https://sputnikglobe.com/20220131/not-just-us-veterans-iraqi-mother-lost-eight-children-at-birth-after-burn-pits-exposure-1092633728.html
Not Just US Veterans: Iraqi Mother Lost Eight Children at Birth After Burn Pit Exposure
Not Just US Veterans: Iraqi Mother Lost Eight Children at Birth After Burn Pit Exposure
Sputnik International
MOSCOW (Sputnik), Tommy Yang - While toxic smoke from burn pits on US military bases overseas have caused severe illnesses among numerous American veterans, an... 31.01.2022, Sputnik International
2022-01-31T08:44+0000
2022-01-31T08:44+0000
2023-01-08T16:43+0000
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In order to protect US military secrets, American forces stationed overseas have long had a practice of burning tonnes of hazardous waste using jet fuel in large ground pits. Items to be burned include batteries, medical waste, amputated body parts, plastics, ammunition, human waste, animal carcasses, rubber, and chemicals. Exposure to the toxins has caused severe health conditions among American servicemen, including neurological disorders, pulmonary diseases, rare forms of cancer, and many unexplained symptoms. Thousands of veterans have reportedly died as a result of such toxic exposure.Warda, whose real name was withheld to protect her privacy, was a young mother to three healthy children, the oldest daughter being almost 10 years old, when she was finally able to return to her village near the city of Karma in Iraq.Like many Iraqis displaced during the never-ending wars in their country, Warda wished to return to her village to build a new life shortly after the area was liberated from the terror group Daesh* in 2016.However, what the young Iraqi mother had no way of knowing was how toxic the environment around her village had become after years of heavy fighting and occupation under different military forces. Karma was one of the key battlegrounds during the US invasion of Iraq and became a stronghold for the US Marine Corps.Like many young women in Iraq, Warda was determined to fulfill her role as a mother by bringing more children into the family. Unfortunately, exposure to the toxins in her village turned her dream of motherhood into a recurring nightmare.In addition to her struggle with children with birth defects, Warda herself also began to experience health problems, such as pain in her body, allergies, and peeling skin on her fingers, the researcher added.Environmental toxicologist Mozhgan Savabieasfahani was among the first US researchers to establish a link between the spiking rate of birth defects among Iraqi women and how closely they lived to US military bases with burn pits.When reached by Sputnik, Savabieasfahani referred to her latest study, published in 2020, wherein her team concluded that living close to the Ali Air Base, formerly known as the Tallil Air Base, near Nasiriyah, Iraq, was associated with significantly higher hair thorium and increased likelihood of congenital anomalies in infants and children.Toxic Practice to Destroy Evidence?Rubaii, the anthropologist conducting research in Iraq, described the nature of the burn pits.The researcher explained how returning to their home villages could have disastrous health consequences for many Iraqis.The researcher added that some burn pits on US military bases were turned into municipal waste disposal sites where different materials continued to be burned.According to Rubaii, it is not just humans who suffer from the adverse health effects from the burn pits on US military bases; farm animals in Iraq face similar health problems.An Iraqi herder who lived 1.5 miles downwind from the Balad Air Base burn pit in Yathrib had 52 cows before the Americans came. Today, he has just two cows left and is afraid to invest more because so many have died or been born sickly. Last year, a calf was born with no legs. It lived 40 days and died.Social StigmaIn a country in which childbearing is a central part of a woman's role in society, Warda's experiences also carried a social stigma.Rubaii highlighted the importance of initiatives from Iraqi doctor Samira Abdulghani in trying to destigmatise birth defects.Rubaii pointed out that many Iraqi women were suffering in silence before this social awareness campaign took place.Disability Care Amid Destroyed InfrastructureNevertheless, the researcher noted that many young Iraqi men are under similar social pressure when their children have birth defects.A young Iraqi construction worker named Ahmed broke down in tears when he talked about the birth defect of his son, according to Rubaii.Unfortunately, for many poor families such as Ahmed's, returning to their villages early to try to rebuild their homes was not a choice, but a necessity of the economic struggles they faced, she added.The researcher pointed out that families of children with birth defects who survived and had to live with their disabilities, like Ahmed's son, faced the most challenges because of the ruined public health infrastructure in Iraq during the US invasion.Solidarity With IraqisThanks to persistent efforts from various NGOs, such as Burn Pits 360, as well as public awareness campaigns led by US celebrities including Jon Stewart, a number of new laws have been introduced in the United States in recent years to address the health problems among US veterans caused by exposure to burn pits.The landmark victory of US veterans over the negative health impact of burn pits made Rubaii argue that Iraqi residents, who suffered the same exposure, deserve equal attention.The researcher suggested that there's the possibility of solidarity between the campaign for US veterans and advocacy for Iraqi residents who have experienced the same miseries.Rubaii noted that the success of the US veterans' campaign to raise awareness about burn pits resulted from vivid storytelling from those who experienced the worst health consequences. She, therefore, hopes that similar stories about Iraqis who suffered from exposure to burn pits could lead to new US efforts to address the adverse impact on foreign nationals who were also exposed.*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist organisation outlawed in Russia and many other states.
