The Sounds of Silence: Iraq's Missing Voices From the Sanctions Period

Abstract

Using personal interviews and works of art, I bring into focus the suffering of Iraq’s people who lived through the sanctions period (1990-2003) under the regime of Saddam Hussein. In particular, I examine the effects of the sanctions regime on their everyday lives in regard to family, the economy, medical care, education, and culture. My research centers on the presentation of events from the Iraqi point of view, adding a new perspective to existing articles and books written by non-Iraqis who were not affected by sanctions personally. By providing historical background as a foundation, I demonstrate the ways in which Iraq and its people fell into a downward spiral after Saddam Hussein took control in 1979. Through primary research, I examine corrupt acts committed by the United States and Iraq that began during the presidency of Ronald Reagan and continued throughout the sanctions period. I argue that, in view of this oral history research, the conditions in Iraq during this period were far more devastating than previously acknowledged. Finally, I illustrate how the United States government and the media exacerbated the struggles of the Iraqi people by willfully neglecting them.