Last month, for the first time, the Iraqi-Canadian community came together to organize a week of action in
Dahlia Wasfi left her medical career in 2002 and became a full-time activist and speaker calling for an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of
As the daughter of an Iraqi Muslim father originally from
She describes the situation of her relatives on her father’s side: "[They] are not living, but dying, under the occupation of this [Bush] administration’s deadly foray in
"I have the credibility," Wasfi says, "to come forward and I’m willing to risk the false label of anti-Semitism to condemn the policies of the
In the rabbletv interview, Dahlia Wasfi confronts the complacency and fatigue that characterizes the reporting of the war in mainstream media. In a country that worships its military, the
Wasfi strongly supports the stance of Iraq Veterans Against the War, the group that organized the Winter Soldier testimonies. "They call for just three things: bring the troops home immediately, take care of the troops when they get here, and pay reparations to the Iraqi people. And I think that is an important stand because they know the ground truth. They witnessed the horrors of the reality of the occupation and they’re recognizing that we have to make up for what has been done by us and in our name."
In her presentation she exposed as a myth – one encouraged by much of the mainstream media – the notion that
For decades Iraqi society was secular and many people are of mixed background. For example, Wasfi’s grandfather was Shia, and her grandmother was Sunni and from the north of
"There has never been a war between Sunni and Shia in the region of modern day Iraq since the sects were established 1400 years ago," says, "and the violence will dramatically fall once U.S. troops leave." For example, she notes, "2.5 million Iraqis have fled to neighbouring countries, and they didn’t bring violence with them. The violence is centred in
The present conflict in
Wasfi says, however, that Iraqis are literally fighting over life and death issues and will continue to resist on multiple fronts: economic, military, and political. She likes to quote Malcolm X on the best place to look for the truth: "Time is on the side of the oppressed today, it’s against the oppressor. Truth is on the side of the oppressed today, it’s against the oppressor. You don’t need anything else."
When
In spite of the limitations and the repression by the government, oil workers, electricians, and public workers formed unions. "And what they seek to do is defend the country’s resources and prevent the economic occupation that they know we have planned after the military occupation ends." There is international solidarity for Iraqi unions, Wasfi says, citing the example of U.S. Labor Against the War. "There is a lot of solidarity because it is the working class in both countries that is being decimated by this continued illegal occupation."
When it comes to Iraqi military resistance against the invasion and occupation, the American peace movement has been hesitant in vocalizing its support. Wasfi says that she knows peace groups "are all on the same wavelength in terms of ending the brutality," but she sometimes puts the peace movement in quotes for failing to recognize the legitimacy of the military resistance in
"It’s incredibly frustrating for me when individuals say ‘well, we’re not going to defend the resistance in
For the schedule of showings of Dr. Dahlia Wasfi’s interviews and speeches, check out the rabbletv page.
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