ÿþ<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <!-- saved from url=(0130)http://www.thememoryhole.org/media/al-jazeera/topics/articlec6d0.html?cu_no=1&item_no=1048&version=1&template_id=263&parent_id=258 --> <HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Al Jazeera - objective and balanced global news coverage and analysis- main page</TITLE><!-- Mirrored from english.aljazeera.net/topics/article.asp?cu_no=1&item_no=1048&version=1&template_id=263&parent_id=258 by HTTrack Website Copier/3.x [XR&CO'2003], Tue, 25 Mar 2003 19:12:07 GMT --> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=UTF-16"> <META http-equiv=Content-Type><LINK href="article-hunger_files/style.css" type=text/css rel=stylesheet> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2722.900" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY leftMargin=0 topMargin=10 rightMargin=0> <DIV align=center xmlns:UDF="http://mycompany.com/mynamespace" xmlns:msxsl="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xslt"> <CENTER> <TABLE style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" borderColor=#111111 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px" align=left><IMG src="article-hunger_files/banner.gif"></TD></TR> <TR> <TD><IMG src="article-hunger_files/mainheader.jpg"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></CENTER></DIV> <DIV align=center> <CENTER> <TABLE id=AutoNumber2 style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" borderColor=#999999 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=770 border=1> <TBODY> <TR> <TD> <TABLE id=AutoNumber3 style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" borderColor=#111111 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD class=dates id=hDate dir=ltr style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px" width="80%" bgColor=#cccccc></TD> <TD dir=ltr width="20%" bgColor=#cccccc></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> <TABLE id=AutoNumber4 style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" borderColor=#111111 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=768 border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD width=565> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD colSpan=2 height=5></TD></TR> <TR> <TD style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px" colSpan=2> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 xmlns:UDF="http://mycompany.com/mynamespace" xmlns:msxsl="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xslt"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD class=indicationLink2 vAlign=top><A class=indicationLink href="http://www.thememoryhole.org/media/al-jazeera/index.html">Homepage<IMG src="article-hunger_files/spacer.gif" width=2 border=0></A><IMG src="article-hunger_files/spacer.gif" width=3 border=0><IMG src="article-hunger_files/spacer.gif" width=3 border=0>/ <IMG src="article-hunger_files/spacer.gif" width=2 border=0><A class=indicationLink href="http://www.thememoryhole.org/media/al-jazeera/topics/index7237.html?cu_no=1&amp;template_id=263&amp;temp_type=42">main page<IMG src="article-hunger_files/spacer.gif" width=3 border=0></A>/ </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR> <TD colSpan=3 height=6></TD></TR> <TR> <TD width=10></TD> <TD><INPUT id=item_cu_no type=hidden value=1 xmlns:UDF="http://mycompany.com/mynamespace" xmlns:msxsl="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xslt"><INPUT id=item_no type=hidden value=1048 xmlns:UDF="http://mycompany.com/mynamespace" xmlns:msxsl="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xslt"><INPUT id=version type=hidden value=1 xmlns:UDF="http://mycompany.com/mynamespace" xmlns:msxsl="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xslt"><INPUT id=date1 type=hidden value=25/03/2003 xmlns:UDF="http://mycompany.com/mynamespace" xmlns:msxsl="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xslt"><INPUT id=dateTime type=hidden value=" 6:42PM" xmlns:UDF="http://mycompany.com/mynamespace" xmlns:msxsl="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xslt"><INPUT id=articalText type=hidden value="<P>&amp;nbsp;</P>&#13;&#10;<P>Days into the US-led war, Iraq's civilians are still waiting for the food, water and other help Washington and London promised they would distribute behind their advancing soldiers.