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CNN Live Today
Security Situation in Iraq
Aired November 05, 2003 - 10:14 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: To Iraq now, where a rocket attack wounded three U.S. soldier on patrol west of Baghdad. Four coalition personnel were wounded yesterday when explosions ripped through high- security area of Baghdad known as the green zone. Another soldier died in a separate incident. To some, the ongoing attacks make it seem that Iraq is on the verge of anarchy.
Cassandra Nelson understands the security situation too well. She is with mercy corps, one of the nongovernmental organizations in Iraq, and she joins us today from Baghdad.
Cassandra, good to see you.
CASSANDRA NELSON, MERCY CORPS: Nice to see you.
KAGAN: Tell us, please, what Mercy Corps is trying to achieve in Iraq.
NELSON: Well, Mercy Corps has been working in Iraq actually before the war, and then after the war moved into the upper south heartland area. We are working across most of the major sectors, from health and medical to water and sanitation. We're also reconstructing schools and roads and other important infrastructure items in the communities, and then we're working also to support many of the social services, things like the handicapped societies. The women's cooperatives, helping women develop livelihoods with widows, and with many other things, such as orphanages and other social services.
KAGAN: That is all such incredible work to be done, but how difficult is it to get done when everybody who is not in Iraq and even Iraqis are considered fair gain.
NELSON: Well, it is difficult work here. I don't, by any means want to play down the concern we have about security and the safety of our staff.
At the same time, I think one of the important things to remember is that Mercy Corps is working in areas outside of Baghdad, and outside of Fallujah and the Sunni Triangle, where many of the very violent attacks have been occurring. We are working in the heartland and in the northern areas, and we've been there for a long time. We've been there, since a said, since right when the war ended in the South, and have really had a chance to get to know the communities we work in, develop and implement some very, very fast, high impact and high visibility programs that have really gone a long way to building community acceptance for us. So we feel that it's the communities there that are welcoming us in that are helping to protect us that are allowing us to get our important work done here.
KAGAN: Have you lost staff members or have any been injured?
NELSON: Oh, no, we have not lost staff members, and none have been injured. At this point, we have about 28 foreign expatriate staff members working in-country and almost 200 national staff, Iraqi staff working here. And so far, we have not had any injuries of any kind.
KAGAN: So it sounds to me like you're saying if you're outside of Baghdad, it's a different situation, or outside the Sunni Triangle as well, if you're in the south, if you're in the far north?
NELSON: Yes, in the south and the north -- and when I say the south I'm talking specifically about the areas we're in, the heartland, the upper south areas, Al Kut, Diwania (ph) and Al Amara (ph). In those areas, we have what we call a tenuous peace. We are always cautious, we are watching very carefully, and we have very strict security protocols to do our work.
At the same time, because we have the community acceptance we are able to go out and do our work in the field. We are not just kind of hunkering down inside our offices, but instead, every day our staff is out working in the communities. We actually go out with our cars that are marked visibly with Mercy Corps signage. All of our houses and our offices are marked with Mercy Corps signage. And so we feel that by the fact that we're a known humanitarian aid organization, that has a real track record of delivering services and desperately-needed supplies, medical equipment, et cetera to the communities that we have safety there.
But I want to be also clear that that is a strategy which we see that's been working in these areas specifically. We also have a small representation office based in Baghdad. We don't have the foreign expatriate staff based here, but we use this office to come in for meetings and for other important business we need to do in Baghdad.
Here, the situation is different. We drive around in unmarked vehicles, and our office is not marked in any way. We really keep a very low profile here. We come in, we do our work, and then we go back into the field where we know the community, and we know that we is have, again, at least a tenuous peace to be working in.
KAGAN: Well, we wish you well in your work not just in Baghdad, but all around Iraq. And on a personal note, I'm sure your family here in the states are happy to have a chance to see your beautiful face, see that you're safe and doing well, doing your very important work.
NELSON: Thank you very much.
