Salam Adil
Stories
May 17th, 2008
Iraq: BlogIraq is Dead
· 23:17 · Middle East & North Africa
I am sad to report the death of Ahmed the writer of the blog BlogIraq who was murdered in the Al-Mansour district of Baghdad. May he rest in peace. Iraqi bloggers are a close-knit community and we mourn the death of fellow bloggers as if it is from our own family. There is not one family in Iraq that has been untouched by the violence that gripped our country and Iraqi bloggers are no different. His friend, Mohammed Alani, who helped set up the blog, wrote on BlogIraq:
Ahmed (BlogIraq) is dead. He was killed in Baghdad on April 11th, 2008… He had an appointment that day with a guy he knew. This guy was supposed to get him some documents that prove corruption in some USAID office back in Baghdad. I don't have complete details about it. Anyway, he and the guy bringing the documents were killed at their meeting place in Mansour district in Baghdad…His brother in-law found him dead with his friend in Mansour district in one of the small streets there. Thank God his body was found, unlike many of our friends who were killed or just vanished without a trace.
When I first setup this blog for him, he gave me the admin password of his blog and I gave him the password of mine. We agreed that whoever dies first, the other should write about it in his blog. Its just my bad luck that he died first. I can only think of his 20 months old daughter. Shes about the same age as my daughter, Aya.
May God take revenge of those who killed him and orphaned his lovely daughter.
Abbas Hawazin adds: “I am feeling so much anger boiling, I tried to cry but I couldn't.”
If you read no other post this week read this one:
The media is increasingly making noises about how the modern world is creating a new environmental crisis. Yet scant attention is being paid to the environmental disaster that is befalling iraq as a result of five years of war. Last of Iraqis takes a look at all aspects of the crisis:
year after year it's getting hotter, I remember before the war and two years after it when I used to sit in my room the fan was enough…but in 2007… I remember when I got back to my house and opened the door, I swear to god it was like opening a door to hell although the house was left for only 36 hours without air cooling! … one can feel that the weather got crazy here, this year we were punished by the several sand storms and the swinging temperatures…
Deterioration in agriculture was the reason behind the climate change as I think; people say that what used to be farms became a desert now in the south middle and west of Iraq and that's one of the main reasons behind the sand storms that we suffer from now because there are no trees and plants to hold the sand storms, Iraq is suffering and it's transforming, I know people are dying in Iraq and they can't be even counted but what will we inherit our children even if the situation improved and Iraq became free again and everything is settle? What will we inherit them? A destroyed land? A desert? a community filled with hatred?
Waiting for the war to come in Mosul
Empty streets in Mosul
by Mosul is in Heart
The Iraqi president, Nouri Al-Maliki has made a big noise about reclaiming the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Like the massive Basra offensive he moved to Mosul to personally direct the army. Iraqi bloggers give their impressions of a city about to be at war.
Najma is bored of being locked up at home because of endless curfews:
Hatred, such a strong unhealthy feeling.. but I just can't help but hate it here.. I hate it, I hate it, I HATE IT.. I want to shout it at the top of my lungs so everybody can know that I just can't stand it here.The curfew that started at 9 PM last Friday was only temporarily stopped at 6 AM today and is going to start again at 6 PM until further notice.
And Sunshine writes about life in the war zone:
Everyone knows the new operation may starts in every sec , and the curfew may last for few weeks probably, so my dad bought every thing we need, rice , flour, eggs, cheese ,oil, meat , vegetables , fruit, etc. but there are many families can’t buy all those stuff , and live day by day, so when the national guards allowed the citizens to walk , many people started to do shopping, but this time, the prices were doubled or got higher 30-50% ..It breaks my heart to see my people living under hard circumstances, there are many issues need to be solved, like economy for example, and many other things, but who cares ?!!…On the third day … a fight started in far away neighborhood, dad immediately harried to carry Yosif inside , as soon as he carried Yosif a bullet hit the pavement where Yosif was standing !! I am so thankful it didn’t hit Yosif ..
The situation today is not good, we heard many explosions and shooting.. and there were sounds of helicopters since the early morning, as well as many tanks
She concludes:
I really hope Mosul will be free of terrorists, I don’t mind spending 3 months stuck in the house, if there’ll be a happy end, we want to live in peace, we are tired of the continues fights, kidnapping, and killing. all Iraqis want their lives back, I want to go back to my room and sleep there, and I am eager to the day we’ll fix our house and be aware it won’t be damaged, whenever I look at our walls or my closet and see the bullets and shrapnel, my heart breaks, each damaged corner in the house has a painful story ..I want to be able to walk freely in the streets without being afraid of terrorists, many times I wonder, god created us all equally, and gave us mind to think , and feelings to sense, everyone like children because they are so innocents, why some of those children grew up and became evils ? why people fight each other ? I can’t understand that, why someone wake up in the morning and his attention is to kill ? I can’t understand the reason that motivate people to kill, sometimes they kill because of nationality!, religion!, race, some times I wish everyone can remain a child to keep the innocence!
