Concerned for the Iraqi citizens who have died of hunger and preventable diseases as a result of United Nations sanctions levied against their country, Cynthia Banas went to Iraq at a time when it was illegal for American civilians to enter the country.

The retired librarian and longtime activist gave an eyewitness account of the devastation caused by the bombings and looting in Iraq at the Unitarian Universalist Church Thursday.

The church holds monthly meetings for the Cayuga Coalition for Peace group.

Banas stayed through bombings and looting in Iraq from October 2002 to April 2003.

"We would hold signs that read: 'To Bomb this Facility is a War Crime' in front of hospitals, energy and water treatment buildings," Banas said of the Voices in the Wilderness and Christian Peacemakers Team, organizations that she was involved with.

Banas spoke of watching American soldiers flooding the streets across from the modest hotel in which they stayed.

"We stood on the balcony of our hotel and held signs," Banas said.

"We didn't want to be seen welcoming American soldiers as they erected razor wire in protection of the Palestinian Hotel. Some of us were brave enough to bring water to them. From our balconies, they looked like hot, tired and hungry kids."

"A lot of people asked what it had been like to be in the middle of the bombing situations of Iraq," Banas said. "You just cannot imagine how terrifying it actually was. We saw the terror. We saw the tragedy. We saw the destruction. For the Iraqi citizens, the worst was knowing what was happening all around them.

"It was the horror of not knowing if they would even wake up the next morning. The fear of the unknown. I was looking for just the right word to describe the situation, but couldn't think of one until I heard someone say that the attack on Iraq was a catastrophic blunder. I think that they were just the words that I was looking for."

Banas said that only about 10 percent of Iraqis killed were members of the military. Most, she said, were civilians.

"Our country has come to a time where a human life has no value," Banas said.

"What is that saying about the world we live in, about the value of life? It is just terrible. There have been more than 700 deaths in Iraq over the past few weeks."

Through it all, though, Banas said that the spirits of the Iraqi civilians were high. She recalled the birthday party of a 13-year-old girl held in a park while planes dropped bombs all around.

"None of the activities that we did over there brought any results," Banas said. "But it was something that we had to do."