Poison DUst shown in Denver
Published Aug 6, 2006 8:10 AM
On July 30, activists in Denver and the surrounding area filled the Mercury
Cafe to hear Dr. Sue Harris, director of the film Poison DUst, speak. Poison
DUst is about the use of depleted uranium (DU) in U.S. weaponry all over the
world and how it is a main cause of Gulf War Syndrome in U.S. troops.
The
film points out that there were initially less than 200 U.S. casualties from the
first Gulf War, but now, 14 years later, over 10,000 are dead and over 200,000
are on full disability.
The film describes the danger of low level
radiation and how it affects children most of all. It shows the effects of DU on
Iraqi children. It also gives a history of U.S. duplicity concerning atomic
power since the beginning of its use.
Dahlia Wasfi, an Iraqi-American
physician, spoke about her recent trip to Basra, Iraq, to visit family members.
She remarked on the jump in cancer rates in the area, how her family had been
affected and on the conditions that persist there.
Following introductory
remarks by Harris, and the showing of an hour segment of the film, the audience
asked questions. Sheik Ibrahim Kazerooni was quick to point out, when the
question was asked about other factors that might be responsible for the rise in
cancer rates, such as burning oil, that during the first U.S. war against Iraq,
the burning pipe lines were in Kuwait, not Iraq, and that there had been a jump
in cancer rates only in Iraq. Incidence of cancer there has since increased over
300 percent.
Harris spoke about further projects, such as a full-length
documentary on the effects of DU bombing by the U.S. navy on the people in
Vieques, Puerto Rico. All copies of the film sold out, as did copies of the
anti-military recruiting book, We Won’t Go!
This event was hosted
by the Denver International Action Center.
—Larry Hales
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