And finally
Given the - for want of a better word - unique experiment of democracy in Iraq, where does the young intelligent Iraqi look to for a role model in a world leader? Marshmallow26 tells us:
I was watching on TV with dad of course… Any way Dad was pointing at Medvedev, I said dad is that the new Russian president?2 comments · »»Yes daughter. Dad said
Wow he looks hot!! haha I mean he is really cute and young and above all he is taking the responsibility of leading his country…
As he took the oath he stated:
I believe my most important aims will be to protect civil and economic freedoms; We must fight for a true respect of the law and overcome legal nihilism, which seriously hampers modern development.
Waw “to protect civilians”!! that is a very important thing, now days in Iraq we miss hearing this phrase from our leaders, as a matter of fact there is a conflict amongst them which is about how to get rid of civilians and fight them to death!!…
I hope there will be rightfulness in our next elections, I hope that Iraq finds and elects the honest person who cares about his people and his country first.
May 7th, 2008
Iraq: Stop the massacre in Sadr City…
· 00:18 · Middle East & North Africa… so says Al-Ghad.
In the weeks following the high profile attack on Basra by the Iraqi army and its high profile failure something of a low-level war has been going on across Iraq much behind the scenes of the mainstream media. Yet now the situation seems to be coming to a head.
Al-Ghad issued a statement giving an urgent warning that an imminent massacre of the people of Sadr City is being planned:
The occupiers have decided to implement the Israeli style ghettos of imprisoning people in concrete walls. When this didn’t solve their problem, they came to the idea of mass slaughter of the whole of Sadr-City, using mass bombing, rockets and heavy artillery against a civil population.
Wafaa' Al-Natheema condemned the attacks against hospitals in Baghdad:
Today the Shu'la hospital in Karkh district was attacked… Historically, I am unaware of military operations targeting civilian hospitals!!…Who will evacuate the dead bodies and heal the wounded? I really can not keep silent when today my colleague, the journalist, Yasir Shammri described Sadr City Hospital as the hospital of death whose function is just to keep corpses.
While Ladybird reports rumours of plans to use chemical weapons on Sadr City:
I don’t know the truth behind this story … but there are rumors .. that neighborhoods around Sadr-City are being evacuated.According to al-Badeel al-iraqi, their sources in Sadr-City sent a message saying that the attacking forces are preparing to hit the city with opiate fentanyl non-lethal gas, the same gas the Russians used to attack the rebels in Moscow theater in 2002.
Whatever can be said about the new security plan in Iraq, it has not come without cost. The new Iraqi army can hardly be called non-sectarian. Zeyad posts a video showing Iraqi Security Forces raiding a small town in Iraq in a scene reminiscent of Saddam's violent quelling of an uprising in 1991. He writes:
A massacre that you will not see on CNN, perpetrated by the US-backed “Iraqi security forces” or, more accurately, Badr/SIIC/ Da'wa gangs in uniform and out of uniform… The soldiers are heard spitting out obscenities at the wounded detainees and even at dead bodies. Others are seen dragging another injured detainee, kicking him violently and cursing him before throwing him on a pile of dead bodies… Those are the “security forces” that our American friends want us to trust and to condemn attacks targeting them.
Raed posts stills from the same video and writes:
The Iraqi police, army, interior ministry forces, and other US backed forces are nothing more than nice titles for militias that happened to be called “governmental”. The Sunnis and Shiites allied with the US get to have their militias treated as “good militias” with governmental titles, but the other Sunnis and Shiites who represent the majority of Iraqis and oppose the occupation are the ones with “bad militias” that are described as terrorists and extremists…The congress has approved billions of dollars of US-taxpayers money to fund these sectarian militias who are directly responsible of the ethnic and sectarian cleansing that has been taking place in Iraq during the last 5 years.
