photo by Vincent Eirene
Vincent Eirene, renowned Pittsburgh activist and operator for nearly five years of Blast Furnace Radio, and Geoff Kelly, editor of Pittsburgh’s alt-weekly Pulp, toured Iraq the week of March 14th . The two Pittsburghers, along with a handful of journalists, authors, college professors, and videographers from across the nation, were part of a delegation sponsored by the Global Exchange in San Francisco, in cooperation with International Occupation Watch Center, an alternative media and human rights coalition with offices in Baghdad. During that week a series of hotel bombings rocked the city. Kelly and Eirene talked with TNP reporter Matt Novak about the complex religious, social, and political identities of the Iraqi people, and why the U.S. has lost their good will. This is part II of a two-part series.
Many reports verify that U.S. forces are targeting hospitals as potential asylums for terrorists. What is the health care situation like?
GK: One of the doctors we spoke to said things are much, much worse than before the war. Children die all the time. They don’t have the right medicine. In a city where there was nearly no violent crime, they now have 5-10 gun deaths a day. The auto accidents have increased. Their syringes, you should see them, [they’re makeshift], they’re like toys! Nobody should be using them. And of course, people are getting diarrhea from the water, and dying.
Half the time, you can’t even get to the hospital, because roads are blocked, and many people don’t even have a car. After 10 p.m., it’s not safe to be out on the street anyway.
Blastfurnace Radio / TV 