Reports of Belgian doctors from Baghdad—March 20 to March 23, 2003

Reports of Belgian doctors from Baghdad—March 20 to March 23, 2003

Dear all,

Despite the global protests, war has been unleashed on Iraq. The Belgian NGOs Medical Aid for the Third World (MATW) www.m3m.be and S.O.S. Irak Belgium (www.irak.be) have a Medical Team of two doctors in Baghdad, Dr. Geert Van Moorter and Dr. Colette Moulaert. Dr. Moulaert is a member of the Workers? Party of Belgium, while Dr. Van Moorter is an activist with the anti-war coalition StopUSA (Stop the United States of Aggression).They remain in Iraq during the bombings and the invasion to witness the American and British aggression as well as the Iraqi resistance. They will comfort the people, monitor the effects of war on health and health care, observe how the Iraqi health services cope, and assist their Iraqi colleagues whenever possible. They will coordinate with the Ministry of Health, the Iraqi Red Crescent and international institutions including the World Health Organization and Unicef. You can read their daily reports on http://www.irak.be/ned/missies/medicalMissionColetteGeert/two_belgian_doctors_in_baghdad.htm.

Yours in struggle for peace.

Dirk adriaensens.

President SOS Iraq Belgium.

Baghdad, March 20, 5:35 am, Dr. Colette Moulaert: “They started!”

Bert De Belder

Dr. Colette Moulaert calls from Baghdad: “Bert, they started!” She refers to the American terror bombings of course. Our friends, doctors Colette eand Geert Van Moorter, are still on the spot as witnesses.

Colette: “There were three salvo’s at 5:45 am (local time, 3:45 in Belgium), east and south of Baghdad.”

I ask whether they and Geert are safe. “We stay in Hotel Palestine, far from the military targets,” says Colette. “Later today, when the attacks stop, we hope to visit the hospitals in order to testify about the atrocities of this war and to help wherever we can. But we don’t have an official permit yet to work as a doctor. Our contact who would arrange that left Baghdad yesterday. Yesterday we visited chronic patients in the Al-Mansour hospital. The stories are appalling. We’ll try to e-mail them later.”

And what about the communication lines, will they remain open? “As you can hear the telephone still works (indeed, the line is excellent), and all laptops are covered in aluminum foil. That should shield them from the effects of the e-bomb they say. We also have an appointment with Alain Lallemand, a journalist of Le Soir. He stays in another hotel and has a satellite telephone we can borrow.”

And the other internationalists? Or are Geert and Colette the only ones left? Colette sounds very upbeat: “O, don’t worry, there’s a group of Algerians and lots of Palestinians!”

Time to hang up. I admire Colette’s cool and morale. I really hope that they can do much more excellent work.

When I open my mail, there are several mails to encourage Geert and Colette. One of them is from Mayang Grenough, een American nun who has been working with the Philippine people’s movement for more than 35 years. Last year she was one of the participants in a fact-finding mission Geert joined in the Philippines. “I hope and pray for their safety during this time. Such courage and compassion is really moving,” she writes.

From Baghdad, March 20, 8:20 a.m. Belgian time, on the telephone

Dr. Geert Van Moorter from Baghdad this morning: “Will the children be able to sleep tonight?”

Today, Thursday, the thunder started here in Baghdad. War has started. I call on everybody to join the massive protests at the US embassy. We definitely have to put a halt to this premeditated mass murder.

Last night I went to bed at 2 a.m. Colette woke me up at 4:15 a.m.: “Haven’t you heard it yet?” Bombings were already going on for half an hour. Currently I also hear the muffled rumble. Murder “for a cause” has began. From my experience I know that each muffled boom I hear, means there is a deafening bang and tremendous devastation at the site of impact. More than ever I know that war and human rights are incompatible, as war is already the most atrocious human rights violation. I see the pamphlet of Stop USA before me with the cartoon of Bush as Rambo. So that coward has begun…

In the street, daily life resumes again. I don’t notice any panic but there are less people around than usual. I leave my window open so the glass won’t break.

Tonight I was supposed to join a debate with Luc De Vos, a pro-US military professor. It’s a pity I can’t take him on. I would have had lots of additional “ammunition.” I’d like to confront him with the humanitarian suffering here.

