Human shields
What motivates people to risk their life and become a human shield? Gamal Nkrumah examines whether the presence of human shields in Iraq makes a difference
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The United States, Britain, Spain and India join hands in solidarity with the Iraqi people
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Throwing all caution to the wind, they pack a pitiful handful of all but the most essential belongings and fly to Amman, Jordan. From there, they take the tortuous 15-17 hour journey by road to Baghdad. They leave loved ones behind. They leave the smug, comfortable world of industrially advanced capitalist democracies behind. They head for the unknown. Why?
"Initially, along with the rest of the anti-war movement, we hoped to prevent war. Now the human shields hope to deter attacks on infrastructure vital to the well-being of ordinary Iraqi people and act as independent witnesses to events," Richard Scrase, director of the London-based Human Shield Action told Al- Ahram Weekly.
"We also hope to maintain some human relationships between our peoples to contribute to peacemaking after the attacks are over," Scrase added.
Refusing to hate and choosing instead to relate to people of different cultures and religions, the human shields see themselves as a bridge between different cultures. There are some instances in which the presence of Western human shields has made a palpable difference and acted as a deterrent to terror being unleashed on a hapless, defenseless population. "When Westerners have travelled on ambulances in Palestine to help the ambulances get through Israeli checkpoints," Scrase pointed out by way of example.
For many of these human shields, heroism is not about military superiority and battlefield glory. Nor is it about raw, brute strength. The heroism the human shields valorise demonstrates the virtues of selflessness, bravery, devotion to principles and personal integrity. Their courage depicts a magnanimous face of the West in the Arab and Islamic world in stark contrast to the one projected by President George W Bush and the US military.
Human shields have clearly defined objectives designed both to accomplish specific goals and to stir people's thought and imagination. Their world stands in sharp contrast to that of the deadly powers of greed, hatred and impertinence -- the shameless scramble by Bush administration officials to win reconstruction contracts after destroying a country.
Driven by an unfettered love for humanity, human shields face all forms of danger, even risking their lives in order to get their message out. Love, patience, kindness, tolerance, courage and commitment -- these are the qualities embodied by the human shields.
American human shields in particular face tremendous challenges. "Obviously there is the risk of hurt from warfare. But, Americans are breaking their law by visiting Iraq without permission. So theoretically at least, they face fines and/or imprisonment when they return to their homeland," Scrase told the Weekly. "It is also very difficult for Americans to register anti-government opinions [in the American media], and doing so may effect chances of obtaining work," Scrase added.
The American human shields are acutely aware that hawkish US policies breed more contempt and create more resentment about the West in Arab and Muslim eyes. Scrase said that the human shields are currently in Iraq "to show that we want peace and want to look for peace". The human shields feel that they have a chance to make a real difference in the world.
The work of the human shields is "completely voluntary", Scrase said. "Shields have paid their own fares and living expenses. Most have given up work to devote their lives to being human shields. The volunteers supporting shields are also working as volunteers. Contributions from the public pay for expenses -- phone calls, air tickets, accommodation etc. And, we are trying to build up an emergency fund for medical expenses in case they are needed. We also have the costs of sending the bus convoy across Europe, fuel, visas, taxes, etc, which we are still raising money for."
The US and Britain often charge that the activities of the human shields are detrimental to the war effort -- arguing that the work of the shields amounts to propaganda support for the Iraqi regime. There is also suspicion of human shields because they have worked so well with Iraqi authorities. "We have worked with the Iraqi Friendship and Solidarity Organisation," Scrase explained. "The Iraqis have been very helpful and gracious in their response, and have helped any human shield who has wanted to leave to go out of the country, even after the war started."
There were unverified reports that some human shields were deported from Iraq in January. "I am not aware of any shields being deported in January -- they were only just arriving then." However, the relationship between the Iraqi authorities and the human shields has not always been functioning smoothly. Scrase conceded that "some shields were asked by the Iraqi authorities to leave in February after disagreeing with the Iraqis on a number of points." He, nevertheless, denied that the nature of the disagreement between the Iraqi authorities and the human shields was serious. "Personally, I believe that the disagreement occurred because some of the shields were insensitive to the Iraqi culture and appeared as being rude, rather than any real problem."
