Dignity
Baghdad, Iraq  2002

      This young boy was dressed up like he was going “out on the town.” There is little indication that this boy is in the beginning stages of being gravely ill. The dignity that shows in the face of the boy and mother is indicative of the whole culture. In spite of all the suffering, both from without and from within, dignity underlies the whole culture.

       Since the Gulf War, leukemia has increased 400% or more in parts of Iraq that were heavily bombed and shelled. The cure rate of leukemia in the United Kingdom and similar countries, is 85% or higher. In Iraq, currently, it is around 5-10%. Some of the primary medicines used in the protocol for treating leukemia are non-existent. They are either prohibited by the U.S. led sanctions committee or difficult to obtain due to the endless red tape sanctions create. Many times, it takes 6-18 months for medicines to arrive after applying for them.

CSpaulding
January 2003