Yesterday we were present wile a child was born. What kind of future has this child? What kind of future does our planet have if we cannot stop the war machine now? What do the children of Bushra, Fatiha, Lika have to think… (emotional) Lika, 36, has three children. Her seven year old daughter is terrified and has so many questions: “Will I lose my arms and legs in the bombings? Will I have pain? Will I die?” Lika asked me how she has to answer her daughter. I didn’t know what to answer her. Her son Jaffar, 6, has hemophilia. With regular injections of Factor VIII the disease could be kept under control, but Factor VIII is banned under the embargo!

The cancer ward of the Mansour hospital lacks anesthesia. I saw a doctor raise his arms to heaven in helplessness. Children are suffering pain. The parents don’t understand why.

Many children will die during the war, not because of the immediate impact of bombings but because they will not be able to reach the hospital and because of the lack of medicines.

The anti-war song “Mr. President” comes to my mind. “Goodnight, Mr. President, I hope you’ll have sweet dreams in your beautiful White House.” Very appropriate. I wonder what goes on in all those children’s heads when they hear the sirens. Tonight millions of Iraqis will be terrified when they go to sleep. Will the children be able to sleep? How many will cry with fear?

Dr. Colette Moulaert on the phone from Baghdad.Friday, March 21, 9:45 p.m.

Dr. Colette Moulaert from Baghdad: “Strike against war!”

"We are OK here. Last night there were air raids for about three hours. Some of the attacks were only some hundreds of meters away, less than one kilometer. Hotel Palestine, our hotel, is on the banks of the Tigris and it was at the other side. We don’t know what they targeted. According to the Iraqi TV many were injured in Basra. But apparently the Iraqis put up fierce resistance and the US soldiers had a hard time. Iraq says they downed an American aircraft. There are also reports about American casualties."

I ask whether she and her colleague Dr. Geert Van Moorter went to an air-raid shelter during the bombings. “No, because the Iraqis didn’t advise us to. Referring to Al-Ameriya, they say the shelters provide little protection." (Al-Ameriya was the civilian bunker where 408 died when it was hit during the Gulf War.)

Were the doctors of Medical Aid for the Third World able to visit more hospitals? “We wanted to go together with the journalists but they had other objectives so it didn’t work out. This morning we want to arrange our permit to practice medicine. We would like to spend the night in the hospital. We have a wonderful team with our Algerian friends. There’s also a surgeon from Jordan among them. He wants to join us. That would be great: an emergency specialist (Geert), a pediatrician (Colette) and a surgeon.”

And what is the reaction of the Iraqis to the attacks? “We weren’t able to talk to many people. There are only few people left in Baghdad. Anybody who had the opportunity has left for the countryside or has brought his family to safety. Apparently, they are anticipating protracted and fierce battles here in the city.”

Colette asks me how the people in Belgium, in Europe and the whole world react to the war. I tell her about the thousands of demonstrators in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent and other cities; about the high school students who walked out on their classes to join the rallies; about the demonstrators in Brussels who refused to go away from the US embassy and stayed from before 5 to past 8 p.m. “That’s great,” Colette shouts, “that will boost the people’s morale here!”

I tell Colette that many people I met at the rally asked me to convey their support and appreciation to her and Geert in Baghdad. She tells me that many peace activists of the 'Human Shields' are still near civilian targets that can be attacked anytime… “You’ll have to intensify the resistance against the war,” she says. “What about a call for a strike? You could ask my friends in Caterpillar! There also happen to be two children in our hotel. When you would see the fear in their eyes… It is really necessary to stop this war!"

Dr Colette Moulaert, Friday, March 21, 9:45 p.m. Baghdad Diary: Spring offensive

Today we are visiting the Saddam pediatric hospital. It is Friday, a rest day, but the hospital is busy as always.

This hospital used to be specialized in pediatric medicine, with only few facilities for surgery. Now there is only one wing reserved for medical cases while the rest of the hospital is prepared to treat the injured.

Before, there were 160 patients but only 20 to 30 are left. The parents preferred to bring their children home, whatever their condition, instead of leaving them in the center of Baghdad.

About 20 patients with leukemia, who need chemotherapy, are now at home with a few pills. They’ll surely die. Also other children who leave the hospital will die without medical care. The US and their cohorts surely don’t care about that.

The staff is very busy and very efficient. The whole emergency ward is prepared. One big ward on the ground floor is emptied to accommodate the wounded.

