Samara Bombing and the third anniversary of mess

An Open Letter from Dr. Salam Ismael
Baghdad, Iraq

I worked in many areas of conflict inside Iraq over the past three years and have witnessed many horrific scenes of slaughter and innocent people being shred to pieces. I felt pain and bitterness inside me but this is the first time since the invasion of Baghdad that I have felt anxious about my country and the direction that it's taking. I've always been confident that Iraq would never descend into civil war.

A few days after the crime in Samara was committed, the shrine of Imam Hassan Al Haidi was attacked and bombed. The proceeding days and hours were extremely hard for everyone of us. Many Sunni mosques were attacked and in some cases burnt down. Militia wearing black uniforms – belonging to one of the political parties orchestrated a campaign of violence and intimidation bringing chaos and fear to the streets. For the first time I felt that the country could be on the edge of civil war.

People closed down their shops. Families phoned their loved ones to return home and locked their doors. Bodies of young men- shot from close range were found in the streets of Baghdad. People started preparing their guns and brought weapons from local shops to protect themselves. Blockades were constructed to protect homes, mosques and businesses. I am the son of a Shiaa mother and a Sunni father and live in a mixed neighbourhood of the city. My mother was scared every time I left the house to go to the hospital or morgue as part of my work documenting the human rights violations and killings in the days following the attack on the shrine. My mother kept phoning me asking where I was, what I was doing and demanding that I return home. The fear of loved ones being killed in a potential civil war had a deep impact on all Iraqis regardless of their religious background. In the following days I felt that this fear was the thing that united most ordinary Iraqis who are living outside the green zone struggling with the difficulties of daily lives.

When I witnessed young shiaas protecting a Sunni mosque in my neighbourhood alongside sunni I breathed a sigh of relief. I saw a thirteen year old boy at around four in the morning with his khafiya wrapped around his head carrying a gun. I saw the child falling asleep from time to time whilst standing on his feet with his gun. He was there to protect his mosque from and the community from the wave of madness that was being unleashed by the militia. During this time I felt the same emotions as I did during the siege of Fallujah where I was working as a doctor. We had run out of food and were depressed and loosing hope. The first truck that broke the blockade to bring food to us was a shia convoy carrying aid. They entered Fallujah announcing on a loud speaker 'we came here to help you' they raised their fingers in a victory salute and brought us hope. Then as now I remembered the old Arab saying 'the blow that doesn't kill you can only make you stronger'. I realised the fabric of Iraqi society would never be shred to pieces – we are more united now than ever before and believe that we have turned the corner and that civil war is a distant possibility.

In the last three years US hummers were patrolling all over Baghadad. The highway in front of my house was now empty of soldiers and four days following the attack on the shrine the soldiers had vanished.. The same story was repeated in neighbourhoods across Baghdad. People were asking where are the US soldiers, the tanks and why are they not protecting us and our Neighbourhoods?

The occupiers failed to uphold their responsibility under the Geneva Convention to maintain law and order and protect civilians in the areas they are controlling. The occupiers told us that they had invaded Iraq to protect us but now when we needed protection they were nowhere to be seen. Why didn't they try and stop the violence and attacks?

I participated in an interview with the BBC who told me that the coalition forces couldn't get involved in this issue as they would be seen as supporting one side against the other. My response and the response of many Iraqis is well- why are they here? Who are they protecting? This goes back to the old question of the demand of Iraqis – that the coalition forces leave. Two days after the attack of Samara two British soldiers in Basra were killed as Iraqis are becoming more angry and frustrated that these soldiers are in their country and want them to leave.

In every society it's the police and army that take responsibility for enforcing law and order. The trust of the people is essential if law and order is to be carried out effectively. This trust collapsed following the attack of the shrine. People blockaded themselves into their homes and took up arms to protect themselves and their families. The army and police stood at the edges and observed what was happening. Militia wearing police and army uniforms carried out attacks against civilians. This has created a total breakdown in the trust and confidence of the people to these authorities that are supposed to serve and protect us.

What kind of future does Iraq have riddled with these militia and flooded with a sea of weapons? Samara is a good example of how militia disgusted [sic] in uniform are carrying out killings and terrorising Iraqis.

Two days on from the attack in Samara and the murder of hundreds of people by militia a strike was carried out by fifty doctors in one of the main hospitals in Baghdad. Doctors were unable to work because people were threatening them with guns and violence to save the lives or treat patients admitted to the hospital. I went to the hospital to assist the doctors with their actions. The doctors described how one of the doctors was taken at gun point to treat a member of the militia inside the hospital. The doctors were on strike for a day before they were forced to return to their duties.

I was horrified seeing the number weapons people were carrying inside the hospital. How can doctors work to save lives when their own lives are being threatened?

This leads me onto ask the question what kind of future do Iraqi's face under the rule of the militia instead of the rule of government and law?

Today marks the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. The invasion was carried out in the name of human rights and democracy. An invasion in the name of weapons of mass destruction. An invasion that has cost the lives of hundreds and thousands of innocent Iraqis. An invasion that was supposed to show Iraqis the light at the end of the tunnel has instead brought more darkness.. We Iraqis are still waiting to come out of the tunnel and see the light.

This invasion has caused the breakdown of law and order, the governmental system has been destroyed. The bullet and bomb now rules the streets and the cheapest thing inside Iraq is the life of a human being. From the chaotic picture that I have described to you- one must ask who is responsible for what has happened? For making Iraq an open battle field? Who is responsible for arming the militia? Who is responsible for dissolving the army and police? Many Iraqis believe that if this situation was intended it is nothing short of a crime. If the outcome is a result of misplanning then it's an even bigger crime. George Bush and Tony Blair who claim to be the guards of democracy and human rights are responsible for this crime. This 'misplanning' can be repeated anytime in anyplace. In the last three years thousands have lost their lives and human rights and democracy is being smashed around the world under the hammer of the so called 'war on terror'.

Dr Salam Ismael