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CNN Live At Daybreak
Look at Some of Victims of Saddam Hussein's Chemical Weapons
Aired November 27, 2002 - 05:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: And now we go inside Northern Iraq for a CNN exclusive look at some of the victims of Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons.
Our Brent Sadler takes us to the town of Halabja (ph), where 5,000 Kurds were gassed to death by Iraqi war planes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRENT SADLER, NBC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's nothing special, an untidy plot of land concealing a mass grave in Halabja, a northern Iraqi town hit by chemicals 14 years ago. Suffering the largest scale chemical attack on a civilian population since WWI.
Halabja was turned into the toxic death trap by Saddam Hussein's war planes, striking at rebellious Kurds. The Kurds, then siding with Tehran during the 1980s Iran-Iraq War.
(on camera): This was just one of many of Halabja's streets of death on that infamous day. Saddam Hussein gassed his own people, cites President George W. Bush, as proof of evil, a statement that resonates here, especially among survivors of that chemical attack.
(voice-over): Dr. Bakhtiar Feyek (ph) was aged 14 when chemicals were dropped. Counting himself lucky to be alive, he shows the exact spot from where he witnessed the start of the chemical assault.
DR. BAKHTIAR FEYEK: I am very afraid. I am crying. And just like a mad person, I am running.
SADLER: Running in terror up this hill to escape, he says, a low lying cloud of chemicals. Putting cloth over his mouth.
FEYEK: We are waiting, just we are waiting, believe me, for death.
SADLER: So, too, was Aisha Narali's (ph) family, recalling their flight from the airborne killer substances.
AISHA NARALI: My mother stopped the trailer and asked the driver to help us. He said he couldn't, the trailer was full of bodies.
SADLER: Dr. Feyek is helping to ease pain in a town that has serious lingering illnesses, like breathing problems, chronic eye disorders and congenital deformity, some of the long-term effects, say doctors and scientists, from exposure to chemical weapons.
Dr. Feyek's patients include Aisha Narali.
FEYEK: She has a skin problem. Look for her. There's a white discoloration of her skin, both hands and foot, neck and chest, a part of her chest.
SADLER: Aisha's elder brother Hassan says President Saddam Hussein should be held to account one day.
HASSAN: Yes, because he perpetrated such a crime against us. Generations will be affected by the chemicals. We would be happy to see him in court to get what he deserves.
SADLER: Just one of many calls for justice from self-rule Kurds, erecting a new memorial for their tragic day.
Brent Sadler, CNN, Halabja, northern Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: And throughout this week, our Brent Sadler will bring you powerful exclusive reports from northern Iraq and you won't want to miss them.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Weapons>
Aired November 27, 2002 - 05:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: And now we go inside Northern Iraq for a CNN exclusive look at some of the victims of Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons.
Our Brent Sadler takes us to the town of Halabja (ph), where 5,000 Kurds were gassed to death by Iraqi war planes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRENT SADLER, NBC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's nothing special, an untidy plot of land concealing a mass grave in Halabja, a northern Iraqi town hit by chemicals 14 years ago. Suffering the largest scale chemical attack on a civilian population since WWI.
Halabja was turned into the toxic death trap by Saddam Hussein's war planes, striking at rebellious Kurds. The Kurds, then siding with Tehran during the 1980s Iran-Iraq War.
(on camera): This was just one of many of Halabja's streets of death on that infamous day. Saddam Hussein gassed his own people, cites President George W. Bush, as proof of evil, a statement that resonates here, especially among survivors of that chemical attack.
(voice-over): Dr. Bakhtiar Feyek (ph) was aged 14 when chemicals were dropped. Counting himself lucky to be alive, he shows the exact spot from where he witnessed the start of the chemical assault.
DR. BAKHTIAR FEYEK: I am very afraid. I am crying. And just like a mad person, I am running.
SADLER: Running in terror up this hill to escape, he says, a low lying cloud of chemicals. Putting cloth over his mouth.
FEYEK: We are waiting, just we are waiting, believe me, for death.
SADLER: So, too, was Aisha Narali's (ph) family, recalling their flight from the airborne killer substances.
AISHA NARALI: My mother stopped the trailer and asked the driver to help us. He said he couldn't, the trailer was full of bodies.
SADLER: Dr. Feyek is helping to ease pain in a town that has serious lingering illnesses, like breathing problems, chronic eye disorders and congenital deformity, some of the long-term effects, say doctors and scientists, from exposure to chemical weapons.
Dr. Feyek's patients include Aisha Narali.
FEYEK: She has a skin problem. Look for her. There's a white discoloration of her skin, both hands and foot, neck and chest, a part of her chest.
SADLER: Aisha's elder brother Hassan says President Saddam Hussein should be held to account one day.
HASSAN: Yes, because he perpetrated such a crime against us. Generations will be affected by the chemicals. We would be happy to see him in court to get what he deserves.
SADLER: Just one of many calls for justice from self-rule Kurds, erecting a new memorial for their tragic day.
Brent Sadler, CNN, Halabja, northern Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: And throughout this week, our Brent Sadler will bring you powerful exclusive reports from northern Iraq and you won't want to miss them.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Weapons>