Doctor Hamed, who is in charge of the residency program, shows us round in a hurry. He doesn’t have a minute to lose and answers the questions of patients and nurses while we tour the hospital. The pace is hectic.

Sick children are accommodated in a small clinic at the ground floor. The consultations are held collectively and fast. Patients get their prescriptions and fall in line for the pharmacy. To ensure some emergency supply?

At night, the emergency ward is at the second floor. Last night the doctors had to attend to some 80 patients. Most of them suffered from gastro-enteric cases and parasites. Imagine, the US wants to bomb the water treatment system. That will be lethal for malnourished children who have no reserves at all. My eyes fill with tears. I admire the young doctor who is organizing everything to be prepared for the worst.

Also the neonatal ward is functioning but there is no time for a visit. I hope the incubators are in better condition than two years ago. At that time there was already lack of oxygen, spare parts for the incubators, etc....

The hospital anticipates the injured

There are two operating theaters on the fourth floor. They are off-limits. The staff is stand-by and prepares everything for in case…. There are 25 beds for the injured.

The recovery room has four beds. It is also closed to keep everything clean. The other floors can be prepared in no time for emergencies. A horrible thought…

The stock of basic medication is inadequate. There are some reserves to answer the current demands but what will happen when they run out?

The staff has been reinforced, especially at night: 14 additional doctors and 75 nurses, according to the needs.

I admire these health professionals with their persistence, competency, discipline and modesty. And they are so efficient. It looks like routine; just another disaster.

Human Shields

Also the people from all over the world who came here as Human Shields (HS as they say here) are stand firm. They see the American helicopters hover above the targets they are protecting. Some say that one day the helicopters will come and get them so they can bomb ‘legally’…

We explain them that the Iraqis have chosen those installations that are vital for public health: water treatment facilities, power plants, refineries, food silos,…. Those that are needed to ensure the survival of the people.

The HS-people are a tight team. There’s a lot of information going around the world because of them.

Thanks to everybody…

We tell everybody about the protests against American aggression in Belgium and other countries. That is important for the morale of anybody here. Thanks.

I know that the workers of Caterpillar have filed a motion to strike. People are really impressed here that the workers of a big American company are taking such a principled and radical stand against the war.

I am outraged about the attitude of the Belgian government. They have allowed American bombers to use their airspace. With the Greens in the government! Don’t they see what’s happening here? Listen to their words but don’t look at their deeds!

Dr. Geert Van Moorter’s diary, Baghdad, March 22, 2:30 a.m.

March 20. Call for resistance on American radio.

Bombings were more powerful, and nearer. Clouds of dust and smoke. My eyes shed tears of anger. Last night I could finally talk to Marijke, my sister, on the phone. It was a pleasant moment. We could share about the resistance here and there. I’m so proud that the greater part of my family and friends supports me. We are not risking our lives like fools, as some people might insinuate. We are representing so many people who are directly involved in what’s happening here in Iraq through our mission. The Belgian media regularly call the Stop USA committee in my hometown Aalst. They also visit my family and even asked my mother if she couldn’t keep her son from such a dangerous mission. She answered that she even never thought about stopping me. I was touched when I heard that.

Our lives are hectic here. I hardly sleep three to four hours a night. My mother will say I’m wearing myself out again. But then how could I ever sleep peacefully here? We are working in shifts: Colette during the day and I at night. Last night I was live on air on a radio station based in Washington DC, relayed to 98 local stations. Those Americans! A four-hour live show about the war! They can make a show about anything. It’s like “Together against Cancer.” Hehehe, maybe we could do a “Together against War” show. Anyway, I was able to call on the American listeners to show massive protest. I told them the Iraqis have nothing against them, but only against their government and their president, who have a massive human rights violation to answer for.

Support from a committed home front

Definitely, it’s not only us. We can count on a broad team that supports our mission and distributes our information. Bert De Belder, MATW’s coordinator, is working day and night. Wim De Ceukelaire, who works in the Philippines for Medical Aid for the Third World, translates our diaries into English. And then they are sent around the world. Dirk Adriaensens of S.O.S. Irak België is also involved. His website, www.irak.be, is the busiest European site about Iraq, spreading our messages to thousands of people. Monday, the workers of Caterpillar, a Belgian factory, will go on strike against the war! It is the whole context that makes our presence here worthwhile, the mobilization of many people against this monster. That gives me a good feeling and extra energy.

