Deformed Iraqi babies: US responsibility? Families believe depleted uranium weapons dumped by the US military are likely to be the cause, but they have no resources to take a case against the US. Let's give to a legal aid fund to help give the victims a voice and get justice: Donate Now! |
In Fallujah, two or three times a day, babies are being born with terrifying defects: heart problems, brain damage, six fingers, or three heads, but no one knows why.
This town was the epicentre of a massive US offensive in 2004, where depleted uranium weapons were used and dumped. Since then the number of babies born with mutations has exploded and the doctors and families of these desperate children believe the two may be linked. But no one there has the resources to develop a legal case against the US to demand a full investigation and compensation.
Let's join together to fund a legal aid team for the victims of this tragedy -- click below to help find out the cause of this horror, and donate to make sure it is cleaned up and families are compensated:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/justice_for_fallujah/?vl
Although the US Army officially denies the correlation between birth defects and depleted uranium, the former director of the Depleted Uranium Project for the Department of Defense, Dr. Doug Rokke, says: “It's a crime against humanity to use uranium munitions in a war, and it's devastating to ignore the consequences of war. These consequences last for eternity. The half life of uranium 238 is 4.5 billion years. And we left over 320 tons all over the place in Iraq.”[1]
While US soldiers are heavily protected against the uranium dust, contaminated debris has been left behind all over Fallujah, spreading through the air and water and in sites where children play.
Despite doctor’s warnings that birth defects have risen 15 times in comparison to last year, and research from the Ministry of the Environment showing dozens of sites contaminated by radiation, Iraqi officials are playing down the possibility of the deformities being caused by US dumping. But concerns have led the government to recommend that women in Fallujah not get pregnant.
With adequate funds, we can help ensure that this terrible situation does not get pushed under the carpet and continue to ravage Fallujah's families. With legal aid, the families could file an alien tort case in the USA, which allows non US citizens to bring class actions in US courts. If a clear correlation is found between the chemical weapons and the birth defects, the US military could be held accountable and the families compensated.
Help fund this project to give legal aid to these innocent victims and find out the truth about the dangers of depleted uranium, click below to donate:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/justice_for_fallujah/?vl
Together public pressure has banned cluster bombs and land mines. Depleted uranium is even more dangerous. Click below to donate -- let’s help make sure these dangerous weapons are never used again:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/justice_for_fallujah/?vl
With hope,
Alice, Graziela, Ricken, Paul, Benjamin, Iain, Luis, Ben, Paula, David, Milena and the whole Avaaz team
Sources:
[1] The War Against Ourselves (Interview with Dr. Doug Rokke):
http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/our-planet-our-selves/594
Fallujah's doctors report presented at the Human Rights Council" (contains disturbing images):
www.brusselstribunal.org/pdf/FallujahHealthReport091207.pdf
Fallujah doctors report rise in birth defects:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8548707.stm
Huge rise in birth defects in Fallujah:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/13/falluja-cancer-children-birth-defects
Iraq littered with high levels of nuclear and dioxin contamination, study finds: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/22/iraq-nuclear-contaminated-sites
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