The Raped Whores of Iraq: No Voice, No Hope

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/55726

After 5 years of war, there is finally one story on CNN about the prostituting of Iraqi women. "On Deadly Ground: The Women of Iraq" aired this last weekend (March 15 and 16) and in one short—very short—segment, reporter Arwa Damon interviewed a prostituted being, a woman selling herself to feed her children. The story was shallow and woefully inadequate and made me wonder why, after years of reporting from Iraq, Ms. Damon has just now decided to pay attention to this—scant as that attention is. And why did she have to begin her report with that ragged untruth: prostitution is the oldest profession. An ugly idea bandied everywhere—with not an ounce of accuracy in it. (Procuring and pimping are the oldest professions.)

The prostitute interviewed said, "I cannot imagine anyone would do this except to sur-vive." And she said that women did not have to do this before 2003, and the invasion of her country. Both great revelations? Things we do not already know? Perhaps we really don´t know these things—although it would seem that we should. And it would seem that the almost complete indifference of the American public, and of American journalists, to the rape and ravaging of the bodies of Iraqi women and girls is just par-for-the-course ignorance. No matter that in all conflicts, women suffer sexual torture, particularly the torture of intercourse with men they do not know, for money, due to starvation and desperation and, often, the need to feed their children. This is seen as standard mili-tary practice, in any war, as is the American ignorance of the fact. And the journalistic ignorance. Where are Katie Couric and Lara Logan, two other experienced women journalists with extensive, first-hand knowledge of Iraq, when it comes time to uncover the brothels in the Green Zone and the Iraqi 14-year-olds currently living in rape hell in Dubai—having being sold into that country´s lucrative and merciless sex trade to feed their families. All these celebrated American women journalists—vaginaless, heartless, ignorant—when it comes to the wretched mass raped bodies of the survival sex whores that we apparently consider so unimportant that there is only one mainstream story in 5 years!

At least the military ought not to have been ignorant of this fact---that war means forced sex and the wretchedness of raped-for-money bodies. Almost every military man at the Pentagon has seen prostituted bodies—used them, probably, since it is the rapist warrior way—is aware that sexual torture in the form of prostitution is a massive ´by-product´ of war. Sadly, these military men consider it a trivial by-product of war. The 50,000 Iraqi women and girl refugees currently engaged in survival prostitution are apparently not even on their agenda of concerns. (This number comes from the Women´s Commission for Refugee Women and Children.)

[lame54]

1. Dr. Strangelove would be proud

[EFerrari]

2. Isn't today V-Day? (I didn't even know about this project until today.)

V to the Tenth: Thousands of Women Gather in New Orleans for 10th Anniversary of Global Movement to Combat Violence Against Women

Democracy Now! broadcasts from New Orleans, where thousands of women are gathering to celebrate the tenth anniversary of V-Day, the global movement to combat sexual violence against women and children. V-Day began a decade ago when playwright and activist Eve Ensler held the first benefit performance of her award-winning play, The Vagina Monologues. This weekend, Ensler is organizing a two-day celebration at the Superdome called “V to the Tenth.” Its focus is on helping the women of New Orleans and the Gulf South. We speak with activists from New Orleans, Kenya and Iraq.

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/4/11/v_to_the_tenth_thousands_of

[niyad]

6. V-Day generally is celebrated on valentine's day, with many performances

of "the vagina monologues" on college campuses and elsewhere to raise funds for domestic violence causes.

www.vday.org

[EFerrari]

Thanks, niyad! On Amy's show, Jane Fonda pointed out that

that production has raised more money than the US government for this mission.

[niyad]

10. and thank you for the alert. I will make sure to watch amy tonight.

[niyad]

3. k & r

I wish there was some way to force this into the attention of every single person in this country, including that twit on cnn this morning who was saying that the soldiers she was talking to at ft. bragg loved their mission, and she heaped praise on chimpy and company.

this country, and all those who have enabled this illegal, unjust and immoral war of occupation have a lot to answer for.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. K&R

[seabeyond]

5. a job, no different than working mcdonalds.....