March 21. “The Iraqis’ morale remains high.”

Now we can see soldiers in the streets. Policemen are wearing helmets and Kalashnikovs instead of pistols. The military are piling sand bags and digging trenches.

The Iraqi people stay relatively calm. Apparently they got used to it. Many people told us they won’t yield as their country has been destroyed already several times but always stood up again. Their morale is still intact. People support one another. The foreign journalists are panicking more than them...

“’United States of Aggression’ is an understatement”

We’ve had very heavy bombings now, very strong explosions. The windows were trembling. We saw fireballs. It is a shame! The surgeons we met this afternoon in the Saddam hospital will have lots of work. We cannot see bombs fall, but the explosions are tremendous, with deafening rumbles. Colette screams with anger against the savagery while I try to make footages. Once in a while, I have to swallow to relieve the pressure on my eardrums. Assholes, this is sheer madness!

We are in safe in our hotel. We stay to report about war’s madness and to hearten the people; to paint smiles on their faces for a while; to shake hands; to give them a hug…. Some people might look down on it in disdain but we don’t care. We receive encouragement from all over the world. We give interviews to people in Argentine, Canada, South Africa, Washington, France, Australia… Every time we call on the people to resist. Now and then we denounce Belgium’s half-heartedness. Every time we praise our Iraqi colleagues who stay on the job courageously despite the hardships.

Here, we tell everybody that people are protesting the world over. Stop USA, the United States of Aggression, is an understatement. Those who dare to say it is an exaggeration should experience the attacks. It has nothing to do with human rights and democracy. Or is democracy delivered by bombs these days?

“The US will run its head against a wall.”

10:00 p.m. Sirens are wailing again. There’s smoke and an irritating smell in the air. How do people who are not, like us, in a safe place experience this? The children we saw this morning in the hospital are in the zone that is now under fire. What do they feel? What kind of fears do they and their parents have to endure? This is a crime against humanity. Bush, Blair & co. should be tried. I hope their day will come.

Do we have to think we are helpless against this aggression; that the US are almighty? Last night I was reading the preface of a book I received from the Philippines, ‘US Imperialist Hegemony and Crisis: Unmasking the War on Terror’. “The arrogant use of military power by the US as the sole superpower is also a sign of the inner and ultimately fatal weakness of US imperialism concealed behind the awesome appearance of overwhelming military power,” it says. And it continues: “Everywhere the people organize themselves in mass movements and engage in revolutionary actions to thwart imperialist war.” Only a few years ago I would have considered such phrases sloganeering. It might sound heavy for somebody who lives in a relatively protected environment. But now, after the bombings, I cannot but agree. For people in the Third World it is often easier to call a spade a spade. This is barbaric imperialism that doesn’t shrink from massacres and destruction for economic interests. People are increasingly realizing that this can’t go on any longer and, definitely, that is a positive development.

Today an Iraqi told me: “Maybe the US can achieve a military victory, but they will still be hated. And after their ‘victory’ they will be met with fierce opposition. The people hate the US, not the ordinary Americans, but their government and their president. Eventually, the will run their heads against a wall. We will rise again!”

Children for peace, in Belgium and Iraq

I look at the drawings about peace made by the schoolchildren of Aalst for the children of Iraq. There’s one from a nine-year old boy from Wichelen: thick, red lines over a military tank. Some drew flowers, messages of peace,… . I was not able to give them to Iraqi children anymore because most schools were already closed as war was imminent. Another right of the children that has been violated in the name of ‘human rights.’ I heard many schools in Belgium went on strike today. A good example for many cynical adults!

Aid teams also targeted by bombings?

I notice that buildings are bombed twice, with an interval of fifteen to thirty minutes. We can see it from our hotel room. What a shame! After the attack, aid teams rush to the site of impact. The second attack deliberately targets the fire brigade and ambulances. That is a violation of the international humanitarian agreements Bush & co. don’t care about. They want to demoralize the civilian population. Right now I can hear the ambulances. Back home in Belgium I used to join them regularly. Imagine, as soon as you arrive in the disaster area you are under attack!