Scrase also noted that some of the human shields were engaged in "journalistic work and this was not allowed by the Iraqi authorities without a special visa". But again, Scrase noted that these minor differences and hiccups were quickly patched up. "The people in Baghdad seem to be quite content with the relationships between them and the human shields. So I guess these relationships are satisfactory so far."
Asked if he believed that the presence of human shields in Baghdad really made a difference, Scrase was upbeat and positive. "Yes, on the personal and individual levels there will be some Iraqis who know that there are British and American people who are opposed to this war. Our action has created media attention within which we have been able to argue for peaceful methods of solving problems. Perhaps we have increased pressure on the military to avoid civilian casualties -- but it is hard to know. I expect that the shields who have witnessed these events will be powerful in peacemaking in the future."
Human shields hail from a wide variety of backgrounds and motivated by different factors. Some are affiliated to religious groups, while others to leftist and anarchist groups. Other human shields are not affiliated to any ideological group but are simply motivated by love and a desire to lend a helping hand to a suffering humanity. Finally there are those that simply want to make friends with ordinary Iraqi people -- to help bridge the cultural divide. What many share though is anger at US policies and a desire to see a speedy end to the US aggression against Iraq.
"The US says they were aiming for anti- aircraft missiles in the Shaab streets, but when I was living in London during the blitz anti- aircraft guns used to move around the streets, which is quite a common practice. To use this as an excuse for targeting civilian areas is quite serious," said Karl Dallas, a 72-year-old human shield.
Father Zewada, a 65-year-old Franciscan priest from Indiana concurs. "War puts people through a lot of misery. I saw the ravages of war on my way out of the country. The ravages of sanctions, too, have taken their toll." Housed at Al-Dar Hotel in Baghdad, next to a communications tower that was a prime target of US missile attacks, Zewada is not deterred. "Even if the US forces do hit the military targets, there are enough innocent people that are being affected and hurt."
It's an article of faith with Father Zewada that he wants to return to Iraq and see to it that the orphans and sick children he left behind are safe and well. Zewada first arrived in Iraq on 3 February 2003 after serving a sentence in the US for civil disobedience. He had heard much about Iraq and wanted to see the country and its people for himself. "Going to Iraq and being part of the Iraqi peoples' lives there has put that country in my heart," Father Zewada said.
In Iraq, Zewada worked at hospitals and orphanages with deformed children whose mothers were exposed to pulverised dust from depleted uranium weapons used by US troops in the 1991 Gulf War.
Fighting an infection and a persistent bout of influenza, Zewada was finally obliged to return to the US. Aboard Royal Jordanian Flight 263, after an especially difficult journey between Baghdad and Amman, Zewada reluctantly flew back to the US on 27 March.
There are an estimated 120 human shields currently in Iraq down from a peak of 200 in mid-March. Even though a majority of human shields are from the US and other Western countries, there are some from the developing countries of the south, and others from countries neighbouring Iraq.
Chris Pitsi, a black African Roman Catholic single mother of a five-year-old boy, took leave from her human resource consultancy in South Africa to go to Iraq and be a human shield. "I am leaving my son whom I love dearly and would do everything to protect. My mother and father are wondering why I want to go when I am responsible for a child. I told them I am doing this to make the world a kinder place for him and for all other children."
Pitsi was among a large group of South Africans who went to Iraq to be human shields because they felt that their presence there was an extension of the anti-apartheid struggle. The South African contingency of human shields was multi-racial and multi-religious. There were Christians, Hindu and Muslim South African human shields in Iraq.
The South Africans were placed voluntarily at installations such as water purification sites, oil refineries and electricity generating sites in Baghdad. The South African human shields stopped over in Cairo on their way back to South Africa. They were the last batch of a larger group of South African human shields organised mainly by the Iraq Action Committee of South Africa.
Not all peace activists are human shields. Some peace groups like Voices in the Wilderness, a campaign to end economic sanctions against the Iraqi people, work hard to alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people at a different level. What they have in common is an iron- willed determination to see an end to the US and British aggression against Iraq and an end to the untold suffering of the Iraqi people.
