"I want to return to Iraq soon. In Fallujah, I'm going to help set up a water purification plant, and in Hadeetha, I want to help build a new hospital", Ismael says. It sounds like urgent. A member of the Doctors for Iraq Society, Ismael is thin and has those typical long, fine surgeon's fingers. But in Iraq, Ismael has already survived the worst situations. His organisation is gathering evidence of human rights violations under occupation. He was invited to Brussels by the Belgian NGO 'Medical Aid for the Third World', in order to draw attention to the war crimes being committed in Iraq.
Right before he would show his images to demonstrate that indeed illegal chemical weapons had been used by the US during the second siege of Fallujah, Dr. Ismael finds the time to tell his story. He doesn't know where to start. But then comes an avalanche of stories, images, and examples to underscore his point. "The breaches of medical neutrality must stop. Shooting at doctors and ambulances is a crime."
Were you yourself in those ambulances?
"Yes. After my studies in the Baghdad Medical School, I wanted to specialise in orthopaedic surgery, but everything changed with the US invasion. Instead of pursuing my studies, I offered my services as a volunteer doctor, and that is what I'm still doing today."
"It often happened that ambulances were shot at by US snipers, like in Fallujah. During the first siege, one day we went to see an injured family. The Americans occupied the street. We had to proceed just six meters in order to get to those people, but every time we tried to cross the street, it rained bullets on the wall across. One of my colleagues finally dared to go. He counted to three and, in his white coat, ran toward the wounded man, with the bullets flying. He took the man, folded cardboard around his body and attached a rope to it. He threw us the rope, counted again to three, and we pulled the patient toward us. Again, bullets drove into the wall."
How did you work during the first siege of Fallujah, in April 2004?