10:30 p.m. Another attack. Now it is farther away. Only at 10:45 do we hear the sirens of the ambulances. That means first aid for the survivors arrives only one to two hours after the attacks. (The first attacks started at 8:00 p.m.) Shit, explosions again in the same area! I hope my colleagues weren’t looking for survivors there. It has to be awful now for the survivors. Many of them will have bled to death in agony, with severed limbs and covered in burns. I know what I’m talking about. I have seen war scenes in Afghanistan and Yugoslavia. Sweet dreams, Mr. President! And to hell with the Belgian government that allows those weapons transports. Stop it! You are helping the murderers!

http://www.irak.be/ned/missies/medicalMissionColetteGeert/two_belgian_doctors_in_baghdad.htm

Daily report Colette Moulaert Baghdad 22 March

A tour of two hospitals

In the morning I visit the Al Mansour hospital together with the Algerian delegates who are taking their material there. In the first place we want to have a look at the city with in front of our hotel, across the Tigris, the ministry of urbanism and the parliament building, still standing but disemboweled, completely destroyed inside.

Life goes on, much too quiet, no sign of nervousness, people going about their usual occupations. Most men having taken their wives and children to the country, stay at home on their own left with the problem of how to carry out the daily chores: the dishes, the laundry, the preparation of food. They have stocks of food, which will last them for several days. Nadia, our Algerian friend, is laughing when she tells how her Iraqi friends make do.

In the evening we go to the other end of Al Saddoonstreet, as I thought a bomb had been dropped there yesterday. Indeed, one building hit but more importantly: the windows of the apartments across the road broken. How many people injured because of the air displacement and the glass smithereens? The Americans talk far too glibly about a clean war without civilian casualties; they do not give a damn about the popular residential areas.

We go to Yarmouk hospital, the university hospital that received most wounded people last night. Before 1990 this was one of the best hospitals in the Arab world. Doctors came from everywhere to be educated here. Before this war it was a general hospital. Today only the maternity and reanimation departments remain. The other wings are reserved for injured people and emergencies and the patients had to go home or were taken to other hospitals.

At 3 pm doctor Faysal Al Sarraf, the assistant manager of the hospital, warmly welcomes us and shows us around the surgical department. Calm reigns, but it is a calm in between two storms: doctors and nurses are relaxing a little in the yard, waiting for a new wave of victims.

Last night they had to see to 101 people (about half of the injured people in the whole of Baghdad), among them women and children; all patients are civilians who got wounded inside their homes. Most of them arrive in ambulances (we had feared the latter would be hit, fortunately they were not). They made a hundred journeys. There are patients arriving in private cars. At 9 pm twelve patients arrived in one batch.

Twelve gravely injured people had to be operated: in the abdomen, the thorax and mostly orthopedically with multiple fractures due to missile debris that flew around in the residential areas.

These injuries are hard to treat because they are not clean and easily infected. The majority of these patients were returned home or sent to other hospitals again to make place for the next wave of the coming night, which is predicted to be even more intensive; how can this be?

Health workers highly motivated

The staff is ready for the new attack. 'The complete staff is prepared to work 24 hours a day', doctor Faysal Al Sarraf explains, 'we have made three teams ready to function during 12 hours and take a rest after that. Some of them stay here, others return to their families at home. During the nightly attack everything worked normally. Women giving birth, a child operated , dialysis is functioning, reanimation too. A 21-year-old youth died of a heart attack caused by the shock of the bombardments.'

We are visiting the emergency ward. Eight beds for patients who will be sent to other sectors as soon as it is possible. Twenty-two operating theatres, 150 specialists and 300 resident doctors (postgraduates). The hospital has 4 ambulances, some having reanimation facilities. In Baghdad there are 100 working ambulances. 'We have been ready for years to cope despite the embargo that facilitated the onslaught' people say. An other doctor: ' I was here yesterday and throughout the night. I was receiving patients to transport them to other hospitals if necessary. The 101 victims we saw were civilians as the military have their own hospitals. Three nurses fell and were in shock because of the displacement of air breaking some hospital windows.'

The determination of the Iraqis is contagious

A doctor: 'I have not slept for two days. I have seen blood running, we had to wipe away the blood from the emergency ward every half hour.' How do they cope? 'Last night we carried on for five hours without a break, without a meal, without drinking even a glass of water, without complaining of fatigue. We hold out but if we had hundreds of patients we would be unable to do anything. Those war injuries are multiple and very serious. We have tools but they risk breaking down if the cases keep arriving at this rhythm. For the sutures we keep ends of thread in needles that we sterilize again. We do not have local anesthesia. We miss flamazine for burns, but even if we had it we would not be able to clean the injuries with sterile water. The risks of septicemia (general infections) are enormous.

