Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

September 11, 2007

Truth and justice: Iraq, Palestine and September 11th

MORE PHOTOS:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2007/09/photos-truth-and-justice-sept-11-in.html
Wheels of Justice creates chalk art at protest in downtown Tucson on Sept. 11, 2001/Photo Brenda Norrell

Wheels of Justice, peace in Iraq and Palestine
By Brenda Norrell
TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Wheels of Justice rolled into Tucson this week, with a mighty message of peace in Palestine and Iraq, pointing out that it is the flow of oil that the United States wants to control, especially the flow of oil to China.
Further, speakers pointed out that Saddam Hussein was early-on an agent of the CIA and carried out atrocities against humanity for the Agency.
Speakers pointed to the border in Palestine, which brought reflections on how the same tactics were used in both Palestine and on American Indian lands in the United States, including Big Mountain on Black Mesa, to seize the land, limit construction and progress for the people living on the land and control the resources.
Further, the border wall of Palestine now has an intimate relationship with the US/Mexico border wall, since the Israeli defense contractor of Elbit Systems is working on the security at the "Apartheid Wall" in Palestine and the high tech border wall in Arizona.
Speaking in a Southside Church that long gave shelter to Indigenous Peoples fleeing torture in Central and South America, the Wheels of Justice speakers put a human face on the families in Iraq and Palestine who just want to survive in peace. Those families have birthday parties, play soccer and have hopes for the future.
Iraq is no better off today, with families living in tents outside of Baghdad and others sweltering in 130 degree temperatures without the needed electricity to even run a ceiling fan. It is the women and children who suffer the most. They are the ones hiding in the so-called "safe houses" where the bombs fall from above. It is the women and children who suffer most often from rape, kidnapping and malnutrition.
Those imprisoned at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq under Saddam Hussein said the torture and abuse of prisoners was worse under the control of U.S. forces.
Speaking of the "War of Lies," the Wheels of Justice called for an immediate pull out of troops in Iraq. Speakers included a student from Colorado, studying at Princeton, who stayed with a family in Palestine and painted murals. Another speaker, an Iraqi woman who grew up in Iraq and the United States, shared her journey home.
One member of the audience pointed out that the media has censored one point: The fact that the United States Treasury took over control of the currency in Iraq after the bombing of Iraq.
Another person said that after being involved in the killing of innocent people in Vietnam from the air and with Napalm, he sees the pattern of deception repeating itself in Iraq. Further, US soldiers receive pay cuts and the wounded soldiers suffer without necessary medical care.
Wheels of Justice continues its national tour to educate people in the United States about the truth of the war and occupations in Iraq and Palestine.
Read more: Wheels of Justice: http://justicewheels.org/
Note: Personal names have been intentionally omitted from the photo captions and article.

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