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OBAN WOMAN HEADS FOR IRAQ ON SANCTIONS-BREAKING MISSION. Oban resident Susan Brush will be one of four Britons visiting Iraq next month to see for themselves the dire conditions which people in Iraq are enduring [1]. The trip, organised by the group Voices in the Wilderness UK [2], takes place under threats of military action by the US and British governments. Ms Brush (33), whose work concerns countryside and environmental matters, said: "In 1990, most people in Iraq had access to clean water, adequate diet, education for their children, and health care. But not any more. Young children, the elderly and the sick, suffer the most. These people have done nothing to deserve this. I want to do what is in my power to help." The four delegates will be taking medical supplies, books and children's toys, without applying for export licenses. By doing so they risk a possible five year prison sentence in the UK [3]. Ms Brush continued: "Twelve years of economic sanctions have had a devastating impact on the lives of ordinary Iraqis and contributed to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children. The British government's 'smart' sanctions proposal - which the UN is due to adopt next month - will do little to alleviate this humanitarian crisis. Families in Iraq will remain sunk in poverty, and Iraqi children will continue to drink dirty water, get sick and die. This is simply wrong. And any further bombing could create a far huger crisis." According to UNICEF the economic sanctions on Iraq have contributed to the deaths of at least 500,000 children since they were imposed in August 1990 [4]. The Catholic aid agency CAFOD has condemned this policy as 'humanly catastrophic [and] morally indefensible' [5]. The four delegates will be breaking sanctions to call for the immediate lifting of non-military sanctions against the people of Iraq. Further information from the Voices in the Wilderness UK office 01865 243 232 [1] The delegation leaves London on Tuesday 7th May and returns on Sunday
19th May. Susan Brush leaves Scotland on Monday 6th May , and returns
on Tuesday 21st May. |
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