7 pm

They start bombing again, Baghdad is wrapped in a cloak of thick black smoke, the sirens are wailing. In the end we will no longer look up and will continue typing. Just like the Iraqis we will be. Their calm and determination are contagious.

Dr Geert van Moorter, Saturday, March 22, 9:45 p.m. Baghdad Diary: Propaganda war

Some days ago the Americans reported that the city of Basra had fallen. This morning I talked to Peter Arnett, the former CNN reporter who covered the 1991 Gulf War from the Rasheed hotel in Baghdad. Afterwards he was fired by CNN, because he had brought out the story of the Almeria air-raid shelter which was targeted with two precision bombs, charring hundreds of women and children. The aggressors do not want you to tell stories like that which prove that clean wars don't exist.

Whatever, Arnett now works for a different employer, a magazine. He tells me that the US have driven past the southern city of Basra near the border with Kuwait, without invading it. The US avoided the city, after dropping a number of bombs on it. It was also reported that the army in Basra would have surrended. But Arnett's sources say that negotiations are going on, in which the US promise that everybody in the Iraqi army can keep his position, if they surrender. In return they will have to accept being under American command.

How arrogant and pretentious can you be? Invading a sovereign, independent country, dropping thousands of bombs on it and then having the guts to try and boss around its army.

It is clear what an important role propaganda and psychological warfare play in this war. By these reports about the fall of Basra and the surrender of the army there, the US want to demoralize the others. And stations like CNN copy these news items indiscriminately thus taking part in the war. Here CNN sometimes spreads rumours. Like today, when they hinted that the Ministry of Information and the press centre would be bombarded which was why the people of the press were too afraid to attend the press briefing of the Iraqi authorities. In this way CNN hinders the communication of information from Iraq to the press.

The Pentagon (US Ministry of Defense) announced that they will get to Baghdad in three to four days. This is also bluff and aimed at 'demoralizing the enemy'. Peter Arnett thinks that invading Baghdad will depend on the city surrendering. Without this happening he thinks it will be unlikely that the US dare to enter Baghdad. And he believes that Iraq will not surrender just like that. So the US will be faced with the option of starting a battle in the city and this is something they shy away from. He also says that even if Basra and Mosul fall this does not imply the defeat of Iraq. The Iraqi strategy is to station the largest part of the army, and the best units in Baghdad. The weaker troops are in Basra and Mosul. This time, Iraq intends to force the US troops to enter the city, where Iraq has the advantage of being not in an open battlefield, and with more and better motivated soldiers that the US and Co.

This is an advantage of being among journalists, you get a lot of information. We will at least be amongst the first people to see how things evolve in the city.

This reminds me of the fact that Belgian television asked me tonight if I could see signs of the American troops nearing Baghdad. They are also influenced by this propaganda. Life in the city is much quieter than usual, far less traffic and regularly bombs, but after three days this does not baffle you so much as it did before. The composed reaction of the Iraqis also helps me to keep my cool. These people are not shaken easily.

Baghdad diary • Dr. Geert Van Moorter (March 23, early morning)

Bert De Belder

23-03-2003

1:00 a.m., Dr. Geert Van Moorter on the telephone: "We will not surrender."

Last night the bombings were less intense and farther away. Two times the impact was near our hotel. The concrete trembled. It is true that the Iraqi army’s resistance is fierce, in spite of the huge inequality in numbers, quality and caliber of their and the US’s artillery. You would pity the Iraqi artillery if you would see it. They only reach a few hundreds of meters high while the B-52’s drop their bombs from a height of 10 kilometers. Somebody at the office of the Iraqi Red Crescent told me: “The embargo and the disarmament program had the intention to weaken us and to map the targets. First they weaken us in order to hit us harder. It’s a shame!” And yet the Americans are still far away from the gates of Baghdad. Advancing kilometers through an empty desert doesn’t mean anything.

Yesterday we went to the Al-Yansour hospital where 101 civilian casualties are being treated. Dr. Moulaert and me talked with the assistant director. He thanked us for our offer to help but they don’t really need our medical expertise for the time being. We could see that they have enough competent and committed Iraqi doctors. But they appreciated the psychosocial support and international solidarity of our mission very much. The assistant director gave us a letter in Arabic that gives us unrestricted access to this hospital to monitor the situation. It is one of the biggest hospitals in Baghdad with 22 operating theaters. It is located in an area that is already heavily bombed.

