Meg's udate: March 2nd: Iraqi Women Speak Out

A side-event entitled,"Families Missing- Armed Conflict. A delegation of women led this panel discussion and shared the sufferings endured under Saddam Hussein's regime, especially during the years 1980-1988. Men, women and children were killed for who they were: poor, uneducated, without influence, and victims of prey at the hands of violent soldiers and officials during that period. What has been most painful for the families has been their inability to find the bodies of their family members. During the present U.S. conflict in Iraq, many more deaths have occurred, and bodies not found. Women's groups are now joining together to petition the government to set up a National Center for Missing Persons, and Laws to protect grave sites. A further effort is being made to solicit help from western countries to use DNA technology
to document victims of violence that have been found, so that families of the deceased can pay respect to their loved ones. The facilitator of this panel was a woman, now in Parliament, who had been prisoned for several years under Saddam, and who now is forging ahead with legislative reform to assist families of missing persons as they continue to grieve the death of their relatives and other community friends.