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WTC relatives visit Afganistan
Jan. 16th, 2002 08:22 amArticle from The Independant about the relatives of WTC victims visiting Afganistan. How sad that humans in pain reaching out to other humans in pain seems to be considered "highly contentious", and a group that sees something wrong with civilians being killed and crippled is labled "radical".
As the bombs continue to fall, another US aircraft lands in Afghanistan.
This time the mission is reconciliation, as victims of 11 September meet civilian victims of the war on terror
She listened to how a bomb buried Najiba Shakar Pardes in the rubble of her own home, then 70-year-old Rita Lasar leant forward and gently touched her arm. "I am sorry, I am so very sorry," she said, wiping her eyes.
It was the first time the American, whose brother died in the World Trade Centre, had met an Afghan family bombed by the US and for a while there was awkward small talk and polite smiles over green tea and fruit.
The visit by the Americans is highly contentious in the US. It was organised by the radical human rights group Global Exchange and the visitors had come with sympathy and an avowed aim of trying to rectify what they see as a terrible wrong by their country. In the next few days they will meet visiting members of the US Congress; the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, due here tomorrow; and the interim Afghan leader, Hamid Karzai. The State Department and US diplomats in Kabul are watching with trepidation but are unable to prevent the huge media interest in the visit.
At her tiny flat in Makrayan, Mrs Shakar waited patiently, slumped in a near-bare room, for the visitors. Her once pretty face is now criss-crossed with scars, and she has difficulty standing up or talking.
She was in pain, she said, and wanted to rest. She had suffered extensive injuries to her head, arms and legs in the US bombing raid on 17 October, and spent weeks in hospital. She had also been four months pregnant and there are fears for the unborn baby.
Mrs Shakar, 38, was collateral damage. She had been at home in central Kabul, with her three children, when the bomb punched a hole in it.
[...]
Read Full Article
Another Article on the trip via BBC
And article from The Guardian, containing a sentance I know I would not be reading in The Times-Picayune (how about your local paper?):
"Around 3,000 people died in the terrorist attacks on the US, and, while there are no verifiable figures, up to 5,000 people may have been killed in the three-month US-led bombing campaign."
From the same issue of the Independant as the first article, more confirmation of what we already know:
War on terror is 'leading to civil rights abuses'
Governments may be using the war against terror in Afghanistan as an excuse to lower their own standards on civil liberties, Human Rights Watch said.
Source
As the bombs continue to fall, another US aircraft lands in Afghanistan.
This time the mission is reconciliation, as victims of 11 September meet civilian victims of the war on terror
She listened to how a bomb buried Najiba Shakar Pardes in the rubble of her own home, then 70-year-old Rita Lasar leant forward and gently touched her arm. "I am sorry, I am so very sorry," she said, wiping her eyes.
It was the first time the American, whose brother died in the World Trade Centre, had met an Afghan family bombed by the US and for a while there was awkward small talk and polite smiles over green tea and fruit.
The visit by the Americans is highly contentious in the US. It was organised by the radical human rights group Global Exchange and the visitors had come with sympathy and an avowed aim of trying to rectify what they see as a terrible wrong by their country. In the next few days they will meet visiting members of the US Congress; the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, due here tomorrow; and the interim Afghan leader, Hamid Karzai. The State Department and US diplomats in Kabul are watching with trepidation but are unable to prevent the huge media interest in the visit.
At her tiny flat in Makrayan, Mrs Shakar waited patiently, slumped in a near-bare room, for the visitors. Her once pretty face is now criss-crossed with scars, and she has difficulty standing up or talking.
She was in pain, she said, and wanted to rest. She had suffered extensive injuries to her head, arms and legs in the US bombing raid on 17 October, and spent weeks in hospital. She had also been four months pregnant and there are fears for the unborn baby.
Mrs Shakar, 38, was collateral damage. She had been at home in central Kabul, with her three children, when the bomb punched a hole in it.
[...]
Read Full Article
Another Article on the trip via BBC
And article from The Guardian, containing a sentance I know I would not be reading in The Times-Picayune (how about your local paper?):
"Around 3,000 people died in the terrorist attacks on the US, and, while there are no verifiable figures, up to 5,000 people may have been killed in the three-month US-led bombing campaign."
From the same issue of the Independant as the first article, more confirmation of what we already know:
War on terror is 'leading to civil rights abuses'
Governments may be using the war against terror in Afghanistan as an excuse to lower their own standards on civil liberties, Human Rights Watch said.
Source
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