In the Al-Yansour hospital, Dr. Moulaert and me could talk to the patients freely, without the presence of Iraqi officials. I asked the father of an injured girl what he felt. “We will not surrender,” he said, “we will be brave and eventually we will be victorious.” The mother of another injured girl was not complaining as you might expect. She had the opposite reaction: “Now they hit my daughter, I’m determined to fight.”

There are few people in the city and many shops are closed. Prices are rising and the first signs of food shortage become noticeable. And yet the people walk calmly in the streets and life goes on. The Iraqis are already used to the bombings. When I’m in a hurry for an appointment they laugh at me. They think I’m rushing because I’m scared for the bombings.

Many of the foreign journalists are really arrogant. Now the war has started they are only allowed to go into the city with an escort from the Iraqi Ministry of Information. CNN has an attitude as if the city will be theirs in a couple of days anyway. But the Ministry of Information gives them tit for tat: “Did we ask you to come here? If you don’t like it you are free to go!”

6 a.m. Dr. Colette Moulaert on the telephone: "No problem!"

Colette inquires extensively about yesterday’s demonstrations in Belgium, Europe and the US. 300,000 in New York, 250,000 in Madrid, tens of thousands in Brussels, in Amsterdam,… “That’s very important news for the people over here,” she says. She also asks about the many arrests. How ironic: the US claims to restore democracy in Iraq but it suppresses the democratic rights of those who demonstrate for peace.

“This afternoon at about 3 p.m. the TV station was hit. The broadcast had to be interrupted but they announced that they would be back at 10 p.m. And so it happened. The same also happened with the water distribution. It was interrupted at 3 p.m. “No problem,” the manager of our hotel said. Indeed, water was flowing again at 5 p.m. With the electricity it was just the same. People don’t even talk about it anymore. They are prepared to bear with these inconveniences… and to repair them immediately!”

Iman Ali is a 23-year-old woman. Yesterday, during the onslaught, she was in south Baghdad at home at night. Iman is unable to talk: she is too tired and in severe pain, it is visible in her face.

A relative of hers: 'at 8 pm we heard a blast, the windows were in smithereens. Many of us were in the building , ten people got injured. Iman fell down bleeding from her belly. She had to be operated on. A piece of metal hit her. Part of her intestine had to be removed.'

Rossel Salam, a 10 year-old girl. Hurt on 21 March, in the west end of Baghdad. At about 9 pm she was in her garden. There was a blast and metal splinters were flying about . Her wrist, forearm, hand and breast were hit. She has multiple fractures. A tube has been put in her thorax, her lung was hit and blood has entered her chest cavity. She is visible in great pain. When we want to take pictures she is very brave. Her dad cautiously removes the blanket to show us her wounds. She is moaning with pain and stretches out her hand, fingers opened. Her dad stoops forward, takes her hand and softly talks to her. I ask her 'how are you feeling?'. 'I am alright', she says but you can see that she is not alright. She is ten and already proud. Her father, 44 with two children, adds: 'we are strong, they cannot bully us and we are going to win'. His morale is clearly not broken, despite his daughter's serious injuries. It may even motivate him more not to have his country squandered. The Iraqis are proud people with a long history. At school they are taught a lot about the past, they are conscious of their value.

What must this girl think of our world? Can she already understand what it is all about? I should have taken some children's designs. I will do that tomorrow.

(While I am typing this, at 10.30 pm, heavy bombs are coming down again, heavy explosions, the floor vibrates, vibrations shaking the concrete. No more lights on either side of the Tigris. They must have destroyed an electricity power station. How many victims now, how many Rossels, Dogas, Imans,…damn, they continue dropping heavy bombs, farther away this time but you can feel it even here, a dull explosion and a vibration in the air. It is weird, eery now. I cannot see very well from my window because of the darkness. Only a while ago the city was beautifully and defiantly illuminated. I could see a tower then, a replica of the tower of Babel in Samara, beautifully illuminated. A block of flats in a halo. It was nice. Now it is all gone, large stretches of darkness across the stream. What fear again for the families living over there! Just try to explain to your kids. Food in the fridges at home and in the shops will decay soon. There are already shortages, prices have gone up. Things will not improve. A generator starts turning in our hotel. How long will there be fuel for it? The population does not have generators. What a serious war aim, an electricity power station! Vital for the people. Again a crime against humanity perpetrated by Bush and Blair, supported logistically via the port of Antwerp. Thank you Belgian government. Go on for a few more days, discussing the pros and cons of forbidding the transports of arms. You ministers and parties appear to have all the time for talking. The people in Iraq have no time left: they have to find ways of surviving. In the meantime the lights are on again in the streets, apparently an emergency generator. The houses remain in the dark however.)

