PHA-Exchange> Belgian doctors in Iraq

[Bert De Belder]

Baghdad, March 20, 5:35 am, Dr. Colette Moulaert: "They started!" 
Dr. Colette Moulaert calls from Baghdad: "Bert, they started!" She refers to the American terror bombings of course. Our friends, doctors Colette eand Geert Van Moorter, are still on the spot as witnesses.

Colette: "There were three salvo's at 5:45 am (local time, 3:45 in Belgium), east and south of Baghdad."

I ask whether they and Geert are safe. "We stay in Hotel Palestine, far from the military targets," says Colette. "Later today, when the attacks stop, we hope to visit the hospitals in order to testify about the atrocities of this war and to help wherever we can. But we don't have an official permit yet to work as a doctor. Our contact who would arrange that left Baghdad yesterday. Yesterday we visited chronic patients in the Al-Mansour hospital. The stories are appalling. We'll try to e-mail them later."

And what about the communication lines, will they remain open? "As you can hear the telephone still works (indeed, the line is excellent), and all laptops are covered in aluminum foil. That should shield them from the effects of the e-bomb they say. We also have an appointment with Alain Lallemand, a journalist of Le Soir. He stays in another hotel and has a satellite telephone we can borrow."

And the other internationalists? Or are Geert and Colette the only ones left? Colette sounds very upbeat: "O, don't worry, there's a group of Algerians and lots of Palestinians!"

Time to hang up. I admire Colette's cool and morale. I really hope that they can do much more excellent work.

When I open my mail, there are several mails to encourage Geert and Colette. One of them is from Mayang Grenough, een American nun who has been working with the Philippine people's movement for more than 35 years. Last year she was one of the participants in a fact-finding mission Geert joined in the Philippines. "I hope and pray for their safety during this time. Such courage and compassion is really moving," she writes.

Dr. Bert De Belder, Coordinator, Medical Aid for the Third World
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