Pilgrimage to form 'human shield' in Iraq

A Polish born Australian, Kuba Nowakowski, has joined a group of 200 people who have made a 'pilgrimage' to Iraq to act as human shields to protect the country against US attacks. In an interview for RMF reporters in Baghdad, Nowakowski said he had never been to Iraq before but had heard a lot about it. He decided to quit his job and travel to the region after reading an article about human shields. Asked if he had no impression of being an element of political propaganda, Nowakowski answered that indeed he realized that he and other human shields were just part of both American and Iraqi propaganda, but did not seem put off by that fact. He stressed that his action was not part of a political manifesto but an attempt to protect innocent Iraqis. (www.rmf.pl) J.K.