On a lower level Last of Iraqis has a confrontation with the same kind of soldiers at a checkpoint in Baghdad. He was stopped and nearly arrested. He writes:
During the ordeal many things were running through my head, I was thinking about the previous trouble that I have faced and remembered the comments; that really helped me to be cool, I was thinking about my dead friend; Omar who was killed by the Iraqi army in a situation like mine, he was talking with my other friend on the phone when he reached a checkpoint for the Iraqi army in Harthia neighborhood so he placed the phone aside and my friend could hear everything through the phone…it was so similar to my case but they took him and the next day his dead body was found in a garbage!!!I know you are bored from the same story being told over and over by me but this is what the ordinary Iraqis go through everyday despite the countless explosions and assassination. That's the army and police that should protect us!! How funny.
These events leaves me with the same questions that Wafaa' raised:
Aren't these disasters sufficient to move the conscience? What freedom and democracy and what government reform, reconstruction and national unity are those? Will these events move the corrupt political parties to PM Maliki's table? What constitution allows the army to kill people and insults and threatens doctors? Is there any wise man amongst you, deputies and ministers? Where is the Islam of the Islamic parties where is the democracy of the liberal and patriotic parties?206 comments · »»
April 7th, 2008
Iraq: A defining moment?
· 05:58 · Middle East & North AfricaWar in Basra… curfews in Baghdad… airstrikes on city centres… then a ceasefire… what on earth happened? As a BBC report said, the Basra operation is an empty vessel - it can be filled with any interpretation you choose. And fill it I will, with interpretations of Iraqi bloggers. Some polarised, some contradictory, but a selection that can fill the gaps that exist in current reports.
But first, if you read no other blog post this week read this
Last of Iraqis gives the definitive guide to the five days of warfare from his view in Baghdad. The post is worth reading in full to get a true understanding of the ferocity of the war. He concludes at the end:
I think AlMaliki and Muqtada had a dispute and they disagreed on something and Muqtada though that he is stronger then AlMaliki wanted to show him that he is the strongest and he is the boss and Muqtada should always obey and fear him…so it's just a show business nothing more, nothing less, and now Muqtada is convinced that Maliki is stronger and AlMaliki also knows that Muqtada can really cause troubles if he wants…it's a children's fight…and now they are back to what they used to be brothers in destroying Iraq and killing Iraqis.
AlMaliki is a joke now…even in the news the presenter was announcing the last news which was about a high ranked Iranian official called AlMaliki “dear and honorable” and she laughed in a sarcastic way.
I'm afraid that the coming days will the worst…I believe there will be so much innocent's blood in the streets.
And on to the analysis…
Nibras Kazimi sees the Basra operation as a glorious victory for the Iraqi government. He writes:
Maliki was a political nobody before he ‘accidentally’ became Prime Minister almost two years ago, but today he is perceived as a statesman commanding a strong and motivated army that can impose law and order on once-powerful forces that have run amuck. If that’s not a benchmark of success, then what is? …Maliki won, pure and simple. … Maliki’s approach is piece-meal: he’s taken out the intimidation factor that kept much of the Sadrist sway in place and he’s done that by showing them that they are no armed match for a better-disciplined, better-supplied Iraqi Army with plenty of stamina…
Now the Sadrist will have to sway voters their way with words and entreaties, rather than threats and drills. Most of the crime cartels are also on notice that the days of the ‘Wild, Wild South’ are over and there’s a new sheriff in town.
And he spends much of his posts criticising what appears to be every American media outlet for daring to disagree with him. Nibras writes:
It is unfortunate that what little news the American public gets to see and read about Iraq gets so distorted by the neurotic contortions of a handful of maladjusted, misinformed journalists.
However it is not only maladjusted and misinformed journalists that beg to differ with Nibras a number of Iraqi bloggers also disagree.
Neurotic Wife, blogging from inside the Green Zone is incredulous:
Al Maliki, who I cannot Friggin believe just stated today that Last week’s battles IS A SUCCESS!!! Is he pulling an April Fools on us??? Is that possible?
And Abbas Hawazin gives a more detailed discussion. He writes:
I'm surprised that there are people who can still wrinkle out a positive spin from this ; just type Basra or Iraq in Google News and behold pandemonium itself. Of course, one should always take into account the loyalties and the backgrounds of the news sources, but such a depressing pandemonium is unarguable, I myself rooted for the surge itself in its early days as the last hope, but as the haze clears you can't help but call a spade a spade, or a civil war a civil war, or the Iraqi Army the Badr Brigade.
Interestingly, as someone who is from the Sunni community one can notice a certain grudging respect. He writes:
Muqtada is an easy man to make fun of, with his extremely crude speech, the habibi and the repetitive uh grunt, but if you excuse his Fish Market mannerisms, you can find that he's coming from some sort of a tangible idea.