:puke:

[StClone]

7. So how was Saddam worse than now?

Uh freepers there must be one thing you can point to.

[EFerrari]

8. He was worse because the Torture President said he was? n/t

[niyad]

9. years ago, (probably around "90 or so) there was a book out

with a title like "bases, bombs and brothels" (which, alas, I cannot even locate on amazon right now) that showed how military bases in communities all around the world expand the sex trade, as the presence of the bases puts such pressures on the local economies that women almost literally have little choice.

does anybody else know of this book and, hopefully, its exact title?

thank you in advance.

[fed-up]

11. is this it? Barracks and Brothels: Peacekeepers and Human Trafficking in the Balkans

I went to used.addall.com and tried bases bombs brothels for title
then tried bombs brothels
then tried just brothels and sorted by title and this looked closest

Barracks and Brothels: Peacekeepers and Human Trafficking in the Balkans

http://used.addall.com/SuperRare/submitRare.cgi?author=&title=barracks+brothels&keyword=&isbn=&order=PRICE&ordering=ASC&dispCurr=USD&binding=Any+Binding&min=&max=&timeout=20&match=Y&store=Abebooks&store=Alibris&store=Amazon&store=Antiqbook&store=Biblio&store=Biblion&store=Bibliophile&store=Bibliopoly&store=Half&store=ILAB&store=LivreRareBook&store=Powells&store=Strandbooks&store=ZVAB

[niyad]

13. thank you for the link--a site I didn't know about. no, that isn't

the book, the one I am thinking of came out before the balkans crisis.

[fed-up]

12. or this: A Night in the Barracks: Authentic Accounts of Sex in the Armed Forces

I just realized my first guess was printed in 2005, this was is from 2001

http://used.addall.com/SuperRare/submitRare.cgi?

A Night in the Barracks: Authentic Accounts of Sex in the Armed Forces
Haworth Press
author=&title=night+in+the+barracks&keyword=&isbn=&order=PRICE&ordering=ASC&dispCurr=USD&binding=Any+Binding&min=&max=&timeout=20&match=Y&store=Abebooks&store=Alibris&store=Amazon&store=Antiqbook&store=Biblio&store=Biblion&store=Bibliophile&store=Bibliopoly&store=Half&store=ILAB&store=LivreRareBook&store=Powells&store=Strandbooks&store=ZVAB

[niyad]

14. thank you for that one as well, but again, that isn't it.

I will have to see if I have it stashed somewhere.

[niyad]

15. I finally remembered the correct title "bananas, beaches and bases"

(there was quite a discussion going on at the time this came out about the military and sexual trafficking, things that weren't being covered in the news)


This radical new analysis of international politics reveals the crucial role of women in implementing governmental foreign policies, be it Soviet Glasnost, Britain's dealings in the EEC, or the NATO alliance. Cynthia Enloe pulls back the curtain on the familiar scenes--governments restricting imported goods, bankers negotiating foreign loans, soldiers serving overseas--and shows that the real landscape is less exclusively male.
Bananas, Beaches and Bases shows how thousands of women tailor their marriages to fit the demands of state secrecy; how foreign policy would grind to a halt without secretaries to handle money transfers or arms shipments; and how women are working in hotels and factories around the world in order to service their governments' debts.
Enloe also challenges common assumptions about what constitutes "international politics." She explains, for example, how turning tacos and sushi into bland fast foods affects relations between affluent and developing countries, and why a multinational banana company needs the brothel outside its gates. And she argues that shopping at Benneton, wearing Levis, working as a nanny (or employing one) or planning a vacation are all examples of foreign policy in action.
Bananas, Beaches and Bases does not ignore our curiosity about arms dealers, the President's men or official secrets. But it shows why these conventional clues are not sufficient for understanding how the international political system works. In exposing policymakers' reliance on false notions of "feminity" and "masculinity," Enloe dismantles a seemingly overwhelming world system, exposing it to be much more fragile and open to change than we are usually led to believe.

[fed-up]

16. glad you found it-nt

[nomorenomore08]

17. Just one more of the many ways in which we've brutalized that country. Sickening.

:puke::puke::puke: (X 1,000)