To UNIFIL Force Humanitarian Office
Dear friends,
It is very important to circulate this e-mail to your mailing list, for the voices of the victims to be heard:
Please read and sign by sending your name, profession, and residence country to kholoud78@yahoo.com AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Sincerely,
Kholoud
ps: The signature and contact details of the victims are written in the statement but will not circulate by e-mail for privacy reasons.
Text below:
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To UNIFIL Force Humanitarian Office
On Sunday, the 23rd of July 2006 between 11a.m and 12 noon, we were fleeing in a van carrying 23 passengers away from ‘Teeri’ village, southern Lebanon, hoping to save our lives from the Israel’s aggressive bombardments on our land. Hanging white pieces of clothes outside all the windows of the van as a signal that we were all civilians did not prevent the Israeli air force from bombarding our vehicle which was passing through Assi region in Kafra.
As a result, three of us were torn into pieces and killed. The others were burned, injured, and some critically injured. Burnt alive, the clothes of about eight women turned into ashes leaving the usually veiled women obligatorily naked.
The story does not end here as we are among thousands of Lebanese civilians who were targeted, but our tragedy continues to change into a humiliating one as a UN convoy came our way. The UN convoy carrying soldiers slowed down to watch us burning, with curious eyes, ignored our continuous cries addressed to them for help, took out their cameras, and without hesitation they started taking photos of us at the utmost tragic moment of our life. We were mourning our loved ones who were brutally killed in front of our eyes, crying loud from unbearable pain, begging the UN soldiers to save us, and then closed our eyes with dignity refusing the exposure of our naked bodies to their cameras.
Soon as ‘peace keepers’ accomplished their mission of taking photos, their vehicles picked up speed again leaving our torn naked bodies behind weeping at the humiliation we suffered from them. The victims of this tragic and humiliating incident declare the UN soldiers’ action as boldly playing part with the Israeli violence and aggression towards civilians in Lebanon.
We, the undersigned victims, call for an immediate investigation into this horrifying incident, and we demand:
-Pictures of the injured, especially those naked, to be destroyed immediately.
-UN soldiers who shot the photos to be identified and punished appropriately in reference to the humanitarian laws for protecting the civilians, especially the wounded, and that prohibit the public exposure of victims of war especially in situations of humiliation.
-An official apology issued from the UN authorities to those victims and their families whose dignity was assaulted by the UN soldiers.
Signatures of the victims:
Victim 1 *************** (victim, driver of the van)
Victim 2....**********
We, the undersigned, support this statement and consider the action of the UN soldiers undefined and unacceptable towards the decent Lebanese citizens, especially that they represent the function of the UN on our land. We reject that ‘peace keepers’ shoot souvenir photos of our people’s tragedies at humiliating moments.
Therefore we expect from the UN to take immediate action upon the victims’ demand.
1 comment:
What a load of garbage! I highly doubt that ever happened and if it did then it should be put in the proper context. First of all, the UNIFIL force in Lebanon is an observer force and such, it is supposed to photograph and document aggressions over the Israeli-Lebanese border. This was not some perverted act, as the author is trying to depict it, this was an attempt at documenting Israeli aggressions and attacks against innocent civilians, and should therefore be taken as act of solidarity with the suffering Lebanese.
Secondly, this behavior does not correspond to the other actions reported to have been undertaken by UNIFIL soldiers. Despite, deliberate and deadly Israeli attacks on their outposts they held out on an evacuation as long as they could. Countless television stations showed UNIFIL troops crying over the burned bodies of Lebanese civilians after a number of attacks such as the one described in that email. The list goes on.
This post is a disgusting misrepresentation of the facts. It is nothing more than a propaganda tool in the hands of people of who don't want to see a free Lebanon, open to all religions and sects.
If you're not convinced about the new UNIFIL 2's role in ensuring peace across the Lebanese-Israeli border then at least be apprehensive of all the other ways the presence of these troops can help Lebanon:
Why We Need UNIFIL 2: Part I
Why We Need UNIFIL 2: Part II
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