How long will it take to forget? 9th April 2003 Of all the scenarios! 13th March 2003 Some Human Shields asked to leave Iraq 10th March, 2003 Letter to Prime Minister Christiaan Briggs Implores his Prime Minister to Inspire 6 March, 2003 Better than a 9-to-5 5th March, 2003 Response to false reports of Iraqi control 5th March, 2003 Christiaan deploys to power station in Baghdad 4th March, 2003 Christiaan responds to U.S. administration 26th February, 2003 Intent on standing with the Iraqi people 25th February, 2003 Finally in Baghdad 20th February, 2003 Getting organised to go 17th January, 2003 Why a Small-town New Zealander is Heading for Iraq to be a Human Shield 1st January, 2003

Better than a 9 to 5
March 5th 2003

Published in TNT Magazine, London

It’s better than a 9 to 5. I’ll give it that. Many of you would have heard the reports this week that there’s been a mass exodus of human shields or that we’re all under the control of the Iraqi government and are being forced to shield sites not of our choosing.

All I can say, as one who is the story, is take these reports as a prime example of this wonderful information system we call the corporate media: a system of journalists who don’t have the time or the inclination to check facts, who are pressured into writing sensationalist stories and who just want to get their pay packet at the end of the week.

As far as I know I am still here. Along with around 200 other Human Shields. About 20 have left but most of them were not planning on staying in the first place. There’s nothing wrong with this. If more people make the same commitment these people made we will stop this crime against humanity before it starts. And they are; more continue to arrive in Amman, Jordan and make their way to Baghdad every couple of days.

Some left because they ran out of money. Some left because they naïvely thought there would be no risks involved. Some left because they came to Iraq with the express intention of deploying to hospitals and schools only but for what I believe to be rational reasons we are unable to deploy to these sites.

Schools, in a practical sense, are pointless because in the event of a bombing campaign they will be closed down anyway. As for hospitals, we would be a burden on staff and a potential health risk to patients. However, we are free to visits to hospitals during the day.

Personally I see little point in deploying to these kinds of sites in any case. It is the targeting of water and electricity plants, etc. that hit civilian populations the most. Maybe we could have camped outside hospitals and stayed at schools anyway for publicity purposes but the decision has being made. It’s an unfortunate PR decision but nothing more in my opinion.

Be clear, we are still free to leave Iraq whenever we like, we are still free to choose which sites we deploy to and all the sites we have chosen to deploy to have been approved by UN officials as critical to humanitarian objectives.

The truth is, as well as being welcome guests, we are quite a burden on the Iraqi government. We come with a great offer but imagine if one us were killed right now for instance. We are in a potential full-scale warzone and this is truly the last situation the Iraqi government wants on their hands, so, naturally, they keep close tabs on us.

As many of you already know I have not gone into this naïvely. I’m aware of the risks in regard to the Iraqi government, just as I am aware of risks in regard to U.S. bombs landing on my head. But these are risks I’m prepared to take because I’m not prepared to stand by and watch others be killed in my name when I have the ability to do something about it.

The only crime these generous, friendly and gentle people have committed is to be born atop a large oil reserve and refuse to relinquish it to the elite of North American Capitalism.