More than 3000 Iraqi civilian victims named

Thursday September 16th 2004

Names and other personal details of over 3000 Iraqi civilians killed in conflict since March 19th 2003 were unveiled today at a special ceremony in Federal Plaza, downtown Chicago.1 This is the largest collection of identified victims of the Iraq conflict yet to be compiled.

The names were read out in a two-hour ceremony as part of “Eyes Wide Open: The Human Cost of the Iraq War,” a travelling memorial created by the American Friends Service Committee.2 The exhibition includes over 1000 pairs of combat boots, each pair representing one of the more than 1000 US soldiers known to be killed in action. Each pair of boots is tagged with the name, rank, age, and home state of the fallen soldier. Also, part of the exhibition is a 24-foot wall where names of Iraqi victims are inscribed. The purpose of the exhibition is to highlight in a symbolic, yet tangible, way the ongoing and increasing human costs of the Iraq conflict.

The 3029 names have been compiled by members of the Iraq Body Count project, using a wide range of sources, primarily press and media reports. Approximately 2000 of the names were supplied by Raed Jarrar, an Iraqi researcher who directed an on-the-ground, door-to-door survey undertaken by 150 Iraqi volunteers in the Summer of 2003, undertaken in collaboration with the US-based Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC) directed by Marla Ruzicka.3 4

The full database of named and identified civilian victims of the war and occupation in Iraq was published today on the Iraq Body Count website. The table provides the name, age, gender, date and location of death, cause of death (if known) and source of the information. This is the most detailed record of the Iraqi death toll so far accumulated. Nonetheless it represents barely one fifth of the civilian toll so far recorded by the Iraq Body Count Project.5 6

Speaking at the Chicago ceremony, Scott Lipscomb, a spokesperson for Iraq Body Count, said:

“Every one of some 15,000 Iraqi civilians killed was a loved human being, whose loss creates heartbreak and bitterness among the bereaved families and communities. Each death deserves recording, each life deserves honouring. This harrowing list, including at least 618 children (over a quarter of those whose ages are known), brings home the fact that, no matter how tragic has been the loss of American life, the loss of innocent Iraqi life has been greater still, and is a loss that is just as irreparable. It will undoubtedly also be a huge impediment to peace and reconciliation in the region.

“Every week, hundreds more innocent Iraqis are dying as a result of a disastrous US-led campaign that is propelling Iraq into deeper and deeper chaos. So long as US armed forces remain in Iraq, the grim work of recording and honouring the innocent victims will, sadly, be our daily task.”

ENDS

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