The cries of a malnourished Iraqi baby were echoed in Manning Hall on Thursday night.
As the image of an infant with protruding bones was displayed on the projection screen, the cries of an American baby, who was one of about 170 people at the Campaign to End the Cycle of Violence's teach-in, rang throughout the room.
The picture was part of anthropology Professor Catherine Lutz's attempt to contrast the differences between the images of Iraq that are readily available to Americans and those that take more effort to find.
"It is hard to remember when we are bombarded with propaganda by the media that real people are involved," Lutz said as she compared pictures of Iraqi maps with those of suffering Iraqi people.
Lutz' speech was the first of five presentations at the CECV teach-in titled, "Are We Ready for War? Are We Ready to Stop It?" -- held in the midst of a looming war with Iraq. Other presenters included Rev. Ray Buchanan, a member of Stop Hunger Now; Ali Altaie, dean of international studies at Shaw University; documentarian Barbara Trent, member of the Independent Media Center; and Michal Osterweil, anthropology graduate student and member of CECV.
Buchanan said he recently traveled with a religious delegation of 13 people to Iraq "to see the face of Iraqi people and to make human what is happening in Iraq."
The group, organized and led by the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, ventured into schools, hospitals, churches, mosques and synagogues to witness the 12 years of suffering they say was caused by U.N. sanctions. "Everywhere we went, we experienced a genuine warmth, not phony, not put-on," Buchanan said. "These people are not our enemies. They do not think we are their enemies."
He expressed concern for the 70 percent to 80 percent of the Iraqi population who depend on the food rations the Iraqi government provides. Buchanan said if a war was started with Iraq, this system would disintegrate within two days. "We cannot allow that to happen," he said.
Altaie spoke with a slightly different perspective. "I am 100 percent Middle Eastern and 100 percent American," the naturalized citizen said, "but I would be disloyal to the country of my choice if I do not criticize the policy of our government."