Sabri Khaled, a 45-year-old man. Hit in the neck after 10 pm yesterday. He was lucky. If the metal fragment had hit him a little deeper his artery would have been torn and he would not have survived.

He is half unconscious. A member of the Baath party, helping in a patrol of civilians to guard a bank.

Salah Mehdi, 42. Married with a little daughter. The only casualty in his family. He was sitting in front of his house when it happened. Metal fragments entering his belly. Operated. Four fragments of metal have been removed from his belly. Two drains, tubes have been put in his abdomen, to drain the blood. His wife: 'I am content with the hospital and I trust them.' Pride again.

Sahad Asan, 10. Hurt yesterday at about 9 pm while at home. Twelve people were hit at the same time in that neighbourhood. Injuries on both legs and in his belly. He has a drain in his belly. He is visibly in great pain. Weah, his 25-year-old cousin is angry with us: 'why are you here? don't you see it is terrible enough as it is?' Doctor Faysal rebukes him, we don't understand him, but we get the gist of his words. Faysal explains that the man takes us for journalists and does not understand why we are here.

Colette reacts saying that she perfectly understands this man's anger. Nevertheless we try to explain everywhere what is our purpose: to let the world know the cruelties of this war, in order to stimulate more and more resistance against it. We say that we are here for solidarity with Iraq, not just as spectators, we say that we are sympathetic with them, that we…but we do understand this man's anger.

Damn, imagine one of my little nephews injured like that, I would not be able to always control myself either. Yesterday, for instance, I was shouting 'bastards', but I checked myself as I was filming. Colette was also shouting. But she used the term 'fascists', which is more correct. Indeed, these are fascist methods to try and subdue a people and country. I try to transform my anger into energy to fight the inhuman system in which we are living. That is why I try to send a report like this each night: I want to give you 'munitions' to use against this war. I want the world to know this; I want the world to react. Apparently this anger helps me to find the energy to make do with 4 to 5 hours of sleep. Provided I do not get exhausted, but for the time being I keep going.

I could carry on describing patients, their injuries on all parts of their bodies…we saw about 20 injured people. A number still at the intensive care ward, others taken to other hospitals or discharged.

And then I am only talking about a certain number of civilian casualties and about those who arrived at the hospital alive. We do not get any data about the troops; they have their own hospitals. But many of them must have been killed already. The bombings that we saw relatively close by were of government buildings defended by anti-aircraft guns. They are of not much use against those cruise missiles. The Americans have dropped bombs on a house of Saddam's wife and on a museum. Their aim is to break the will of the people, the soldiers and to destroy the state of Iraq.

We are warmly welcomed at the wards; people want to show us the filth caused by the war. Colette has to screw up her courage, she finds it hard to take photos of all this.

I take pictures all the same. People have got to learn this. We always say something friendly and encouraging to the injured and their relatives and but for a few exceptions, this is always appreciated.

Dr. Faysal was clearly satisfied with our visit. We were asked to return, for them it is a kind of relaxation, an occasion for easing the tensions, as opposed to visits from journalists which are on the contrary stressful for both doctors and patients.

Another doctor asked us to face our medical colleagues in the US and in Great Britain with the situation here, saying: "give them my regards and tell them 'we are burning from the inside' ". (translator's note: this doctor's work is described in Colette's report of 22 March)

Getting back we tell our taxi driver (in broken English and Arabic and by means of sign language) that we are here in solidarity with the Iraqi people. He refuses to be paid, even when I insist. He kisses me. This is not the first time that we get a token of friendship and warmth like that. It makes us feel so good. I can feel that people really appreciate our presence here.

More heavy explosions. A little later: fires in the city. It is 3 am, I must get some sleep.