But this “respect” is one thing coming from a somewhat libertarian former rock guitarist but in a later post he also explains that even his sectarian Sunni relatives in Iraq are beginning to show support for Muqtada as a lesser of two evils:
while a great margin of Shi'i folks openly deride Mooks [a nickname for Sadr's militia], the Sunnis in general prefer him waaaay much more than the royal dynasty of the Hakims, my grandmother Ta'iffiya, a rather sectarian individual, commented on his interview last Friday by saying: “The poor sod, he cannot form a single comprehensible sentence. What a shame.”
Al-Ghad looks at the conflict and sees the oil companies behind it…
There is now mounting evidence that Maliki’s “sudden” offensive on Basra was decided during Cheney’s visit to Baghdad. Cheney was present in Baghdad, at a press conference called by Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of the occupying forces in Iraq. Oddly enough Petraeus said that he was speaking on behalf of the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to call on the major Western oil companies to invest in Iraq’s energy sector, as Iraq looks outside to boost oil, gas and power production.
Al-Ghad considers the operation a failure and concludes by quoting Vali Nasr:
President Bush was right that Basra marked a defining moment for Iraq, but not in the way that he intended…. this is the birth of Sadrist power.”
Meanwhile Blog Iraq sees the aims of the forces that want to partition Iraq. Namely the party of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim wants to create an independent region in Southern Iraq a so-called “Southern Federation”. Blog Iraq writes:
f you read the names of the cities and provinces in which the fight is fierce, you can easily link it to another list. The list of the provinces that Al-Hakim wants in his “Southern Federation”. Of course we will have to add Najaf and Karbala. Referring to the Article 115 of the Iraqi constitution:“One or more provinces shall have the right to organize into a region based on a request to be voted on in a referendum submitted in one of the following two methods:
A. A request by one-third of the council members of each province intending to form a region.
B. A request by one-tenth of the voters in each of the province intending to form a region.”And since Al-Sadr has many followers in all of these provinces, and the Sadr PMs are highly against this decision, it will be virtually impossible for Al-Hakim and the Shiaa Coalition to impose such a decision without kicking Muqtada and his followers out of the way.
And Finally
Baghdad Connect gives the whole analysis of this crisis an historical perspective. its all Tactique Habibi:
“It’s a tactic, buddy” this was Muqtada’s reply in his latest interview in Al Jazeera when asked about the latest development in Basra, so was Saddam’s reply in Saudi Arabia before he started the war with Iran in 1981
And after giving a historical trail from 1981 to the present day he concludes:
This is how today’s Iraq ushers the Iraq War 2 period, and while the American military regime’s sole dilemma is how to turn Al Maliki-Talibani-Hakim into oligarchy that looks after the invaders interests in Iraq in return for the safety of the formers’ lives, other Iraqi innocent lives are being lost everyday because it is simply a “Tactique Habibi”!!!0 comments · »»
March 21st, 2008
Iraq: Five long years … most of them in tears
· 22:11 · Middle East & North AfricaFor me the whole story of the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war can be summed up one post. One post that says nothing about the past five years but implies everything as well. We can talk about the lack of security, the number of deaths, the failure of the occupation, but all this talk has become as meaningless as glib phrases like “Collateral Damage.” What really matters is how the war is affecting people's lives. Sunshine's life this week has been rocked by death threats against her father and the deaths of friends and neighbours. She writes of the thoughts and emotions that go through her mind:
we were threatened by terrorists who wanted to kill my dad, I spent the whole nights thinking, and crying, I was in shock, and terrified…I kept wondering with tears in my eyes, what will happen next? Will they Kill my dad? Kidnap one of my family members? Why ? we're not rich, don’t belong to any political party, very simple family, and never harmed anyone, what do those terrorists want? Money? Or they just want to terrify us? … I suffered from horrible headache and insomnia, I want my dad to see me publishing my first book, graduating from the best collage, being successful person in my life, and more important I want to be so nice to him and make him forget everything, every disparity we had, & every time we argued, I hope he'll forget those memories.. and be proud of the girl he raised, although he tells me he’s proud but I want to make him even more prouder..
She concludes:
X sent me a message saying I lost my brother, my brother died, It's devastating, there isn't any family in Iraq who hasn't been threatened, or lost a son, father, daughter, or a friend, there isn't any family that didn't see the house they live in damaged, we are all hurt, but we'll continue praying to see a light at the end of this dark tunnel. In this week three big explosions happened near my school and the roads were blocked, and we hear explosions the whole time..
I don't cry easily, but I spent those two weeks crying most of the time, I am depressed, terrified, sad, and in this moment I have no hope..
most of them in tears..
so many have left Home…
the lucky reside in Tombs..
at least some still live
though without a Soul..
