Undoing the collateral damage of the Iraq war

Salt shakers
February 2007

Undoing the collateral damage of the Iraq war
How can we begin uncoiling the horror of war? How can we respond to the suffering of the innocents so often descibed as "collateral damage" in our daily newspapers. One family at a time say the organizers of The Collateral Repair Project.

The project aims to "respond to the harm caused by one's government by collaborating with injured persons and communities to rebuild." It "recognizes the small, overlooked players in war: the Iraqi child left homeless and parentless by 'non-targeted' shock and awe; the voiceless and confused U.S. taxpayer; the soldier’s parent questioning war’s justifications; the office worker in Chicago or Basra standing at the water cooler, wondering about the Downing Street memo, wondering how things will continue . . . "

The current collateral repair project is raising $6,730 to buy a farm and survival resources for the widow and six children of an Iraqi ambulance driver killed during "Operation Iron Fist" in October 2005 in al-Qa’im near the Syrian border.

Mahmood Chiad Abid was an ambulance driver for Al Qa’im Hospital. He volunteered to rescue a family in nearby Karabla but was killed en route, apparently by U.S. forces. The online fundraising will allow his family to buy a small farm, some cows, sheep, and supplies with the hope that they can support themselves after the loss of the family breadwinner.

According to the Project: "The Chiads are only one of countless Iraqis whose lives have been irreversibly and tragically altered by the illegal invasion and occupation of their country. We who work for an end to the occupation of Iraq may not be able to see justice as soon as we wish, but we can do this one thing, for this one family, right now."

Editors' note: The above report should not be considered an endorsement of this fundraising campaign. SOTE may like an idea, sadly, we do not have the resources to "check out" each of efforts profiled on our website, many of which include a fundraising component. Please proceed with care and conduct your own due diligence before making a contribution to any of the efforts you may read about at SOTE.

Back to page top