Galway Advertiser 2003/2003_03_27/GA_27032003_E1_013.pdf 

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Galway hopes for Iraqi liberation but worries for its future
A W R rages in Iraq, the next question to be confronted is what happens when the war is over and S A Iraqis and Kurds face into an uncertain future. K R A A D E S sought a number of people from ENN N RW different points of view and walks of life to get their point of view.
It is most likely that America will win this war and Saddam Hussein's regime will finally be toppled. However the question of rebuilding Iraq and the country's future then asserts itself. This will not be easy nor will it be done quickly. There is also the question will Iraq be helped by the international community to become an independent nation in charge of its own affairs, or will it be one of a number of Middle East states that will, over the coming years, be shaped along the lines envisaged by the Project For The New American Century, a group established by Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and others which seeks "to shape a new century favourable to American principles and interests"? Will Iraq be truly liberated or is this the start of something else entirely? Cllr Paul C o l l e r a n ; PD city councillor "I certainly hope it will liberate Iraq and put the country back on its feet. After 12 years of sanctions its infrastructure and hospitals must be devastated. I think the US will help to rebuild Iraq. They dropped the atom bomb on Japan and were there for 12 years. Now look at the friendship between the two countries. I know it's not the same today and the same thing won't happen again, though they are hammering them with bombs. When it's over I worry there could be civil war between the different tribes in Iraq, etween the people and former supporters of Saddam. The Kurds will also look for a homeland and the Turks will come after them. I would worry it could spread to other countries and others would rise. Will it spread to Jordan? Iran? If civil war starts how could you control that? Cllr Martin Quinn; Fianna Fail city councillor "1 believe the war will liberate Iraq and I hope the people will decide what they want and be allowed to install the system of government they want. I hope the war will be over quickly and that casualties will be small and hopefully the US can take out what they claim they want out. Saddam's regime, and that that will be the end of it." Sami W e h a b ; P r e s i d e n t of t h e Galway Islamic Society "You cannot liberate someone by occupying their country. Basra for example, is being deprived of water and electricity and you cannot claim liberation by bombing its people. In 1991 most of Iraq's infrastructure was destroyed but not this time as the US would like to use it later. If the Americans can get control of Iraq they will control its oil. They will rebuild the country but it will be with the money from Iraqi oil. This war is for getting control of this area. I believe they will not stop at Iraq. They will use it as a base and change the regimes in other countries like Iran. Iraq will not be end of it." Rev Patrick Towers, St Nicholas', Church of Ireland "I think liberation is a very difficult word to use and do I believe it? I'm not a military strategist and we don't know what the Iraqis may yet produce. It's very disturbing to see the noise, the bombing, the 'awe', and to witness cities in fear. You could end up by peace having to be brokered. You can change a regime but liberation is a very big claim. You may defeat Saddam, but then what? That's the big question. The word liberation has to be used very cautiously. Firepower might suggest you can impose your will but you could do so at a cost of building up resentment and the creation of hardship among the Iraqi people and that's not desirable. We cannot take them from one form of bondage and put them into another form of bondage." Nuria D u n n e ; an I r a q i living in Galway "If this war is going to get rid of Saddam Hussein then the answer is yes. but that's not the same thing as the liberation of Iraq. A change of regime comes at a high cost of suffering. The Americans and the British have agreed that the payments for this war will be paid for by the Iraqi oil reserves, so not only will they wage this illegal war on the Iraqi people and make them suffer, but they will make them pay for the privilege. The US has many military bases throughout the region. This war is the start of a new venture in the area and time will prove us right, unfortunately."

Martin Quinn

Sami Wehab

Rev Patrick Towers

Nuria Dunne

M e e t i n g to h e l p refugees get b a c k t o w o r k
Have you got refugee status and are you interested in getting back to work? To find out more about the support available come to a welfare to work information meeting on Thursday 3rd April 2003 in the Menlo Park Hotel running from 4pm to 7pm. At the meeting there will be an opportunity to hear case studies about the impact on all welfare payments while returning to work. It is also a chance to find out more about all the different "welfare to work'schemes by the agencies responsible. There will be short presentations from key agencies, and other agencies will be available for questions and answers. The meeting is a chance to discuss your circumstances and employment prospects with the relevant agencies.

Adrian Knight's hilarious hypnosis
A D R I A N K N I G H T , the international stage hypnotist will be appearing in The Clybaun Hotel, SalthiH on Sunday March 30 at 8.30pm with his new show, which combines hypnosis with humour. Knight's shows provide top-drawer entertainment. The show often opens with a mixture of mind reading and levitation in order to relax the audience before some of them become volunteers Using from two to 15 volunteers, he demonstrates the fascinating power of the human mind and hypnosis. F r o m the

Wounded
The day is a broken bone. A pink scarf tightens round the globe of your head. What is an elbow or fingers or young feet? I plant hydrangeas for the old man who carries you. It is time to enter a new element, earth and air have denied us. The world has shrunk to a long march blinded by the sun.
M a r y Dempsey, O Conaire Road, Shantalla

adrenaline rush of a front seat in a roller coaster to the comedy interaction of screaming in different languages, each volunteer responds in his/her own unique manner - only the imaginations of the subjects limit their journey. One of the highlights of this current tour is the reenactment of the Jerry Springer Show.