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Not Just US Veterans: Iraqi Mother Lost Eight Children at Birth After Burn Pit Exposure
08:44 GMT 31.01.2022 (Updated: 16:43 GMT 08.01.2023) MOSCOW (Sputnik), Tommy Yang - While toxic smoke from burn pits on US military bases overseas have caused severe illnesses among numerous American veterans, an Iraqi-American researcher shared with Sputnik firsthand accounts of similarly devastating health problems plaguing Iraqi residents who were also exposed.
In order to protect US military secrets, American forces stationed overseas have long had a practice of
burning tonnes of hazardous waste using jet fuel in large ground pits. Items to be burned include batteries, medical waste, amputated body parts, plastics, ammunition, human waste, animal carcasses, rubber, and chemicals. Exposure to the toxins has caused severe health conditions among American servicemen, including neurological disorders, pulmonary diseases, rare forms of cancer, and many unexplained symptoms. Thousands of veterans have reportedly died as a result of such toxic exposure.
Warda, whose real name was withheld to protect her privacy, was a young mother to three healthy children, the oldest daughter being almost 10 years old, when she was finally able to return to her village near the city of Karma in Iraq.
Like many Iraqis displaced during the never-ending wars in their country, Warda wished to return to her village to build a new life shortly after the area was liberated from the terror group Daesh* in 2016.
However, what the young Iraqi mother had no way of knowing was how toxic the environment around her village had become after years of heavy fighting and occupation under different military forces. Karma was one of the key battlegrounds during the
US invasion of Iraq and became a stronghold for the US Marine Corps.
Like many young women in Iraq, Warda was determined to fulfill her role as a mother by bringing more children into the family. Unfortunately, exposure to the toxins in her village turned her dream of motherhood into a recurring nightmare.
"In 2017, she had a child with anencephaly, which means no brain and no head. And then she had another child with spina bifida and hydrocephaly. It lived for a few days and died. And then she had another child that was stillborn. The doctors said – like many women in this situation shouldn't be conceiving more children. But of course, she really wanted another baby. She then had three consecutive miscarriages and two more stillbirths. So yeah, people are sick", Kali Rubaii, an anthropologist from the University of California who began research on this issue in 2009 and is currently on a field research trip in Iraq, told Sputnik.
In addition to her struggle with children with birth defects, Warda herself also began to experience health problems, such as pain in her body, allergies, and peeling skin on her fingers, the researcher added.
Environmental toxicologist Mozhgan Savabieasfahani was among the first US researchers to establish a link between the spiking rate of birth defects among Iraqi women and how closely they lived to US military bases with burn pits.
When reached by Sputnik, Savabieasfahani referred to her latest study, published in 2020, wherein her team concluded that living close to the Ali Air Base, formerly known as the Tallil Air Base, near Nasiriyah, Iraq, was associated with significantly higher hair thorium and increased likelihood of congenital anomalies in infants and children.
Toxic Practice to Destroy Evidence?
Rubaii, the anthropologist conducting research in Iraq, described the nature of the burn pits.
"The burn pits which are themselves obscuring projects meant to destroy evidence, right? So people can't see what you're doing. Also then it was part of a bigger project of destroying evidence and infrastructure in Iraq. For example, in Yathrib [city close to Baghdad], people remember a lot of increased burning of waste as the US military was planning to depart in 2011 or 2012. They experienced an acute uptick in smoke, you know, red, yellow, black smoke, white smoke. And the sheer diversity of waste means the diversity of health effects", she said.
The researcher explained how returning to their home villages could have disastrous health consequences for many Iraqis.
"This is sort of a common story where people are, it may be about burn pits, but I also think people are returning to hot houses. They're getting displaced, their homes are getting destroyed. What's happening is they're returning to homes that are toxic. They're cleaning those homes and they are rebuilding them and what they're doing with the waste of those homes including missile fragments and everything. They're sending them to the dump where they get burned. Air is coming back and they're breathing", she said.
