Dr. Ali Sindi, a Kurd living in Northern Iraq, spoke last Wednesday about the plight of the Kurdish people under Saddam Hussein.
Sindi, who gave his speech at the Millennium Center, started off by showing a picture of a Kurdish child and mother who died by a chemical warhead attack. The child in the picture still had its eyes open as it lay in the dusty roads of Iraq. “This was a common occurrence in the past before the United States enforced a “No Fly Zone” said Sindi. “Thousands were killed and handicapped by chemical weapons launched by Hussein, and change occurred after the United States intervened in Desert Storm.”
The Kurds number 6 million in Iraq and 4 million of them live in a rather safe spot above the “No Fly Zone” in Northern Iraq.
Sindi was part of a host of 14 health professionals from Northern Iraq sponsored by the State Department to help Kurds to improve their health care in the Northern Iraq region. Sindi said it was “an honor to be in Tennessee and the United States, and the people of Northern Iraq appreciated the presence of the U.S.”
Sindi said that medical facilities in Kurdish Iraq are now far better than before the “No Fly Zone” was put into place, although they still need more. There is only one doctor per 2,000 patients and one hospital bed per 1,500 patients.
This may pose problems as a possible U.S. attack on Saddam Hussein could be immenent in the next few months. The worry does not come from the attack but from Saddam himself.
Sindi said “his people do not have gas masks or enough vaccinations to go around in case of an attack.”
He made his case for further U.S. assistance in the area of providing more materials to ward off Hussein’s threat.
Since U.S. intervention in Northern Iraq, the Kurds have been able to elect a Kurdish Assembly and provide basic services such as security, health and education.
Sindi said of these the most four important aspects gained were: “1) Human Rights 2)Women’s Rights 3) Children’s Rights 4) Free Press.”
He showed figures comparing the Kurds’ situation ll years ago to the present. They include 2,000 doctors compared to 450 in the old regime and 36 hospitals compared to the old 19. Three constraints lay on the back of the Kurdish people keeping them from further progress.
Sindi said “they are political instability in Iraq, isolation- resulting from not having a larger Kurdish population and double to triple embargo imposed by other countries.”
With continued help from the U.S. Sindi believes a democratic, pluralistic and federal Iraq are possible.
Much debate is taking place now about the evidence of weapons of mass destruction within Iraq. Sindi put that argument to the test by saying, “the people of Iraq know Hussein has weapons. It’s not in any treaty saying Hussein cannot use weapons against his own people.”
He also said the Iraqi government has covertly used WMD against their own people, especially the Northern Kurds.
“The Kurdish people do not want anymore death but that a regime change is needed to make Iraq more democratic,” he said.

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