Eleven years ago today the US launched the invasion of Iraq. I was only 15 and do not remember the invasion well, because I was not there and could only watch the “shock and awe” from my living room TV. However, many of my friends were present for the invasion, and this experience was something which will be seared into their memories as vivid as September 11th. Some of my veteran friends participated in the invasion; some did so with the desire to rid a perceived threat, others with the desire to help the Iraqi people. Right now those friends would be practicing taking on and off their gas masks, making hasty calls back home, writing that “in case of death” letter, performing their respective “good luck rituals,” and preparing their gear for the ground invasion which would happen tomorrow March 19th and 20th are two days which will be burned into the Iraqi conscience. Many of my Iraqi friends who were civilians were living today in fear, not knowing when or how the US invasion would take place. Some left their homes in Baghdad and other major cities to visit family in the relatively safer countryside, which is still dangerous none-the-less. Others remained in their houses in the big cities, hoping that the incoming missiles would not hit them. They still remember the sound of the incoming missiles which started to rain down tonight; they still remember the feeling of explosions which rattled their houses more than an 8.0 earthquake, shaking things off walls and shattering their windows from the concussive blasts; they still remember the feeling of despair and hopelessness which comes from not knowing whether the next missile will strike their house, their neighbor’s house, or the military base a block away. Hours later came the ground invasion. Today is an event which has been added to the history books, but unfortunately is no longer in the popular dialogue of the media or the white house, even though it affected millions of Americans. To this day, Iraq is still in turmoil as a result of an invasion which did not initially take into account the secondary and tertiary affects of war. To this day, there are millions of American veterans who are affected by these long wars; twenty-two of whom are killing themselves each day (a suicide once every 65 minutes). Please don’t sit idly by, do something to help those who are affected by war. Sign petitions and pressure your congressman to provide veterans with better mental health treatment. Donate to causes which help veterans, specifically combat vets who struggle with PTSD and other injuries caused by years of war. Sign petitions and pressure you congressman to continue to assist Iraq in its continued struggle with becoming stable; something which is exacerbated by the Syrian civil war happening next-door and the meddling of neighboring countries in Iraqi affairs. Donate to causes which assist the Iraqi populations both in Iraq and abroad. Without your help, these two sets of populations, which are connected to one another through warfare and occupation, will continue to live with the trauma they experienced years ago. Thank you for reading and doing something, David Slater UC Davis class of 2014 OIF and OND Veteran
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 18:01:54 +0000
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