KAGAN: Cassandra Nelson, with Mercy Corps, talking about with a very challenging situation, getting a lot of the good work done inside of Iraq.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 5, 2003 - 10:14 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: To Iraq now, where a rocket attack wounded three U.S. soldier on patrol west of Baghdad. Four coalition personnel were wounded yesterday when explosions ripped through high- security area of Baghdad known as the green zone. Another soldier died in a separate incident. To some, the ongoing attacks make it seem that Iraq is on the verge of anarchy.
Cassandra Nelson understands the security situation too well. She is with mercy corps, one of the nongovernmental organizations in Iraq, and she joins us today from Baghdad.
Cassandra, good to see you.
CASSANDRA NELSON, MERCY CORPS: Nice to see you.
KAGAN: Tell us, please, what Mercy Corps is trying to achieve in Iraq.
NELSON: Well, Mercy Corps has been working in Iraq actually before the war, and then after the war moved into the upper south heartland area. We are working across most of the major sectors, from health and medical to water and sanitation. We're also reconstructing schools and roads and other important infrastructure items in the communities, and then we're working also to support many of the social services, things like the handicapped societies. The women's cooperatives, helping women develop livelihoods with widows, and with many other things, such as orphanages and other social services.
KAGAN: That is all such incredible work to be done, but how difficult is it to get done when everybody who is not in Iraq and even Iraqis are considered fair gain.
NELSON: Well, it is difficult work here. I don't, by any means want to play down the concern we have about security and the safety of our staff.
At the same time, I think one of the important things to remember is that Mercy Corps is working in areas outside of Baghdad, and outside of Fallujah and the Sunni Triangle, where many of the very violent attacks have been occurring. We are working in the heartland and in the northern areas, and we've been there for a long time. We've been there, since a said, since right when the war ended in the South, and have really had a chance to get to know the communities we work in, develop and implement some very, very fast, high impact and high visibility programs that have really gone a long way to building community acceptance for us. So we feel that it's the communities there that are welcoming us in that are helping to protect us that are allowing us to get our important work done here.
KAGAN: Have you lost staff members or have any been injured?
NELSON: Oh, no, we have not lost staff members, and none have been injured. At this point, we have about 28 foreign expatriate staff members working in-country and almost 200 national staff, Iraqi staff working here. And so far, we have not had any injuries of any kind.
KAGAN: So it sounds to me like you're saying if you're outside of Baghdad, it's a different situation, or outside the Sunni Triangle as well, if you're in the south, if you're in the far north?
NELSON: Yes, in the south and the north -- and when I say the south I'm talking specifically about the areas we're in, the heartland, the upper south areas, Al Kut, Diwania (ph) and Al Amara (ph). In those areas, we have what we call a tenuous peace. We are always cautious, we are watching very carefully, and we have very strict security protocols to do our work.
At the same time, because we have the community acceptance we are able to go out and do our work in the field. We are not just kind of hunkering down inside our offices, but instead, every day our staff is out working in the communities. We actually go out with our cars that are marked visibly with Mercy Corps signage. All of our houses and our offices are marked with Mercy Corps signage. And so we feel that by the fact that we're a known humanitarian aid organization, that has a real track record of delivering services and desperately-needed supplies, medical equipment, et cetera to the communities that we have safety there.
But I want to be also clear that that is a strategy which we see that's been working in these areas specifically. We also have a small representation office based in Baghdad. We don't have the foreign expatriate staff based here, but we use this office to come in for meetings and for other important business we need to do in Baghdad.
Here, the situation is different. We drive around in unmarked vehicles, and our office is not marked in any way. We really keep a very low profile here. We come in, we do our work, and then we go back into the field where we know the community, and we know that we is have, again, at least a tenuous peace to be working in.
KAGAN: Well, we wish you well in your work not just in Baghdad, but all around Iraq. And on a personal note, I'm sure your family here in the states are happy to have a chance to see your beautiful face, see that you're safe and doing well, doing your very important work.
NELSON: Thank you very much.
KAGAN: Cassandra Nelson, with Mercy Corps, talking about with a very challenging situation, getting a lot of the good work done inside of Iraq.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
