Meanwhile, Back in Falluja
May. 9th, 2005 11:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
arisbeCPTnet 9 May 2005 IRAQ: CPTers and MPTers help Sunnis clean up Fallujah
On 6 May 2005 a group of Shi'a Muslims from the Muslim Peacemaker Team (MPT) traveled to the Sunni-dominated city of Fallujah from as far away as Kerbala and Najaf to help clean up rubble from the U.S. assault on the city. Members of MPT sought to counter the growing reports of Sunni/Shi'a sectarian violence and to demonstrate unity in a tense time.
"Muslim Peacemaker Teams from Karbala and Najaf is pleased to be in Fallujah in order to assist in the ongoing clean-up efforts. We are among our brothers and sisters in the city of Fallujah to recognize our solidarity with you," read the leaflet passed out by members of the MPT and Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT.)
Fifteen MPTers and three CPTers joined with employees from the Department of Public Works department to clean a street outside one of the largest mosques in the city. Following the cleanup, the MPTers joined Sunnis in Friday prayers.
A civic leader asked MPT and CPT members why the United States military felt it had to attack and destroy a city of 300,000 in order to capture one man and his small band of terrorists. One person noted that when Al Capone and
his gangsters were controlling Chicago in the 1920's, the FBI didn't come in and level the city in order to eliminate them.
Citizens communicated their concerns to MPT and CPT members that the Iraqi National Guard (ING) guards are poorly trained and show little respect for lives or property as they cruise the streets of Fallujah waving automatic weapons from the back of their pick-up trucks. In addition, the massive backups created by ING checkpoints have caused prices for building
supplies and foodstuffs to rise two to three times above prices in the surrounding areas. Wholesalers create the price increases to compensate for their lost time and increased wages caused by the two to six hours they spend waiting at checkpoints before entering the city.
The city is also suffering from poor sanitation, because of the damage caused by military assaults on sewage lines and other utilities that promote public hygiene. The Multinational Forces (MNF) evicted the Department of Public Works from their building; it has had to set up temporary offices in the Fallujah public library. The chief of the department said, "We only have seven working garbage trucks and three dump trucks for the entire city. We have been promised funds for our department from the MNF for months but so far nothing has happened." A cleric told MPTers, "It will take fifty
years at this rate to return Fallujah to the condition it was in before the U.S. attacked us."
Muslim Peacemaker Teams has been in existence for three months and plans to retain a connection with the citizens of Fallujah. Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq has made working with MPT a priority for the team at this time.
_______________
...
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative of the historic peace churches (Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, and Quakers) with support and membership from a range of Catholic and Protestant denominations. Supporting violence-reduction efforts around the world is its mandate.
Contact CPT, POB 6508 Chicago, IL 60680; Telephone: 773-277-0253 Fax: 773-277-0291; e-mail: peacemakers@cpt.org.
To receive news or discussion of CPT issues by e-mail, fill out the form found on our WEB page at http://www.cpt.org/subscribe.php
Donate to CPT on-line with your credit card! Go to http://cpt.org/donate.php and click the DONATE button to make a contribution through Network for Good, a secure way to help support CPT.
On 6 May 2005 a group of Shi'a Muslims from the Muslim Peacemaker Team (MPT) traveled to the Sunni-dominated city of Fallujah from as far away as Kerbala and Najaf to help clean up rubble from the U.S. assault on the city. Members of MPT sought to counter the growing reports of Sunni/Shi'a sectarian violence and to demonstrate unity in a tense time.
"Muslim Peacemaker Teams from Karbala and Najaf is pleased to be in Fallujah in order to assist in the ongoing clean-up efforts. We are among our brothers and sisters in the city of Fallujah to recognize our solidarity with you," read the leaflet passed out by members of the MPT and Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT.)
Fifteen MPTers and three CPTers joined with employees from the Department of Public Works department to clean a street outside one of the largest mosques in the city. Following the cleanup, the MPTers joined Sunnis in Friday prayers.
A civic leader asked MPT and CPT members why the United States military felt it had to attack and destroy a city of 300,000 in order to capture one man and his small band of terrorists. One person noted that when Al Capone and
his gangsters were controlling Chicago in the 1920's, the FBI didn't come in and level the city in order to eliminate them.
Citizens communicated their concerns to MPT and CPT members that the Iraqi National Guard (ING) guards are poorly trained and show little respect for lives or property as they cruise the streets of Fallujah waving automatic weapons from the back of their pick-up trucks. In addition, the massive backups created by ING checkpoints have caused prices for building
supplies and foodstuffs to rise two to three times above prices in the surrounding areas. Wholesalers create the price increases to compensate for their lost time and increased wages caused by the two to six hours they spend waiting at checkpoints before entering the city.
The city is also suffering from poor sanitation, because of the damage caused by military assaults on sewage lines and other utilities that promote public hygiene. The Multinational Forces (MNF) evicted the Department of Public Works from their building; it has had to set up temporary offices in the Fallujah public library. The chief of the department said, "We only have seven working garbage trucks and three dump trucks for the entire city. We have been promised funds for our department from the MNF for months but so far nothing has happened." A cleric told MPTers, "It will take fifty
years at this rate to return Fallujah to the condition it was in before the U.S. attacked us."
Muslim Peacemaker Teams has been in existence for three months and plans to retain a connection with the citizens of Fallujah. Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq has made working with MPT a priority for the team at this time.
_______________
...
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative of the historic peace churches (Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, and Quakers) with support and membership from a range of Catholic and Protestant denominations. Supporting violence-reduction efforts around the world is its mandate.
Contact CPT, POB 6508 Chicago, IL 60680; Telephone: 773-277-0253 Fax: 773-277-0291; e-mail: peacemakers@cpt.org.
To receive news or discussion of CPT issues by e-mail, fill out the form found on our WEB page at http://www.cpt.org/subscribe.php
Donate to CPT on-line with your credit card! Go to http://cpt.org/donate.php and click the DONATE button to make a contribution through Network for Good, a secure way to help support CPT.