Clifton Hicks , ( http://ivaw.org/user/286 .) American Iraq war veteran, tank driver and gunner in Bagdad, says, " I never dreamed that I would ever find myself thoughtlessly going along with things that I would be ashamed to tell my family of, that I would have to choose sides within my own unit, or that I would ever find myself whittled into the form of a pawn on some spoiled rich boy's chess board. No, I never thought that I, the descendant of so many proud soldiers, would ever have to choose between my loyalty to the Army, and my loyalty to the People of the United States."
Hicks is currently active with Iraqi Veterans Against the War.
Hicks will share his stories at the Iraq Conference, and will also testify at the Winter Soldier Investigation ( Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan March 13 -- 16, 2008, Washington DC http://ivaw.org/wintersoldier )
Hicks says, "I honestly admit that I never intended to testify (at Winter Soldier) " I had hoped that others would come forward to take my place on the line. But those were selfish thoughts. When I nurtured those hopes I thought not of my brothers who had once toiled tirelessly at my side, in the mud and the dust and the filth, nor did I think of my brothers who had been chosen for death while I was unfairly allowed to go on living. I thought only of myself, of my own desires to be anonymous, and to avoid the sight of the ever watchful eye."-But it is not for ourselves that we tell our stories, indeed everything inside of us screams for silence and obscurity, but we must tell our stories for those who cannot. Nearly four thousand of our siblings cry out from beyond the grave for truth, and I must answer them, we must answer them."
Chris Capps, U.S. Iraq war veteran, telecommunications technician in Camp Victory/Iraq who currently lives in Germany, says, "I went AWOL because I'm sick of the army, I didn't want to be sent to another deploying unit, and I don't want to be a military machine anymore " I'm working on projects for amnesty for deserters, (reaching) out to deserters who are underground, and (creating) a German chapter of Iraqi Veterans Against the War (IVAW). His moving speech for German Anti-War Day is in German and English at http://www.friedenskooperative.de/netzwerk/akt07-28.htm
Haifa Zangana is an Iraqi political commentator, novelist, and former prisoner of Saddam Hussein's regime, who now lives in London. She is a weekly columnist for al-Quds newspaper and a commentator for the Guardian , Red Pepper , and al-Ahram Weekly . Her recent book, City of Widows: An Iraqi Woman's Account of War and Resistance (Seven Stories Press, 2007) is the story of Iraqi women before and after Washington's "liberation."
Eman Ahmad Khamas [3] , journalist, translator and activist, is a member of the Women's Will organization, which focuses on defining and defending women's rights. For the past three years she has been documenting crimes committed by U.S. and Iraqi forces. She is the former Director of International Occupation Watch Center Baghdad . She is married with two daughters and lives in Baghdad.
Many additional presenters are scheduled for the conference.
Nina Hagen will moderate a panel discussion of the findings in the film Deadly Dust (Todesstaub) by Frieder Wagner, which reports on depleted uranium. Nina says, "The government and the members of the Bundestag remain silent, and very few people in Germany know much about this, but the time has come for these dark secrets to be revealed."
The causes and backgrounds of war and alternatives to war will also be addressed by panel guests, including:
Sabine Brosowski , politician and mother of three who lives within sight of the Krà ¼mmel nuclear power station, and works with the Citizens' Initiative Against Leukemia in the Elbmarsch investigating the link between childhood cancer and proximity to nuclear power plants. www.biglie.de , www.sabine-brosowski.de
Prof. Dr. Eberhard Greiser , an epidemiologist, working on investigations with the University of Basra on the correlation between uranium munitions and children's cancer.
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