Today is the day when many thousands of people across Baghdad are
conscious that it is the seventh year since two astonishingly smart bombs
penetrated the ventilation system of the Amiriyah shelter. All of the
people huddled inside, at least 500 civilians, who had sought a safe night
of shelter, were melted.

We just came from that site. To hear from survivors, or people who lost
loved ones--and to hear the people speak about how much love and longing
they have for all of those people who were lost--very
moving. Someone in our group asked, "Do you think that this could ever
happen again?" And every person said, "Yes, we can believe anything now
because thousands of our children are dying."

In terms of the preparations being made for war, people in general feel
pretty defenseless here. Some have left Baghdad for places they think they
might be safer. But we hear a nervous laughter and some people ask: "Is
your country going to bomb us again?"

Although this is our first day in the Baghdad, we have heard from people
that anger isn't being directed at Saddam Hussein. In fact, several people
have said that they would do the same thing if they were him. There is a
feeling that the sovereignty of Iraq needs to be maintained.

The eight of us here, are delivering $110,000 worth of medicine.
It's really just a drop in the bucket compared to the needs of the
people. We know that the greatest evidence of a weapon
of mass destruction can be seen in the pediatric wards of every hospital
where children are suffering terrible consequences of the sanctions.

(The Voices In the Wilderness group in Bagdad has established a "peace camp"
at the United Nations headquarters there.)