Exhibit Description and History
The following is Takashi Morizumi's
introduction to the book Children of the Gulf War:
Eleven years after the Gulf War, destroyed Iraqi tanks still lie abandoned
in the desert along the border of Iraq and Kuwait. Since its invasion of
Kuwait, Iraq has been subject to severe economic sanctions. Its economic
activities, heavily dependent on imports, are virtually paralyzed. The people
are exhausted, their lives a continual ordeal, and the main victims are
the Iraqi children.
I have been documenting the children of Iraq since 1998. Even at large hospitals
in Baghdad, medicines have vanished from pharmacy shelves. Medical equipment
is broken and unusable. When children are malnourished, even common diarrhea
or colds can lead to death. But the most alarming phenomenon is the enormous
increase in deaths due to leukemia and other cancers. Iraqi hospitals are
filled with children suffering from leukemia, cancer and physical deformities.
To treat the enormous increase in patients, the two pediatric hospitals
in Baghdad had to build special wings for leukemia patients. However, because
of financial limitations, there is a severe shortage of medication. Doctors
are overwhelmed with the number of severely ill patients. Deaths from cancer
in Basra, the city in southern Iraq closest to the battlefields, increased
from 34 in 1988 before the war to 219 five years later in 1996. Since then,
they have continued to soar. In 2000, the figure was 586 deaths, a 17-fold
increase!
Why is this happening? The most likely explanation is the depleted uranium
munitions used by the multilateral forces. Depleted uranium is a by-product
of the manufacture of nuclear weapons and fuel for nuclear power reactors.
Although it contains only a low level of uranium-235, which is required
for nuclear fission, it does remain a radioactive substance.
Taking advantage of the hardness and density of this material, the defense
industry has developed a new type of armor-piercing shell, which is fired
at high speed against the target. The impact generates intense heat and
severe burning. Artillery penetrators and machine-gun bullets made of depleted
uranium were first used in the Gulf War, a total quantity estimated at over
three hundred tons. The shell disintegrates into particles that permeate
the air and soil of the surrounding area and pollute the water. When this
toxic metal penetrates the body or is ingested, the incidence of cancer,
leukemia, liver and kidney disorders, tumors and birth defects is high.
This substance is thought responsible for the increases in leukemia and
cancer.
The Gulf War saw the introduction of Tomahawk missiles and other high-tech
weapons. Now, it turns out, it was a new kind of "nuclear war." In Bosnia
and Kosovo, depleted uranium was also left behind. In Afganistan, the likelihood
that it was used is high. The continual use of depleted uranium weapons
in the future is extremely dangerous to human beings and the environment.
The plight of Iraq's children is an alarm warning people about the horror
of this new nuclear warfare.
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"Children of the Gulf War" US tour
You can find some more information about the exhibition and
depleted uranium from below address that is a homepage of 'Children of the
Gulf War' photo exhibition tour at US.
http://www.savewarchildren.org/
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From the organizer of the UK tour
My name is Midori, a Japanese working mother living in London.
I am organizing a photo exhibition tour called 'Children of the Gulf War".
I have a seven years old son. The day before his seventh birthday, he asked
me. 'Why have children being killed by a war? Children haven't done anything
bad'. I didn't know how to answer him. Children in the photographs have
been asking me the same question. Please come and meet the children in the
Gulf War.
I'm looking for spaces for further exhibitions. If you know any place in
London or any other town, which might be interested in hosting the exhibition,
please let me know.
midori@dircon.co.uk
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The Global Peace Campaign
The Global Peace Campaign was launched by a Japanese mother
and her friends in England and USA soon after the September 11th terrorist
attack. The aim was to stop military retaliation in Afganistan by the USA
and UK.
GPC have placed four peace ads in the USA (2 in the NY Times, 1 in the LA
Times and 1 in the Washington Post), 1 peace ad in Italy (La Stampa) and
ten peace ads in Persian papers (Javanan and Nimruz). GPC are also promoting
2 books in the USA, England, Japan and the rest of the world: "Children
of the Gulf War" by Takashi Morizumi and "Addicted to War" by Joel Andreas.
GPC are now trying to raise money for a billboard in Hollywood to promote
"Addicted To War" and a peace ad that was placed in the Washington Post
on February 6th, which cost $65,000. Donations can be made on line at: http://www.veteransforpeace.org
Alternatively, money orders (in US dollars) can be sent to: Veterans For
Peace, 438 North Skinker, St Louis, MO63130, USA. For further details, visit:
http://www.peace2001.org
(Click 'English version')
GPC's goal is to promote alternative and peaceful solutions to conflicts
and create a sustainable and peaceful global society. GPC is a grassroots
campaign by those who care for every life on earth. GPC distribute information
via the above website and a listserve (to subscribe send a blank email to
globalpeacecampaign-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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