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Mass Looting in Basra
Aired April 10, 2003 - 15:47 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.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATHAN JAWAD, SCHOOLTEACHER: ... he's come back to sell my house and stole another house and kill me. I cannot do anything.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Athan Jawad (ph), a schoolteacher with seven children, took his concerns to the British military commander...
JAWAD: Basra people need the safety (ph) and they need the security.
VAUSE: ... but he was told the British are not here as peacekeepers. They don't have the manpower to act as local police.
The mobs weren't only trashing the symbols of Saddam's brutal regime. This was a chance for smash and grab. At the Sheraton hotel they took everything that wasn't nailed down, and then some.
Riyad Almah (ph) is the general manager. He showed me a building stripped clean of anything of value; a sign of just how desperate life was under Saddam. Here, even the covers on light switches and power outlets were considered worthy of stealing.
RIYAD ALMAH, GENERAL MANAGER, SHERATON HOTEL: They damaged everything. I don't know why.
VAUSE: And when they were done, the building was set on fire. But not all the damage was caused by looters. In the hotel gardens, a British missile.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not explosive up to now.
VAUSE: It's an unexploded bomb.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes.
VAUSE: And while there's no doubt many here have embraced their newfound freedoms...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you for this freedom.
VAUSE: ... not far from this man, dumped on the banks of the Shatt al-Arab River, grenades, mortars, machine gun ammunition, even surface-to-to air missiles, all in good condition. It's not known how they got there or why, but still a clear reminder that this country is (UNINTELLIGIBLE) weapons and still very, very dangerous.
(on camera): Time and time again the message from the people we spoke to here in Basra is the same: Saddam may be gone, but there is still fear here. Fear of the Fedayeen, and now fear of the gangs of looters who now roam these streets. What they really want is protection, but that's the one thing the British cannot guarantee, at least for now.
John Vause, CNN, Basra.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 April 10, 2003 - 15:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATHAN JAWAD, SCHOOLTEACHER: ... he's come back to sell my house and stole another house and kill me. I cannot do anything.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Athan Jawad (ph), a schoolteacher with seven children, took his concerns to the British military commander...
JAWAD: Basra people need the safety (ph) and they need the security.
VAUSE: ... but he was told the British are not here as peacekeepers. They don't have the manpower to act as local police.
The mobs weren't only trashing the symbols of Saddam's brutal regime. This was a chance for smash and grab. At the Sheraton hotel they took everything that wasn't nailed down, and then some.
Riyad Almah (ph) is the general manager. He showed me a building stripped clean of anything of value; a sign of just how desperate life was under Saddam. Here, even the covers on light switches and power outlets were considered worthy of stealing.
RIYAD ALMAH, GENERAL MANAGER, SHERATON HOTEL: They damaged everything. I don't know why.
VAUSE: And when they were done, the building was set on fire. But not all the damage was caused by looters. In the hotel gardens, a British missile.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not explosive up to now.
VAUSE: It's an unexploded bomb.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes.
VAUSE: And while there's no doubt many here have embraced their newfound freedoms...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you for this freedom.
VAUSE: ... not far from this man, dumped on the banks of the Shatt al-Arab River, grenades, mortars, machine gun ammunition, even surface-to-to air missiles, all in good condition. It's not known how they got there or why, but still a clear reminder that this country is (UNINTELLIGIBLE) weapons and still very, very dangerous.
(on camera): Time and time again the message from the people we spoke to here in Basra is the same: Saddam may be gone, but there is still fear here. Fear of the Fedayeen, and now fear of the gangs of looters who now roam these streets. What they really want is protection, but that's the one thing the British cannot guarantee, at least for now.
John Vause, CNN, Basra.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
