- Dear Jeff -
-
- The following was my speech at World Uranium Weapons
Conference, 2003, at Hamburg, Germany on October 17. I think it would be
useful for your audience...
-
-
- Mohammed Daud Miraki, PhD, MA, MA
- Director
- Afghan DU & Recovery Fund
- www.afghandufund.org
-
- For more than two decades, Afghan people have endured
many tragedies, only to be condemned to a perpetual death by the United
States of America.
-
- Initially, the former Soviet Union and their installed
puppet regime have murdered more than 1.5 million Afghans, littered the
country with more than 15 million mines that take Afghan lives every day.
It followed by the infighting among the warlords and the former communist
regime militias further adding to the misery of our people. People lost
their lives along with their dignity and self-respect in the past two decades.
With the emergence of Taliban, the reactionary force that dealt severe
blow to the local bandits and warlords, the cycle of death did not. Afghans
faced a much disastrous future when they were condemned to the silent genocide
of uranium weapons. In fact, the conspiracy of the elite in the United
States not only resulted in the deadly attacks of September the 11th, 2001
followed by the invasion of Afghanistan, but also it has begun to tell
the world that the use of nuclear weapons is as commonplace as conventional
arsenal.
-
- It is necessary to reflect on this and other tragedies
in the current global anarchy because we are facing a global menace eager
to use any means to reach its evil ends. The significance of this period
in human history becomes evident when one encompasses the magnitude of
the disaster imposed on people who chose not to be enslaved in the chains
of the New World Order. In essence, the United States responds to rejections
from weak nations, such as Afghanistan, through the means of Weapons of
Mass Destruction and the accompanying perpetual death condemning entire
nations forever. After all, in the few billion years required for the half
life of uranium, the existence of nations as we know them today is inconceivable,
because at the present rate the speed of contamination by far exceeds any
hopes of recover. Especially, when the contamination consists of the Weapons
of Mass Destruction, uranium.
-
- Afghan people have been condemned for being different,
courageous and have the dignity for self-determination, which is something
quite foreign to the coward establishment of the USA and her allies. The
truth of this matter becomes evident from the following statement by one
of the victims of US's aggression:
-
- "What else do the Americans want? They killed us,
they turned our newborns into horrific deformations, and they turned our
farmlands into graveyards and destroyed our homes. On top of all that their
planes fly over and spray us with bullets. We have nothing to lose; we
will fight against them the same way we fought against the previous monster
[the former Soviet Union]" (Sa'yed Gharib, April 2003)
-
- The courage this poor peasant exhibited is a priceless
commodity that you would not find on the New York Stock Exchange. In fact,
the uranium weapons may physically disable Afghans of all ages; but it
will never cripple their determination to uphold their sovereignty and
self-respect.
-
- Unfortunately, the pain that these poor souls endure
is not lost amidst the heroism they exhibit daily. They live in utter devastation,
wherein one in five children do not make it to their fifth birthday, while
the average life expectancy for adults stands at 45. As if all this misery
was not enough, the US and its criminal allies had to subject the entire
nation to a collective death sentence, a tragedy from which recovery is
unimaginable. Moreover, to add insult to injury, the global menace had
to call this genocide--"liberation".
-
- The bunker buster bombs contaminated the underground
water system, upon which locals rely, especially, in times of drought.
Afghans inherited large number of cave systems from generations ago and
were part of the daily livelihood and sustenance of communities all over
the country. Similarly, various mountain ranges constitute extensions of
local ecosystems. Local populations depend on these mountains for water,
wood and even cultivation. Some people even cultivate some arable lands
in the lower steppes of some of the mountain ranges. This is especially
the case in the southeast and east of the country, part of the Pashtun
(Afghan) land where large mountain ranges dominate the land. Therefore,
it is impossible for the inhabitants of those areas to avoid exposure to
the deadly contaminants. Tragically, the continuous air raids on suspected
"hideouts" of Afghan resistance forces, subject locals to daily
dose of "fresh" uranium dust.
-
- With this in mind, there are two issues that require
attention. First, the continuous bombing has to stop, which is essentially
wishful thinking on our part. Bombing and air raids of different types
would continue as long as there are resistant fighters challenging US's
crimes. Second, something has to be done to eventually pave the way for
some sort of ameliorative action, if any, for the survival of the current
inhabitants, and long term prospects of safety of future generations.
- This second issue compelled me to form Afghan DU &
Recovery Fund, with hopes of paving the way for some sort of 'cleanup'.
However, I know this that it is impossible to have complete cleanup for
contaminants that are susceptible to wind patterns, snow and rain water.
-
- Meanwhile, the planning process for such massive undertaking
requires a continuous influx of data, which would serve as the feedback
mechanism for any strategy we choose to adopt. Eventually, a dynamic database
would prove to be invaluable. To achieve such a database, I propose the
instillation of permanent monitoring devices initially in the 'hot spots',
followed by instillation of such monitoring stations all over Afghanistan;
this, we believe, to be the most sensible initial steps toward a long term
amelioration efforts.
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- The significance of such database would appear lame at
the outset. However, the long-term benefits would not only be crucial for
any cleanup, but also would serve as a wealth of epidemiological information,
necessary data bank for researchers worldwide. Unfortunately, any such
undertaking requires funding, which is quite difficult at this time because
most potential donors follow the "flow", namely demands of the
US government.
- Finally, let me focus on the relevance of international
institutions at the current crossroad in history. At the present time,
international institutions and international law are considered worthless
dealing with poor nations and their claims of injustice. In fact, a world
institution such as the United Nations has become a mere approval stamp
for the United States and other powerful nations. In light of these fundamental
global changes, the poor nations should grant no credence to the notion
of international law and United Nations because the survival of poor nations
is taken hostage by this global fallacy, namely the United Nations as we
see it today. It is my firm opinion that it is not a prerequisite to be
a strong nation, militarily speaking, to stand for one's rights. If the
New World Order has institutionalized this new Paradigm of Forced Socioeconomic
Underdevelopment, it has failed to fully hinder avenues whereby the weak
could contest its grievance. The grassroots movements worldwide with the
assistance of Internet as the medium of communication could raise the voices
of weak nations effectively. As it is evident today from our activities
at this conference.
-
- Since the use of uranium weapons has undoubtedly affect
all aspects of Afghan society, its people and their habitat, a mere struggle
of resistance is not enough, because the use of uranium weapons entails
the perpetual condemnation of an entire nation to a silent death. A death
that would linger upon us for generations to come, the most precious of
our possession, the children of Afghanistan would be the worst of the victims
in this tragedy.
-
- What is all this genocide for, simply to gain wealth?
That is the manifestation of true evil, a practice fitting for Lucifer,
the Satan. Unfortunately, the current global menace, the United States
of America, has chosen to be that Lucifer aimed at mass murdering nations.
- Sincerely,
-
- Mohammed Daud Miraki, PhD, MA, MA
- Director
- Afghan DU & Recovery Fund
- www.afghandufund.org
- mdmiraki@ameritech.net
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