I wonder how much more to go?
would I be buried at Home?
The Good
Laith tries to list the good points of the new Iraq although his tongue may be firmly placed in his cheek on this one..
For this great anniversary, I want to count some great democratic changes that happened during the five years of freedom and democracy…Reducing the CO2 and the other gases in Iraq. We have big fuel crisis and people couldn't uses the kerosene heaters in winter and they cant use the propane gas all the time because of the big shortage and the high prices.
Reducing the casualties of the electrical shocks. The ministry of electricity supply most of the Iraqi governorates for less than three hours a day which forces the families to pay attention to every single ampere…
Most Iraqis became fit again and they started practicing compulsory the walking sport because either of the curfews or the sudden blocking of the streets. Now we have less angina pectoris or myocardial infarction.
Of course, I must not forget that these great changes would not be done without the big support of the US administration to the Iraqi government.
The Bad
You can find no better review of the last five years than from Last of Iraqis. He writes:
During these 5 years I have experienced everything, two of my relatives kidnapped, 6 of the people I know closely including relatives and close friends have been killed, I can't count the number of people that I know who were murdered, my niece who is 7 years old girl died in an explosion, most of my friends and relatives have left the country, I watched my teachers and college professors being killed or kidnapped one after the other, I have been near an explosion countless times, I have witnessed uncountable number of dead bodies and crying families taking their dead beloved from the forensic medicine building, I have seen 3 men at different times being shot to death in front of me, I have been through militias checkpoints several times. Me and my wife have been targeted by a national guard sniper for a reason I didn't know till this moment, I have seen dead bodies left on the side walk and no dares to bury them…I'm just one Iraqi and I have such loses, imagine 28 million ones like me, how much looses does the Iraqis have?
Correspondent Hussain compares Iraq now to before the war. He summarises:
Shortly, in the last five years, Iraqi people get suffering more than the 24 years of those during Saddam's regime. In the past, we have the mass graves hidden while nowadays we can see them in open streets. In the past we had Saddam and his security forces who caused that catastrophe while now we have the Qaeda , the gunmen, the guards of the foreign security companies and Iraqi officials , criminals and the USA troops who can cause death to anyone and anywhere in Iraq
Neurortic Iraq Wife remembers relatives who argued in favour of the war five years ago and makes a statement to them and all the war's supporters:
Im just gonna say this to Ali and all the likes of Ali, especially Bush and rumsfield. I hope and pray to god that you will find forgiveness from all the women that got widowed. Forgiveness from all the children that got orphaned. Forgiveness from every Iraqi that suffered. Not only Iraqis, but all the soldiers that died. Died due to your selfishness. Its one thing to want freedom for Iraqis, its another thing to want people to die in the name of the so called freedom. Saddam was evil, But I never imagined that there were people as evil as he was. I guess I was wrong!
BlogIraqi measures the results of the war and comes to a conclusion:
Those five years were nothing but another episode of suffering. With some new types of suffering, I must admit. If we look into facts of what this war has accomplished in five years, and I mean the accomplishments to the simple Iraqi person who does not have “Democratic” dreams, you can simply say, NOTHING.
And Layla Anwar thinks that bloggers are secretly thinking that Saddam may not have been so bad after all. So she gives a few points in his favour:
Under the former dictatorship our trees were still producing fruits and not razed to the ground. Under the former dictatorship music was still allowed, so were films.Under the former dictatorship we had no drugs, no poppy fields, no drug addicts and no drugs peddlers and traffickers. Under the former dictatorship we had no pedophile rings, no professional killers, no professional drillers and no professional rapists…
Under the former dictatorship, we had no over 100,000 detainees with no trial, no children sodomized in prisons and no women gang raped in exchange for freeing their loved ones…
Under the former dictatorship, our artists, poets, writers, singers, journalists (233 killed since 2003) were not abducted, kidnapped or assassinated…
Under the former dictatorship we had no 2 million widows, 5 million orphans, 4 million wounded, an X number of disappeared, we had no mass graves of a million plus murdered by Democracy.
Under the former dictatorship we were not considered the second most corrupt country in the world and the FIRST most dangerous country on earth…
Under the former dictatorship, we had a country called Iraq. Under the former dictatorship we had a Life. Under the former dictatorship, we were Free.
And to the Point
If you really want to know what happened, nadia n can tell you in one paragraph:
What the US did is not only overthrow Saddam - that's a byproduct -it destroyed the Iraqi state, which is something that took eighty-five years to build, all of its institutions and everything. That was not all the product of Saddam. Saddam was a latecomer. What the United States did is destroy an entire state, entire infrastructure, all of the institutions, so that there, you know - so, of course, life was better when you had a system that was functioning.
