Correspondents'
Journal
March 18, 2003
I slept well last night, but had lots of dreams about how masculine and macho war is, and thinking we need to get Saddam's, George's, and Tony's mothers to get together to stop the foolishness of their children. . . I awoke at 4 a.m. to the sound of the Call to Prayer, and remembered how religion, just like war, seems to be dominated by men.
Most international air carriers are suspending their services to Jordan and other Middle East countries either yesterday or today. The expatriate community is forced to decide whether to stay or leave. The Hisham Hotel, where I've been staying, has seen many tearful goodbyes between those who have decided to heed their nations’ warning to leave Jordan, and those who decided that their work for the civilian victims of war was too important to abandon just as the war is about to begin.
A few brave souls have even decided to stay in Baghdad. I spoke with the regional director of the French organization Doctors Without Borders. He reported that their midwife decided to leave Iraq, but six French doctors and nurses have decided to stay in Baghdad. They have moved from their former hotel, near the center of the city (which was also near one of the presidential palaces), to a small hotel in a largely residential area. The new location is just a block from the German Embassy, which has a very good bunker. The Doctors Without Borders regional director explained that, although the Germans had withdrawn all of the staff from their Baghdad embassy, they had left the keys with the French team!
Photos and text: Doug Hostetter
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