictures inside the envelope. I send pictures of Iraqis suffering from US actions only, and if someone wishes to look for those pictures, they are there. And every time I do this I find new and current ones. That in itself says a great deal about the stress and the sadness in Iraq today.
The reality of war is often ignored by those who think it is a solution.
Helen,
I was nine years old living 25 miles from London when WW II ended in Europe. A year or so later, my parents visited the capital to "see the lights."
I remember clearly seeing the devastation, and thinking "... and 'we' won?"