As for the noise of all the Iraqi bloggers still cheering the war on? You can just make out the sound of one hand clapping..
4 comments · »»March 11th, 2008
Iraq: “It's good it wasn't a car bomb!”
· 23:38 · Middle East & North AfricaWhat better, after a short break, than to give my audience what they really want to read - words from the street in Baghdad and Mosul. And there is no better time as Chikitita is back blogging from Baghdad giving her impression of a city that she has been away from for many months and Neurotic Wife, takes a tour through the ‘red zone‘. While Baghdad Dentist returns to Mosul after a break in Baghdad and tells us about the difference.
Baghdad Central Train Station by Neurotic WifeIn Baghdad
They say Baghdad has become safer - almost back to normal. And in a way it is true but the issue is one of perception and it is all relative. Chikitita is back in Iraq, visiting her home. She writes:
I sensed some kind of progress in the air; a cab driving through a once Al-Qaida-infested area on its way to a still Badr-controlled one. Last time I was home, this was unheard of! I was amazed by the new changes; all checkpoints have tacky artificial plants as if to divert the beholders’ attention from the camouflage and rifles to the fact that the young servicemen mean no harm.… As I was promised, … a cruise across the Tigris. It was BREATH-TAKING! For the first time in my life, I was able to take pictures inside my city, on a boat though, pictures that scream I WAS IN BAGHDAD!
The last stop is my favourite place Kadhimiya marketplace, which seemed to have survived. No rip-offs, cheery faces and the good old Iraqi spirit seem to be buzzing with life.
Saddam's Mosque in Mansour (still standing) by Neurotic WifeBut after a few days the reality strikes her:
I seemed to have counted my chickens way too early in my previous post. A fellow commuter, barely catching his breath and checking his trousers for traces of dust, said he survived a bombing by a miracle… the IED tore through the very same childhood neighbourhood of mine. What confused me about this young commuter was the fact that he was smiling as he was running at full speed to catch the bus and his funny comment “it’s good it wasn’t a car bomb!” Aren't we lucky!
Neurotic Wife leaves the Green Zone to take a rare drive through the streets of Baghdad and goes out for a meal in a local restuarant. She says:
That place was crammed. People were coming in and then leaving because there arent any free tables around. I looked at the people, they were happy people. Young ladies dressed in the latest fashion with make up, large fashionable sun glasses over their heads shielding the hairs from their eyes and large hoop earrings dangling from their ears. Everything and everyone around me looked so colourful, so lively. And most importantly, so NORMAL!!!I had the urge of taking my cam out and snap hundreds upon hundreds of pictures. I wanted everyone in the world to see that no matter what happens to Iraq, the rockets, the bombings, the assassinations, the kidnappings, there is Always Life. ALWAYS.
Some shops in Baghdad by Neurotic WifeMaybe one of the reasons for the glowing reports of stability in Baghdad come from the wishful thinking of its residents. Chikitita, having seen the world outside of Baghdad, looks at her friend's optimism in a new light. She writes:
I have ceased to look at bright sides in Iraq and given up hope on positive changes, but [my friend] hasn’t. She was so eager to show me life through her eyes, just anything that could give me a false sense of peace and co-existence. She failed. She was right about shops opening after 5:00 p.m., but they close down at 7:00, I couldn’t see any progress there… mosques are still protected by barbed wires, a proof of ongoing mistrust. I heard commuters exchange sectarian insults with each other, not a good sign either and it was her own mother who told me about a private school for girls next door that received threats by militias to expel the qualified senior male teachers or else they blow up the whole school premises.
And Mosul
Baghdad Dentistem returns to work in Mosul after a holiday at home in Baghdad. He gives a picture of life for the single young professional in that city:
it's too dangerous to live in my home because when the national guards or the american soldiers find a young man living alone he'll be considered as a terrorist and will be detained. … [my] neighbours were afraid and hesitated to talk about the situation and they didnt give me a clear answer . …i met my friends whom i missed and new rotator dentists were there … by night we were laughing and chatting and the sleeping song was 3 blasts and some shooting. … Friday, the alarm was a horrible sound of explosion that woke us up and we were looking at each other to check if some one was injured.
Even the universities and the students cannot escape the violence in that city. Aunt Najma writes:
Today the situation was tense, there was an assassination attempt to kill the university's vice president, and there were many security measurements inside the university.We discovered today that a dear classmate, M, was shot few days ago. They told me it hit him in the leg and he's okay. I was shocked to hear the news, nobody has told us, as if we do not care.
