Former hostage returns to Iraq

[cal04]

Australian aid worker Donna Mulhearn says she is heading back to Iraq to provide emergency help to civilians, despite being taken hostage by insurgents during her last visit. The trip is her third visit to Iraq. She originally went to Iraq as a human shield in at the start of the war to topple Saddam Hussein.

Her actions then, and her capture by insurgents during her second visit to Iraq, drew criticism from Australian political leaders. Prime Minister John Howard referred to her as "careless and foolhardy".
On this trip, Ms Mulhearn will work with families living in refugee camps in Baghdad, and help with emergency relief and aid.

Ms Mulhearn's visit comes shortly after a number of aid agencies, including World Vision Australia, pulled out of Iraq citing security concerns. She says this time she also wants to act as an independent observer to events in the country because the voices of Iraqis are not being heard."I also intend to do some reporting to bear witness and observe what's going on in Iraq and to write stories from the grass roots from the streets, reporting how Iraqis feel about what's going on," she said.


"I don't believe their voices are being heard."She says she will also deliver messages from Australians to Iraqi people. "I have a project called messages of peace and I've just been inundated with hundreds of Australian people, who have put together messages and photographs for me to deliver to Iraqi people," she said."These messages are expressing friendship and peace and solidarity with the Iraqi people, saying that somebody cares and we don't agree with what's going on and we are concerned about you."


http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1248178.htm

[daleo]

1. The Polish woman hostage was released today

I just saw that on the BBC website. She says she was blindfolded the whole time and never saw her captors. It makes you wonder about who killed Hasssan.