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Faces of Freedom: A look Civilian Victims of Coalition bombs
Aired April 17, 2003 - 15:31 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: As Iraqis mark their new freedom from the regime of Saddam Hussein, some of them are struggling to understand why they had to pay such a heavy price for that freedom. CNN's Karl Penhaul visited a hospital in the city of Najaf where some victims of coalition bombs are being treated.
And we have a word of caution to our viewers. You may find some of these images disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Faces of freedom. They have names: Abas (ph), Nahadad (ph), Awad (ph), Tahiya (ph). Doctors say they're (ph) civilians.
Ask 15-year-old Zaraa (UNINTELLIGIBLE) liberation and this is what you hear. "Of course I feel angry," she says. "I lost my father, my uncles and a nephew. Stop the war and destruction."
Red Crescent officials say bombs from coalition warplanes hit Zaraa's home in this neighborhood in Najaf. The sketches and plastic shoes of a younger cousin still lie in the rubble. Blood stains left by the hands of a dying father.
Less than 100 yards from Zaraa's home, the targets of those coalition bombs, an Iraqi army truck residents say was (UNINTELLIGIBLE) radar. A troop carrier in sandbagged trenches right in the middle of their neighborhood. But as Zaraa's mother, Marim Abdal Hussein (ph), nurses another of her injured children, she struggles to understand.
"I'm not happy because I lost my husband and my children have been wounded," she says. "I don't know what my future will be. We didn't harm the American or British Army, but maybe they're some of the lucky ones."
(on camera): Almost all of those I spoke to in the hospital said they lost family, friends and neighbors in the bombings, many of whom are now buried here. What coalition forces call a liberation of Iraq has indeed cost them dearly.
(voice-over): In a city of 300,000, the directors of three of the four main hospitals estimate more than 370 civilians died and more than 500 wounded during (UNINTELLIGIBLE) coalition attacks.
DR. SALIH MAHDI ALI AKBAR, SADDAM TEACHING HOSPITAL: Any patient, any injured man, injured children, he hate the Americans and say to them, "Why we pay the price? You can't avoid (ph) such bombs."
PENHAUL: Soldiers of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division control Najaf now. They're beginning to deliver basic food and water supplies. But more humanitarian assistance is needed. The Army says doctors at the city hospitals say they're running low on antibiotics and sterile dressings.
Despite the civilian casualties, all the citizens I spoke to here were glad coalition forces had shattered the regime of Saddam Hussein. "Well, I'm very sorry for the people who were killed in these actions," he says. "But it's all the fault of the tyrant, Saddam Hussein." Ask for Zaraa, she'll never forget the trauma war has brought her, and her family, and she's not yet ready to forgive.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Najaf.
(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
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Aired April 17, 2003 - 15:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: As Iraqis mark their new freedom from the regime of Saddam Hussein, some of them are struggling to understand why they had to pay such a heavy price for that freedom. CNN's Karl Penhaul visited a hospital in the city of Najaf where some victims of coalition bombs are being treated.
And we have a word of caution to our viewers. You may find some of these images disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Faces of freedom. They have names: Abas (ph), Nahadad (ph), Awad (ph), Tahiya (ph). Doctors say they're (ph) civilians.
Ask 15-year-old Zaraa (UNINTELLIGIBLE) liberation and this is what you hear. "Of course I feel angry," she says. "I lost my father, my uncles and a nephew. Stop the war and destruction."
Red Crescent officials say bombs from coalition warplanes hit Zaraa's home in this neighborhood in Najaf. The sketches and plastic shoes of a younger cousin still lie in the rubble. Blood stains left by the hands of a dying father.
Less than 100 yards from Zaraa's home, the targets of those coalition bombs, an Iraqi army truck residents say was (UNINTELLIGIBLE) radar. A troop carrier in sandbagged trenches right in the middle of their neighborhood. But as Zaraa's mother, Marim Abdal Hussein (ph), nurses another of her injured children, she struggles to understand.
"I'm not happy because I lost my husband and my children have been wounded," she says. "I don't know what my future will be. We didn't harm the American or British Army, but maybe they're some of the lucky ones."
(on camera): Almost all of those I spoke to in the hospital said they lost family, friends and neighbors in the bombings, many of whom are now buried here. What coalition forces call a liberation of Iraq has indeed cost them dearly.
(voice-over): In a city of 300,000, the directors of three of the four main hospitals estimate more than 370 civilians died and more than 500 wounded during (UNINTELLIGIBLE) coalition attacks.
DR. SALIH MAHDI ALI AKBAR, SADDAM TEACHING HOSPITAL: Any patient, any injured man, injured children, he hate the Americans and say to them, "Why we pay the price? You can't avoid (ph) such bombs."
PENHAUL: Soldiers of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division control Najaf now. They're beginning to deliver basic food and water supplies. But more humanitarian assistance is needed. The Army says doctors at the city hospitals say they're running low on antibiotics and sterile dressings.
Despite the civilian casualties, all the citizens I spoke to here were glad coalition forces had shattered the regime of Saddam Hussein. "Well, I'm very sorry for the people who were killed in these actions," he says. "But it's all the fault of the tyrant, Saddam Hussein." Ask for Zaraa, she'll never forget the trauma war has brought her, and her family, and she's not yet ready to forgive.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Najaf.
(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
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