Toys in a shop window by Neurotic WifeAnd finally:
Even if you are stuck at home Marshmallow26 finds a way travel the world from her armchair in Baghdad:
Yes, I was sitting on my chair, enjoying the delicious flavor of my red apple. I visited Austria - Pfaenderhang, Japan, antique shop in Europe. super market at night, and a city square do not know even where…1 comment · »»Every thing is possible when it comes to Google search, I was reading in one of the technological websites, and found a trick word, a mantra that you write in Google's search bar and you get all live cameras around the world…the word is: liveapplet.
You get to see airports, metros, New York times square, factories, Zoos, and you get the picture!
Although I have not been on a plane nor to any other country except Syria, I feel as if I went to all those places which I searched through Google…I always say it, I LOVE TECHNOLOGY.
February 24th, 2008
Iraq: F*** you Washington Post…
· 20:23 · Middle East & North Africa…so says Raed Jarrar. Today's post features voices from the edge. Sunshine is waiting for the war on her doorstep to end and writes of her hopes and aspirations; Last of Iraqis is turned back at the Jordanian border and writes of hopes lost; Layla waits in the immigration queue; Baghdad Dentist writes of a relaxed Baghdad and the blogger formerly know as Konfused Kid writes of a world that has changed.
But first…
The Washington Post publishes a story about a dog that was rescued from the ‘Baghdad slums' and Raed is incensed. He writes:
one million Iraqis killed in the last 5 years, and you celebrate rescuing an iraqi dog. what a bunch of racist a**holes.f*** you Karin Brulliard, and f*** the washington post.
and he invites concerned people to send similar comments to that journalist.
The city of Mosul is virtual war zone at the moment. With the Iraqi government threatening a final battle to retake the city, there is a nervous tension that verges on the unbearable. Sunshine describes the feelings of waiting for the war to end and her hopes for a better future. In a post that must be read in full she writes:
I still have hope, I don't know why.. All the ex-operations failed, but there is a voice inside my heart telling me to be optimistic…I open the curtain above my bed, look at the sky, and think.. If the troops will defeat the terrorists and we'll have security, my relatives who live abroad will come to Iraq, and I'll be able to see my aunt again, we'll do whatever we want and wear what we like, without being afraid from terrorists .. I'll feel more free to write about what I feel…. we've been living in a war zone for four long years, full of sadness & fear … I can't end the war, but we say “if you have lemon, make lemonade”; there's no bright side in the war, but in this four years I became stronger, and independent person, I believe in myself and I know nothing can stop me from moving forward, not even the war, nor terrorists when I have determination and faith ..
I realized how much I love Iraq, I did't know how much Iraq means to me, until I saw It destroyed.
.. but I have to prepare myself for the worse, so that I don't get depressed if things didn't work well, I don't want to feel what I felt in the beginning of the war, I thought we'll have the life we were told to have, a bright future, and live happily ever after, I didn't know there'll be fights and battles in front of my house.. I didn't know I'll see dead people in the streets nor hear all of the horrified stories that I hear each day, I didn't know I'll have to hide under the stairs for 10 hours continuously!
and Najma's family is preparing for the army house raids that will inevitably come:
Mom has been trying to get us ready, “they might come from the roof, so don't be scared if you see them at your room in the middle of the night”, I start whining and tell her to stop but she keeps reminding me that it can happen and I have to be ready. … Now if my sister decides to have a baby in the middle of the night, what shall we do?Conversations like this went on and on between my mother and my aunt as I and my cousins sat trying to imagine a better future!
God shows me his love in so many ways.. And I trust that there will be a way out one day, one very happy day… I just can't see it yet!
Meanwhile in Baghdad
Iraqi Dentist is enjoying the new peace that the capital is experiencing. He writes:
as for baghdad, it's great. now it's on the way to heal and stepping forward in the road of revolution and good future. except for some what i call “defects” here and there, one may say that the city has settled down. the people now feel safe and can go out for shopping, visiting friends and relatives without fear. i feel that the normal life is getting back again. while in febuary last year (like the current days), i just wanted to get out of baghdad because at that time i couldn't get out of the outdoor. everyday we heard someone or two were murdered in our destrict. no one day passed without a funeral…we still have some problems concerning electricity ( well they are big problems). the electricity in Baghdad just say “hi” for few minutes twice daily. The goverment … spent millions of dollars just to provide every family with 10amps … 10 amperes for every family?!!!?? that means no A/C at all, can't iron with refrigerators turned on, can't use ovens or microwaves and and …. moreover till now we are not supplied with that 10 amps. where all that money has gone?
