Bodies of dead Iraqi civilians stored in a refrigerated truck.
It seems the world has gone off to sleep so far as killings, murder and mayhem in Iraq is concerned. Years are flying by and ordinary men, women and children continue to be slaughtered.
Why? Is there anyone left to attempt an honest answer?
America is allowing its valiant soldiers to be sacrificed at the altar of personal whims and expediency of the present US administration/business.
The UN and member states have even forgotten to mumble routine cliches about human rights, violence, forcible occupation of a country by foreign troops, crime against women and children…The list is too long.
And the United Nations’ members, and its bloated bureaucracy, refuse to wake up from its slumber.
Do you know (or does it matter to you at all) that the U.S. military death toll in March, the first full month of the security crackdown, was nearly twice that of the Iraqi army? The Associated Press count of U.S. military deaths for the month was 81. While the Iraqi military toll was 44.
There have been 3,504 coalition deaths — 3,246 Americans, two Australians, 134 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, six Danes, two Dutch, two Estonians, one Fijian, one Hungarian, 32 Italians, one Kazakh, three Latvian, 19 Poles, two Romanians, five Salvadoran, four Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18 Ukrainians — in the war in Iraq as of March 30, 2007, according to a CNN count.
At least 24,314 U.S. troops have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon.
Now we come to the hapless civilians. At least 100,000 Iraqi civilians may have died because of the U.S. invasion. For details please click here…
The following statement typically reflects the dehumanized world: “Pentagon officials say they do not keep tallies of civilian casualties, and a spokesman said yesterday there is no way to validate estimates by others.”
Did I hear someone say that the hanged dictator’s rule was much better than the one imposed by a foreign power as far as ordinary Iraqis are concerned?
Go ask an Iraqi women or child…
Two quotations come to mind…
“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act” – George Orwell
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“Patriotism is supporting your country all of the time – AND YOUR GOVERNMENT, WHEN IT DESERVES IT” – Mark Twain
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.