Winks Blog

On Iraqi Mothers Day

Happy Mother's Day women in Iraq.

2nd Annual Iraqi Mother’s Day,

Last year, on this day May 6th, I proclaimed the first Iraqi Mother’s Day. The mom’s in Iraq need special acknowledgement not just for what they have been going through, but for who they are. With well over 35,000 Iraqis killed since the US invasion, one can only imagine what these women have had to endure to survive. I cannot imagine a single mom that has not been seriously affected by the atrocities that occur on a daily basis.

To the women in Iraq, I want to send you my heartfelt care and once again dedicate this day to be only your special day.

In a few days the US will have its own annual Mother’s Day. On that day families and friends lavish the special mother’s in their life by taking them to or making a special dinner or brunch, bringing them gifts of flowers and candy etc. In Iraq this should happen too, but unfortunately for most women, there are no gifts and there is no peace.

Here is a recount of what happened on your Mother's Day:


BAGHDAD, Iraq - A British military helicopter crashed in Basra on Saturday, and Iraqis hurled stones at British troops and set fire to three armored vehicles that rushed to the scene. Clashes broke out between British troops and Shiite militias, police and witnesses said.

Police Capt. Mushtaq Khazim said the helicopter was apparently shot down in a residential district. He said the four-member crew was killed, but British officials would say only that there were "casualties."

British forces backed by armored vehicles rushed to the area but were met by a hail of stones from the crowd of at least 250 people, who jumped for joy and raised their fists as a plume of thick smoke rose into the air from the crash site.

The crowd set three British armored vehicles on fire, apparently with gasoline bombs and a rocket-propelled grenade, but the soldiers inside escaped unhurt, witnesses said.

British troops shot into the air trying to disperse the crowd, then shooting broke out between the British and Iraqi militiamen, Khazim said. At least four people, including a child, were killed, he said. Two of the victims were adults shot by British troops while driving a car in the area, Khazim said.

_ A bomb in a parked car exploded, killing two policemen and an Iraqi soldier and wounding four civilians about 30 miles north of Baqouba, police said.

_ Suspected insurgents kidnapped seven Iraqis, including three paramilitary policemen, south of Baghdad in an area where a roadside bomb killed three U.S. service members the day before.

_ Roadside bombs hit two Iraqi police patrols in Baghdad, killing one officer and wounding two policemen and six civilians.

_ Two rockets or mortar shells were fired in northern Baghdad, one hitting a home and killing two children and wounding a woman.

_ Police in Baghdad found the bodies of 13 Iraqi men, five of them relatives from Iraq's Sunni Arab minority, who had been kidnapped and brutally killed, police said.

_ A drive-by shooting killed two brothers in Baghdad, police Capt. Firas Queti said.

_ A roadside bomb in the northern city of Mosul wounded two Iraqi policemen. Police also found the bullet-ridden bodies of a father and son who had been kidnapped earlier in the day.

_ Iraqi and U.S. forces searched shops for weapons and imposed a curfew in Rawah, a Sunni city 175 miles northwest of Baghdad.

For you mother's of Iraq, my wish is peace, and I know that is something that will not happen for years to come, if ever. I wish you the continued strength to endure what we have ignited, and for those of you who have lost loved ones, I mourn with you and can only apologize for our actions that lead to your pain.

posted by Wink @ 9:17 AM