The researcher added that some burn pits on US military bases were turned into municipal waste disposal sites where different materials continued to be burned.
According to Rubaii, it is not just humans who suffer from the adverse health effects from the burn pits on US military bases; farm animals in Iraq face similar health problems.
An Iraqi herder who lived 1.5 miles downwind from the Balad Air Base burn pit in Yathrib had 52 cows before the Americans came. Today, he has just two cows left and is afraid to invest more because so many have died or been born sickly. Last year, a calf was born with no legs. It lived 40 days and died.
In a country in which childbearing is a central part of a woman's role in society, Warda's experiences also carried a social stigma.
Rubaii highlighted the importance of initiatives from Iraqi doctor Samira Abdulghani in trying to destigmatise birth defects.
"As far as social stigma, Dr Samira Abdulghani. She works at the Fallujah hospital. She's the one that really sounded the alarm. But she also did an incredible job campaigning to destigmatise birth defects. She is one of the people on the ground who was telling women: 'This is not your fault. It is not because you were immoral'. All of those kinds of stereotypes can happen in any community. This is because of military environmental damage. And as a doctor, I'm telling you: 'I see a lot of cases and I didn't before. This is new, it is not your fault'", she said.
Rubaii pointed out that many Iraqi women were suffering in silence before this social awareness campaign took place.
"That really meant that before that [stigma about birth defects] was happening. Women were having children in the home, burying them secretly and not going to doctors. And really feeling a lot of shame and stigma. And the work that has been done has really changed that", she said.
Disability Care Amid Destroyed Infrastructure
Nevertheless, the researcher noted that many young Iraqi men are under similar social pressure when their children have birth defects.
A young Iraqi construction worker named Ahmed broke down in tears when he talked about the birth defect of his son, according to Rubaii.
"He's a young, healthy guy, very fit. He was sort of notably healthy-looking. He had no smoking, no drinking, no history of medical illness, no consanguinity, which is another confounding factor we're trying to eliminate as a cause, meaning he wasn't married to a cousin or a distant relative. He just melted into tears. He was just so devastated because he blamed himself. He said: 'My son can't walk because we came back too soon. I know we were exposed. We were told by doctors that burned military waste causes health problems'", Rubaii said.
Unfortunately, for many poor families such as Ahmed's, returning to their villages early to try to rebuild their homes was not a choice, but a necessity of the economic struggles they faced, she added.
The researcher pointed out that families of children with birth defects who survived and had to live with their disabilities, like Ahmed's son, faced the most challenges because of the ruined public health infrastructure in Iraq during the US invasion.
"When the child survives and is severely disabled. Then everyone is on board with having no more children, because of the extreme cost [to care for the disabled child]. And we were talking about a place where the basic medical infrastructure has been ravaged by war. The Fallujah General Women and Children's Hospital, where many of these women are giving birth, has been destroyed three times in the last 10 years. Completely levelled. So the idea that you could have any support system, caretaking for a child with a disability is unrealistic, right? So we have children who can't walk. They have enlarged heads. That's the spina bifida problem. You'll be lucky to get a wheelchair. It's a lot of labour for everyone", Rubaii said.
Thanks to persistent efforts from various NGOs, such as Burn Pits 360, as well as public awareness campaigns led by US celebrities including Jon Stewart, a number of new laws have been introduced in the United States in recent years to address the health problems among US veterans caused by exposure to burn pits.
The landmark victory of US veterans over the negative health impact of burn pits made Rubaii argue that Iraqi residents, who suffered the same exposure, deserve equal attention.
"You can't level a country and then only address the thing that is the most fascinating. If we really attend to the criminal component of the US invasion of Iraq, it's policy-level and it's infrastructural. The case with burn pits is a winnable campaign, right? Because US veterans won", she said.
The researcher suggested that there's the possibility of solidarity between the campaign for US veterans and advocacy for Iraqi residents who have experienced the same miseries.
"I'd love to see that veteran campaign reach out [to Iraqis]. I think it's really on the better equipped to reach out. I think like any solidarity effort. There needs to be a lot of work done on the oppressor side before they're really capable of being useful partners to be oppressed", she said.
Rubaii noted that the success of the US veterans' campaign to raise awareness about burn pits resulted from vivid storytelling from those who experienced the worst health consequences. She, therefore, hopes that similar stories about Iraqis who suffered from exposure to burn pits could lead to new US efforts to address the adverse impact on foreign nationals who were also exposed.
*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist organisation outlawed in Russia and many other states.
