Finding Hope in Resistance
Lisa Ndejuru
Baghdad, 14 February

Every day of this week we’ve held vigils at the door of the United nations.Our huge banners read “inspection yes invasion no” in English and arabic. At seven thirty a group of us twenty to thirty people gather on the other side of the highway, where we have pitched a tent and stand in a line much like the one of the armed guards across from us. The inspectors ride out in their big UN trucks and sometimes we wave.

Yesterday an inspector came over and thanked us. He said we didn’t know how much it meant to them to have us there. We greeted them at the airport when they arrived and have been standing tall every day rain or shine. It rained over Bagdad today. First time in almost three weeks.

Every afternoon we have an action at one or the other of the civilian infrastructure sites that have been bombed in the last war and are vulnerable today. Our banner reads “to bomb this site is a war crime, article 54 of the Geneva convention”. We go to the sites and hang our banner and speak to the press. Every day in as many languages as we can manage.

We went to an electrical plant, a water treatment facility, a hospital. Today we went to a bridge.

The Iraqis are responding . This morning at the UN, Faroukh got up and made everybody sing “we shall overcome” in Arabic. Across the streets the armed guards danced. At the bridge this afternoon a man came up and distributed oranges and smiles.

Everyday we’re asked if we believe that what we’re doing is useful. If we aren’t afraid of being used by the government. If we plan to stay through a possible war and why.

When I got to the hotel late last night Mohamed at the desk handed me my key smiling. He saw me on the television.

It’s always dangerous to appear on the local television as we don’t know what we’re said to beunwarsaying. But then I look at US media and the way we are sometimes portrayed there and it has nothing to do with language cultural differences. Everyone has an agenda. And peace is ours. I didn’t think it would be such messy business. I didn’t think there would be as much resistance.

We’ re going to have a big march here on the 15th. We’ll try to set up satellite coverage it will be on www.indymedia.org(Jackie here is working to set it all up). Apparently New York is not giving permits to demonstrate on the 15th. Apparently they want to discourage the people and bring the numbers down. Apparently that won’t stop anybody. I guess the gloves are off. I heard massive demonstrations are planned in the US and all across Canada and the world. Sit-ins and maybe even blocades.

I’ve never really done any great acts of civil disobedience. I used to be afraid of consequences. Well I hope that there are consequences to this demonstration. I hope Canada will follow France’s suit and brave the threat of US sanctions. I hope Canada positions itself clearly against war and align with the forces pushing for peace in the region. (and no sending of Canadian troops to free up US troops in other regions either). I hope that this conflict can serve as a tool for a better understanding of how to deal with conflict among nations in the future. I hope the tides will turn. I hope we’ll be millions.

But I also hope they won’t break out the pepper spray or tear gas. I hope no one gets hurt. Be careful, demonstrations are not what they used to be. You’ll be surprised at the resistance too. And that alone should tell us something.

Much love from Baghdad

Lisa