<BR>&amp;nbsp;<BR>But with unexpectedly tough combat holding up the humanitarian <BR>aid convoys, hope is rapidly turning to anger against the invaders.<BR>&amp;nbsp;<BR>&quot;This war has quickly turned us into beggars,&quot; an old man who <BR>gave his name as Farak said as he sat on the side of a road in <BR>southern Iraq Monday.<BR>&amp;nbsp;<BR>In this part of the country, at least, years of UN economic <BR>sanctions that stripped cupboards have now been replaced by a fierce <BR>war which is depleting the few remaining valuable provisions, <BR>resulting in a severe penury.<BR>&amp;nbsp;<BR>With no running water and no electricity, and food all but gone, <BR>the inhabitants of the desertic south have slipped into despair, no <BR>longer believing in the US promises they would be taken care of. <BR>There are no celebrations to greet the Western troops.<BR>&amp;nbsp;<BR>&quot;We've been abandoned to our fate. Nobody has given us anything <BR>to eat. Nobody is providing security. All they do is arrive here, <BR>attack Saddam's forces, then leave,&quot; said Hussein Yaber, a <BR>20-year-old shepherd living in a barn south of Nasiriyah.<BR>&amp;nbsp;<BR>On Monday, he was forced to buy 300 litres (65 gallons) of water <BR>from various trucks driving down from the north because his family <BR>now had no more drinking water.<BR>&amp;nbsp;<BR>&quot;We can't remember when the situation has been so bad,&quot; he said <BR>-- a telling comment in a region with a Muslim Shiite majority long <BR>oppressed by the Sunni minority that runs Iraq.</P>&#13;&#10;<P>&#13;&#10;<TABLE width=10 align=left border=0>&#13;&#10;&#13;&#10;<TR>&#13;&#10;<TD align=middle><IMG height=150 src=_/mritems/images/2003/3/22/1_755_1_6.html width=190 border=0></TD></TR>&#13;&#10;<TR>&#13;&#10;<TD class=imgcaption id=Comment dir=rtl vAlign=top align=middle><FONT face=Arial size=1><STRONG>A British Army soldier manning a checkpoint near the Iraqi town of Safwan shouts instructions as a woman who was wounded by shrapnel when an explosion rocked her house seeks help</STRONG></FONT></TD></TR></TABLE></P>&#13;&#10;<P>Because of the desperation, incidents of looting and assault <BR>have broken out in recent days, resulting in several people being <BR>hurt.<BR>&amp;nbsp;<BR>On Sunday, a 10-year-old girl died when she stepped on one of <BR>the innumerable landmines laid by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's <BR>followers around the border town of Safwan.<BR>&amp;nbsp;<BR>&quot;Why did an innocent girl step on it and not an American?&quot; asked <BR>Yaber, a resident. </P>&#13;&#10;<P>According to the only doctor in Safwan, Ali, basic medicine is <BR>urgently needed, including analgesics, antibiotics, and drugs for <BR>gastroenteritis -- a constant health problem because of frequently <BR>contaminated drinking water.<BR>&amp;nbsp;<BR>The nearest hospital is in Umm Qasr, the port town 20 kilometres <BR>(12 miles) to the east where a small group of Iraqi fighters have <BR>been able to hold out and fire shots at coalition soldiers for four <BR>days despite aerial bombings and artillery shelling.<BR>&amp;nbsp;<BR>&quot;If the (US and British) soldiers are among us for only a short <BR>time, we could try to respect them. But if they have come to stay, <BR>there are going to be a lot of problems because the United States <BR>only wants to destroy Islam,&quot; affirmed a young Safwan man driving a <BR>car with a white flag flying from its roof.