Mostapha Osman - Head of Emergency Relief at Islamic Relief

Q: You travelled to Iraq before the war started. Did you expect it to start at anytime?

Yes, that’s why I went into Iraq, because there was a war looming, and I believe that aid agencies should be as close as possible to the people in need. So although we expected that the war would break out at anytime we needed to be there in order to help people - and to show that we were there facing the same fate they were. And I think we achieved that.

I saw the appreciation in the eyes of the ordinary Iraqis we met - the waiters and taxi drivers. We felt the hunger with them, we shared the shortage of water with them we shared the fear with them – we shared everything with them. And I’m entirely satisfied with that, because I think that this is what we should do.

“Everyone was praying as the bombs were falling, and the pictures on the walls came crashing down. It was terrifying.”

Q: What was the situation like in Baghdad?

The war started at dawn on the 19th with what seemed like heavy bombing – I realised afterwards it was very, very light compared to what was coming! Every day the bombing started at around 6am then during the day it went quiet. And then it started after 7am every single day, every 3 hours. So we couldn’t sleep and the bombing became heavier and heavier, until the 21st which was really hell.

“People began screaming, and microphones and cameras went flying everywhere.”

I was at the Al Jazeerah offices, on the roof of the building just about to give an account about the humanitarian situation in Iraq on air. The TV presenter was just about to introduce me when the strike started – very, very heavy and very close. People began screaming, and microphones and cameras went flying everywhere. Everyone ran to the basement to seek refuge in the bunker, but we found it was locked. Because of the panic no-one knew who had the key, and everyone was shouting ‘Where is the key? Where is the key?!” It was chaos.

As we tried to leave the building a bomb fell very close outside, turning the darkness into daylight. We ran back inside and then lay down on our faces under the stairs for quite some time. Everyone was praying as the pictures on the walls came crashing down. It was terrifying.

In the end we ran out to the banks of the river Tigris and lay down there. We stayed there for about 45 minutes, with the bombing extremely heavy around us.

Q: Were you able to carry on working during the days of bombing?

My colleagues and I decided that if we are going to stay then we needed to work - but it was almost impossible. There was no electricity at that time, and the bombing went on day and night. Our movement was very restricted, but we still managed to help the Iraqi people by sponsoring the transport of Iraqi Red Crescent relief items to 15 different governorates.

We also started work on obtaining three mobile water purification and water treatment plants, contacting suppliers and making plans to have them installed on a number of wells. I felt I was doing something.

“They gave us each a number – they wrote it on our arms, and afterwards we were called by this number. I was 292.”

Q: What happened when you were arrested?

It was on the 27th of March. We were working in our office at the hotel, writing reports when five people entered the room. They were all dressed in dark clothes and very tough-looking. We were told to shut down our computers, and they handcuffed our hands behind our back. I tried to explain that there must be some misunderstanding, and that we were fully registered with the government but they wouldn’t listen.

They took us to the Abu Gharaib prison. Our possessions and clothes were confiscated and we were blindfolded and taken to a cell with a number of people. I didn’t understand what was happening, I thought that they would soon realise there was a misunderstanding. They gave us each a number – they wrote it on our arms, and afterwards we were called by this number. I was 292.

After an hour we were called out of our cells, handcuffed, blindfolded, and led across a freezing cold yard. We were told to kneel down facing a wall, and not to speak to each other. In the interrogation room there were five or six aggressive men armed with guns, sticks and a length of hose-pipe. They had all our equipment there, laptops, digital camera etc – and then they started beating us.

“They beat us because they thought we were covering something. This went on for five days.”

Q: Did you have any idea why you were arrested?

They were very suspicious of any foreigner who had entered Iraq shortly before the war. They knew we were from the UK, but they knew nothing about our history of work in their country. I was begging them to look up our file! They were also nervous and panicked because of the situation in the country.

The next day, the same thing happened again - interrogation and beatings. This went on for five days. There were twenty people crammed in each small cell. We knew that there were other aid workers in another building in the prison. The Medicins Sans Frontieres workers were caught six days after us but weren’t interrogated.

On day five they beat me very badly and said they would kill me. They tortured me until I collapsed and they thought I would die. Then they called a doctor who tried to help me, and they left me lying on the floor for a couple of hours. When they took me back to my cell I lay there sick, with my back covered in severe bruises. Thankfully they left me alone during this time.

The bombs were coming down outside, and we were locked in our cells. If we had been hit we would all have died.

On day seven there was some disruption within the prison, the food supply was interrupted and we had very little food. We suspected something was up, and people began to have hope. I was ecstatic because the interrogations had stopped.

We stayed like that for five more days until the fighting came very close to the prison.

The bombs were coming down outside, and we were locked in our cells. All the guards retreated to their bunkers leaving us helpless. If we had been hit we would all have died.

They squeezed over 200 of us in there with only one toilet and one tap for water. I cannot describe the stench.

That night we were put onto coaches and taken to Faluja transfer station which was a filthy small jail with no light. They squeezed over 200 of us in there with only one toilet and one tap for water we could access for a few hours a day. I cannot describe the stench, the dust, and lack of food and water. We starved for a couple of days because there was no food - just a tiny piece of bread each for the entire day.

Q: How did you manage to stay calm during all of this?

We realised we had no control over the situation, so all we could do was develop a survival strategy. For example, we decided not to eat much even if there was food available, because we were queuing for 45 minutes just to go to the toilet or to have a drink of water – just enough to survive. I spent most of the time lying down trying to conserve energy. One of the most important things was not to think about my wife and children. I tried to avoid any hopeless discussion such as “We’re going to die, they’re going to kill us, we’re never going to get out of here”. I avoided people who would talk in this way and stayed close to people who were positive.

Of course I made a lot of du’a (supplication), it’s a real test of your Imaan (faith).

Q: How did you get out of jail?

After five days in Faluja they moved us to Ramadi transfer station. Here they crammed over 80 of us into each tiny cell, with no room to move. We had one small piece of bread and a cucumber each to last us the two days we were there. By this time some prisoners were getting very sick and two old men in particular seemed close to death. I think the chain of command was also falling apart and they didn’t want to take responsibility for us. The guards put us on to coaches and drove us to Ramadi city centre where we were finally released on the 11th of April.

Q: Coming back to the current situation in Iraq, what are your plans for this trip?

An Islamic Relief convoy of aid will be leaving Jordan for Baghdad on Saturday 10th May. We’ll be taking food, medicine, emergency health kits, some tents, blankets, cooking sets and hygiene kits. Once we have the relief goods in our Baghdad warehouse we can begin distributing them to hospitals and people in need.

We will also finalise our assessments of hospitals, primary health care centres and water treatment plants so that we can start our rehabilitation and reconstruction programmes.

Q: What difficulties do aid workers in Iraq face right now?

Security. The country is insecure, there is anarchy and no structure. And of course a lack of electricity and running water. Lack of communication has affected our team badly. Even needs assessment is very difficult.

Q: Finally, what are your thoughts about the people of Iraq now?

I love them. It has been a very difficult time for me, but it makes me appreciate the difficulties faced by the people of Iraq who are currently without electricity, water and medical assistance.

As aid workers we have a job to do – and that job is to help alleviate poverty and suffering. In places of conflict and disaster we expect the situation to be difficult, but we try to help in any way we can. And we help people regardless of race or religion - and regardless of the political situation.

There are Iraqis who have lost everything in this latest conflict. These are the people who deserve our attention and our support. They need our help to begin rebuilding their shattered lives. I’m still very dedicated to helping them, which is why I’m going back to Iraq.