Dahlia Wasfi
 Dahlia Wasfi         (physician, activist) | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1971 |
| Alma mater | Swarthmore College, University of Pennsylvania |
| Interests | • 2003 invasion of Iraq • peace |
US/Iraqi Peace activist who spoke up against the invasion and occupation of Iraq | |
Dr. Dahlia Wasfi is an Iraqi-American physician and peace activist.
Youth and Education
Born in 1971 in New York to a Jewish American mother and an Iraqi Muslim father, Wasfi spent part of her childhood living in Iraq under Saddam Hussein.[1] She returned to the United States at age 5, received her BA in biology from Swarthmore College in 1993 and her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997.
Activism
In the years after the 2003 invasion, she called for an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of American troops and mercenaries from Iraq.[1]
Upon returning to campus for the spring semester [Swarthmore College in 1990], I was dumbstruck by the pro-war atmosphere. Sports teams sewed American flags onto their uniforms. More flags and pro-military banners hung from Parrish Hall. What was going on? Why didn’t the best and brightest understand that war is unacceptable, no matter who is directing the tanks? Why was the anti-war sentiment drowned out at this "liberal" institution? I condemned the hypocrisy of militancy on a campus that purported to reflect Quaker traditions. But the hypocrisy I truly despised was within me, for I was continuing my life, business as usual, while bombs rained down on my family...
Although more than 100,000 Iraqis perished during the 42 days of Gulf War I, my blood relatives survived. The worst was yet to come, however, because our aerial assaults had purposely targeted Iraq’s electricity plants, telecommunication centers, and water treatment facilities. In a matter of days, life became desperate. There was no potable water; no electricity; and, with draconian economic sanctions in place, no means of rebuilding. And it was summer: heat of 115 to 140 degrees as well as humidity, with neither fans nor air-conditioning. I knew I had many relatives suffering under these conditions...
Iraq is a country that my tax dollars have helped to destroy. Government officials reap profits from war. For example, nine out of 30 members of the Defense Policy Board, a Pentagon advisory group, had ties to companies that won more than $70 billion in defense contracts in 2001 and 2002. Meanwhile, ordinary families pay the price, from Iraq to Palestine to Southeast Asia to Latin America to the United States. My life has directed me to know my family; I would do anything for them. My medical career is on hold, so I can speak out on the realities of war and occupation. I have family in Iraq. You have family in Iraq. And Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Arlington Cemetery. New Orleans. Planet Earth.[2]
