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[ This message has been sent to you via the CASI-analysis mailing list ] PRESS RELEASE Thursday 13 May 2004 Contact: Jo Wilding on 07979 211897 WITNESS TO THE SIEGE OF FALLUJAH: INDEPENDENT HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGNER RETURNS TO UK BEFORE US AND BRITISH SPEAKING TOUR Jo Wilding, a 29 year old human rights campaigner and trainee lawyer from Britain, has just returned from 6 months in Iraq. The purpose of her visit was to establish links between schools, hospitals and universities in Iraq and the UK. She was also running a small circus which toured around the country putting on entertainment for young children, many of whom were living in camps for internally displaced people. During her stay she undertook independent reportage and gathered oral history reports from Iraqi civilians - documenting their feelings about, and experiences of, the situation. During the recent siege of Fallujah, Jo was in the city for about 5 days, taking medical supplies and escorting ambulances into the US held part of the city in which Iraqi doctors were not able to move around (1). She was working from a field hospital set up in a doctor's surgery because the general hospital was closed to Iraqis by US forces (2). Jo Wilding recalls, "On one occasion I was in an ambulance, trying to reach a woman who had started to give birth, when it came under fire from US snipers. The ambulance could no longer be used and we were unable to reach the woman. I saw numerous bodies of people killed by snipers on the streets, including an unarmed elderly man and 2 young children who had been shot in the head and who later died." She was arrested and briefly detained by the Mujahideen in Fallujah before returning to Baghdad. She continued to help by visiting the camp for internally displaced people from Fallujah established by the Red Crescent in Baghdad. Jo returned to the UK on 11 May. She will be leaving for the US on 16 May for a month's speaking tour before returning to continue her tour in the UK. For more information, contact Jo Wilding on 07979 211897. Jo's reports and photos can be seen on http://www.wildfirejo.org.uk Information about the Circus can be found on http://www.circus2iraq.org Notes 1. http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1193717,00.html 2. http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1202143,00.html -- Emma Sangster _______________________________________ Sent via the CASI-analysis mailing list To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-analysis All postings are archived on CASI's website at http://www.casi.org.uk