From Deseret News archives:
Is Iraq sinking fast? Utahns get dire view from Baghdad friend
In an e-mail Wednesday to Utah supporters who helped raise money for the station, Radio Al-Mahaba spokeswoman Bushra Jamil described a situation that is "deteriorating rapidly," with "criminal gangs supported by corrupted police and army individuals" controlling the streets.
Jamil, who volunteers at the station but works as a human rights officer with the United Nations, had sent an emotional e-mail on Tuesday to Salt Lake friend Ako Swabb. Her building in the Green Zone had just been bombed, she said.
"Baghdad is burning, innocent people are dying in hundreds, and in a savage way, we are alone here," Jamil wrote on Tuesday. Fearing for her life, Jamil wrote, "I am still hoping that we will meet again and if not in this life then in the next life time."
Swabb immediately tried to reach Jamil by e-mail and phone but got no reply. In Wednesday's e-mail, Jamil explained that "the net here is very bad especially when attack is on, which is the case most of the time. My phone rang so many times yesterday but it would never turn on when I pushed the green button."
Radio Al-Mahaba, which has been on the air for about 18 months, aims to educate women about their rights and to give Iraqi women a chance to express their opinions on everything from husbands to politics. Last spring, during a visit to Salt Lake City, Jamil and radio hosts from KUTR AM-820 announced that they had become "sister stations."
During Jamil's Utah visit, a local group called Womenade helped raise money to replace Al-Mahaba's transmitter, destroyed by a bomb in the fall of 2005.
In her Wednesday e-mail, Jamil said the station is still operating, with a small number of male staff. Iraqis no longer know "who is the good and who is the evil," she wrote. "Even the wounded people have no hope of survival. Hospitals are dirty and lack the human and technology resources. Most of the doctors have left out of fear for their lives.
"For the first time since 2003 I feel extremely scared for my people and for Iraq future," she wrote. "Yet it is our promise not to give up no matter what will happen. Only good Iraqis with the help of their real friends can bring peace and prosperity to this country. I wish president Bush listen to us before it is too late. They are almost out of time."
Their last hope, she wrote, is "if the American troops are taken to the streets" to control the situation. "They must keep the hands of Iraqi security off the process, which is almost impossible unless the U.S. troops take a serious and firm position and they must face the reality that the Iraq government has failed to achieve the security they promised people."
E-mail: jarvik@desnews.com
