Jubilation turns to hate as aid arrives (merged)

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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http://abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/World/iraq_safwan_030326.html

Even as Aid Arrives, Iraqi Town Curses U.S. Troops

By Mike Von Fremd

S A F W A N, Iraq, March 26 — As a convoy of trucks filled with humanitarian aid pulled into the small border town of Safwan, a large group of Iraqis swarmed the trucks cheering. But this was no welcome.

** With our blood we sacrifice ourselves to you Saddam Hussein!" they chanted. **

British and U.S. troops tried to help the Red Crescent humanitarian workers distribute the five meals for each person who lives there. But they were quickly overwhelmed by a frenzied mob, desperate to grab the boxes filled with water, bread and cheese.

Residents stormed the trucks, climbing over each other to grab what they could and throw them out to the desperate crowds. Some were bloodied in the mayhem, which lasted for almost two hours. Others tried to hide their faces, embarrassed to be seen fighting for a handout.

But even as these residents hungrily grabbed at the humanitarian aid which they clearly needed, they also had a very strong message for the United States.

** “You brought us chaos,” said one mother covered in a black burqa. “People are sick and hungry.”

“Woman and children have been killed,” a man said. “It is all because of U.S. greed for Iraqi oil.” **

The scene was a stark contrast from last week, when residents of this small town just across the border from Kuwait greeted U.S. Marines with smiles and embraces, allowing allied forces to occupy the town without firing a single shot. Residents even looked on with approval as a Marine major pulled down a poster of Saddam Hussein, shouting at him, “You are a man!”

But while many of the people in this town expressed joy less than a week ago at the sight of U.S. and British troops, one man said he was not grateful to be liberated from the regime of Saddam Hussein.

Similar story by Guardian.. We don’t want your Aid go home yankee. :- Jubilation turns to hate as aid arrives | Society | The Guardian

** The young man wearing the brown shawl summed it up succinctly: “We want you to go back home. We do not want your American and British aid,” he said, his eyes flashing with anger.
If the British humanitarian taskforce had any doubts as to the legitimacy of his claims, the sudden burst of gunfire from a nearby building left no one in any doubt. **

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Jubilation turns to hate as aid arrives

Behind the propognada and lies here is the real picture of what the Iraqi people think of the Anglo-Sazons bombing them, and then trying to feed them.

How humiliating this “Operation Iraqi Freedom” is turning out to be for the US and it’s one or two allies.

Jubilation turns to hate as aid arrives

The young man wearing the brown shawl summed it up succinctly: “We want you to go back home. We do not want your American and British aid,” he said, his eyes flashing with anger. If the British humanitarian taskforce had any doubts as to the legitimacy of his claims, the sudden burst of gunfire from a nearby building left no one in any doubt. The first attempt to deliver aid to the Iraqi people was, in all respects, a practical and logistical disaster. A convoy of vehicles, including two water tankers and as many Warrior armoured vehicles, had set off from the abandoned Shaiba airfield earlier. The intent was to deliver food and water to win over the hearts and minds of the beleaguered Iraqis. As the convoy pulled up inside the town, however, a crowd of predominantly young men ran towards it. Fights and skirmishes broke out for bottles of water. Iraqis asked for food and cigarettes. And while a cordon was quickly created, hundreds rushed towards the trucks, overpowering the soldiers.

“We have had no water and no food,” said Ali Abdullah, 50. He stood away from the crowd, stroking his beard and surveyed the scene intently as crowds of young men fought over the water. “For five days now, we have been without electricity. Have you brought some electricity?” The exercise had been beset with a number of difficulties from the outset. On leaving the nearby Shaiba airfield - a series of abandoned hangars, runways and outbuildings on the road to Basra - there had been innumerable delays as reports of violence filtered back from Zubayr. Earlier, there had been a delay in confirming security in the town. Inside Zubayr, however, the distribution initially began with good nature. Young men joked with each other, smiled and passed around bottles of water. Within 10 minutes, however, an undercurrent of resentment flowed to the surface. The war, the bombing, sanctions and their cumulative toll all boiled over. Jalil Ali, 25, the young Iraqi in the brown shawl, asked if any of the humanitarian aid was being provided by Americans. “Take it back,” he yelled, pretending to push it away. “We want the Americans to go back home. We do not need them here. Go back home. I do not need this.” Around him, his friends giggled. Not far away, people rushed out of earthen buildings and raced down a dual carriageway. Ali, however, seemed to realise the irony only too well. “They bomb. And now they want to give water and food. How can they do both? How?” It was then that the gunfire erupted.

Earlier, the soldiers had been optimistic but pensive. After enduring a rainy and windy night in the disused hangar at the Shaiba airfield, the convoy had been well intentioned. It was a curious sight: a line of trucks bearing much-needed humani tarian aid - aid that betrayed all the hallmarks of an occupying force, but aid none the less. The Iraqis, while initially jubilant, were quickly sceptical. “I need electricity,” said Moyed Abdullah, 33. “I need to power my house. See the electricity lines? They are not working; they have not been working for days. Do you bring any electricity?” Around him, British and US soldiers struggled to control the crowds. Time and again, the Iraqis were pushed back - always, they seemed to slip in under the makeshift rope-line. After a while, it seemed, it was better simply to stand back and wait for the inevitable to happen. The burst of gunfire from across the road finally stopped all attempts to supply the aid. As soldiers leapt into the jeeps, a Warrior turned round and took out the position the gunfire had come from. And with daylight fast fading, the humanitarian taskforce decided to speed back to its base at Shaibah airfield. Tomorrow, they will undoubtedly try again to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi civilians. And presumably tomorrow, they will encounter yet more resentment.