<BR>&amp;nbsp;<BR>Nowhere in Safwan were the scenes of celebration or relief US <BR>President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair had <BR>been counting on to confront their critics. </P>&#13;&#10;<P>Although the town was the first to fall to the coalition troops <BR>without resistance last Friday, by Monday the British patrols were <BR>receiving no victory signs from the children in street.<BR>&amp;nbsp;<BR>The atmosphere is tense, and the soldiers posted at the entrance <BR>and exit of the town can do little to assuage the growing anger <BR>directed at them. </P>&#13;&#10;<P>Near one of the tanks stationed next to a torn-up portrait of <BR>Saddam, a local man said: &quot;The United States hasn't understood that <BR>it's not going to be able to kill Saddam Hussein with this war. For <BR>better or for worse, he has already become a legend.&quot;</P>" xmlns:UDF="http://mycompany.com/mynamespace" xmlns:msxsl="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xslt"> <TABLE id=AutoNumber5 style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" borderColor=#111111 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 xmlns:UDF="http://mycompany.com/mynamespace" xmlns:msxsl="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xslt"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD> <TABLE id=AutoNumber5 style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" borderColor=#111111 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD dir=ltr width="100%"><A href="http://www.thememoryhole.org/media/al-jazeera/xml/topics/printarticlec6d0.xml?cu_no=1&amp;item_no=1048&amp;version=1&amp;template_id=263&amp;parent_id=258"><IMG hspace=5 src="article-hunger_files/print.gif" align=right vspace=5 border=0></A><IMG onmouseover="this.style.cursor = 'hand' ;" onclick=SendByEmail(); onmouseout="this.style.cursor = '' ;" hspace=5 src="article-hunger_files/email.gif" align=right vspace=5 border=0></TD></TR> <TR> <TD height=5></TD></TR> <TR> <TD class=articalTitle>Hunger turns Iraqi civilians against US 'saviours'</TD></TR> <TR> <TD height=15></TD></TR> <TR> <TD id=artical vAlign=top></TD></TR> <TR> <TD height=12></TD></TR> <TR> <TD width="100%" background=article-hunger_files/h-dotedline-bg.gif><IMG height=1 src="article-hunger_files/spacer.gif" width=1></TD></TR> <TR> <TD height=10></TD></TR> <TR> <TD dir=ltr width="100%"><A href="http://www.thememoryhole.org/media/al-jazeera/xml/topics/printarticlec6d0.xml?cu_no=1&amp;item_no=1048&amp;version=1&amp;template_id=263&amp;parent_id=258"><IMG hspace=5 src="article-hunger_files/print.gif" align=right vspace=5 border=0></A><IMG onmouseover="this.style.cursor = 'hand' ;" onclick=SendByEmail(); onmouseout="this.style.cursor = '' ;" hspace=5 src="article-hunger_files/email.gif" align=right vspace=5 border=0></TD></TR> <TR> <TD height=5></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> <SCRIPT language=JavaScript1.2 xmlns:UDF="http://mycompany.com/mynamespace" xmlns:msxsl="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xslt"> if(document.all.artical) document.all.artical.innerHTML = document.all.articalText.value ; </SCRIPT> </TD> <TD width=10></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD> <TD dir=ltr width=1 bgColor=#cccccc><IMG height=1 src="article-hunger_files/spacer.gif" width=1 border=0></TD> <TD vAlign=top width=202> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD colSpan=3 height=10></TD></TR> <TR> <TD width=10></TD> <TD><A href="http://www.thememoryhole.org/media/al-jazeera/index.html"><IMG src="article-hunger_files/homepage.gif" border=0></A></TD> <TD width=10></TD></TR> <TR> <TD colSpan=3 height=8></TD></TR> <TR> <TD width=10></TD> <TD></TD> <TD width=10></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></CENTER></DIV><!-- Mirrored from english.aljazeera.net/topics/article.asp?cu_no=1&item_no=1048&version=1&template_id=263&parent_id=258 by HTTrack Website Copier/3.x [XR&CO'2003], Tue, 25 Mar 2003 19:12:08 GMT --> <SCRIPT language=JavaScript1.2> if( document.all.date1 ) { docDate = document.all.date1.value ; } </SCRIPT> <SCRIPT language=JavaScript src="article-hunger_files/HomeMenu.js"></SCRIPT> </BODY></HTML>