05/19/2003

In a middle class neighborhood in Basra, which was caught in the crossfire between British and Iraqi forces, RI met one family whose house was destroyed. The family consists of a woman, two sons and three daughters. One of her sons is severely disabled. At 18 years old, he is unable to speak, is mentally impaired and his arms and legs are disfigured. He is in need of fulltime care and must be fed from a bottle. She has three other sons who live in Armenia and the United Arab Emirates. She used to receive remittances, but has not received any money since the war.

Their house was bombed in the first three days of war. No organizations visited their destroyed home, not even the Red Cross/Red Crescent. They are currently staying at a friend’s house and are allowed to use the kitchen and two other rooms. All of the other rooms are locked. Their hosts will return soon and she is worried about where her family will live or go. “I just want peace and comfort. Who will help us? We have nothing now. Everything was stolen from my home,” she told RI.
 
Security is also a concern here, especially with no man to protect them. She wants to know how long they will have to wait to feel secure. She believes there will be major problems between two religious groups, the Shiite and Sunni. She told RI that thieves wanted to come into the house the other day. She refuses to allow her two daughters to leave the house. Both of her daughters could find jobs because they are fluent in English and highly educated, but she believes it is too dangerous. They want to leave Iraq and go to Kuwait or Jordan. They used to live in Kuwait, but they were forced to return to Iraq after the first Gulf war. All of her children were born in Kuwait. Her husband has been in Jordan for six years illegally and she has not seen him in that time