John Pilger's documentary Paying the Price: Killing the Children of Iraq demonstrates how the structural violence of sanctions can be just as harmful, if not worse, than the actual violence of warfare.
Paying the Price Killing the Children of Iraq from John Pilger on Vimeo.
With the EU's oil embargo on Iran coming into force in the summer, it is important to remember that sanctions are no panacea. The World Health Organisation estimated that 500,000 Iraqi children died as a result of US and UK economic sanctions. An inability to import food and medicine left huge numbers malnourished and lacking essential medical treatment.
Already there are reports from Iran of citizens rushing to stockpile staple goods, while the value of the Iranian rial has fallen by about 50%. What this means is the price of imported goods will rocket, and these price rises will almost certainly be passed on to ordinary people.
How can we justify this collective punishment of the Iranian people for the actions of their government? The impact of sanctions in Iraq bordered on genocide. Is it worth risking death on this scale again when there is still no concrete evidence of a nuclear weapons program in Iran?
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