Marshmallow26 is suffering from a bout of insomnia and with army raids in her neighbourhood and barking dogs she has a hard time catching up with her beauty sleep (”oh no I see those black circles surrounding my red bleared eyes;wish there were no mirrors at all”). Marshy concludes that it is the suffering of others that has caused this:
so many killed people and couple of deadly explosions took place yesterday and the day before… I guess that is why I am suffering at night, there are many people need prayers, sleeping on the streets, no shelters, many kids don't know whether their parents will stay for another extra hours with them in this world or the rope of death will wrap them in a spit of a heart beat!!I decided every time I wake up at night, I must say a prayer, I should ask for peace, peace and peace in the land which the “peacetime” term turned into a forgettable expression.
And over at Alive In Baghdad, a video about the youth football team in the Sadr City district of Baghdad.
Waiting in Exile
Last of Iraqis tries to enter Jordan to leave Iraq for good but gets turned back at the airport. In a repeat of the treatment he received last time at Jordan's Queen Alia Airport he witnessed the wholly degrading experience given to Iraqis turned back at the border. In an essay with photographs and detailed description gives stories of treatment of Iraqis in the “airport jail”. He concludes:
I feel the disappointment every minute, a stupid low life intelligence officer destroyed my future and killed my dreams, a legal dream of having a secure safe future, a dream of becoming a dentist in a place that appreciate science and doctors, not trying to kill each one of them; a stupid officer made me sleep on the floor and starve me!! A stupid officer prevented us from seeing our families whom we miss so much; a stupid officer destroyed our dreams; this is what happened in one day;this is a story for one person; just imagine every day how many stories like this happens;every day;can you imagine? This is a serious issue; I don't know what the Iraqis are made of to stand these crisis? What happens every day in that cursed airport is something so important, where is the media from all of this? It really requires the media attention, the light must be spotted on this issue and I'm ready to help as much as I can to expose the truth.
Once in exile in countries like Jordan and Syria, Iraqis do not fair much better. Layla Anwar joins the queue at the immigration counter along with many other Iraqis who apply to extend their residence. She gives a beautiful (and horrifying) description of the nervousness and fears of people waiting for a single official who, at will, decides who will stay and who must leave. She writes:
We were lined up like a herd of sheep, patiently waiting for the “official's” stamp. That much needed stamp which will prove that we are still accepted here…Or that stamp that will allow us a few more months of breathing space…
Or that stamp that will give us an illusory freedom in some temporary legality…
Or that stamp that will confer upon us a seeming sense of belonging…Another illusion of a “home”, however fleeting and ephemeral, that illusion may be…
I stood there like everyone else, waiting for my turn, overwhelmed by a strange feeling that I am about to take part in a game of Russian Roulette…
What if he refuses to stamp, what if he finds an excuse not to stamp, what if he delays the stamp, what if he requests more papers to stamp, what if…what will happen then?
I am almost certain that I was not the only one entertaining these deadly thought. And yes they are deadly if you happen to be an Iraqi hanging on by a string…
So much power in the hands of some official, who sometimes holds your documents upside down…Some much authority in the hands of this, almost always, mustached man who has the final say on your life or death…
And finally…
The blogger formerly known as Konfused Kid now goes by the catchy handle of Abbas Hawazin and renamed his blog to “Catharsis” in English and “Shaqshaqa” in Arabic. Has he grown up? Has he reached an epiphany? Abbas tries to explain:
4 comments · »»things might change on the inside quite a long time before they do so visibly. The changes that I implemented to this blog and the desire to do so have been long thought of, I just didn't know how I would finally impart with the name I've been using for quite a long time now, after all, “Konfused Kollege Kid” was a gimmicky name for a gimmicky blog…As for the name, the Arabic signifies that Arabic language is going to play a more prominent role here, I can't decide whether I will dedicate another blog for it or just throw the whole thing here.
Shaqshaqa is taken from a famous Shiite sermon in which the usually reserved Ali throws a fit and rants about his lost caliphate title in a very angry, but articulate manner, after he is interrupted one of his companions ask him to continue but Ali replies to him dramatically: “O' Ibn `Abbas it was like the foam of a Camel (Shaqshaqa) which gushed out but subsided.” Meaning he has calmed down now. I've always loved the word ‘Catharsis', which basically means a similar, but less Camel-inclined, thing in English.
So people, don't worry, I'm really feeling quite okay.
February 10th, 2008
Iraq: End life, killed laughter
· 22:37 · Middle East & North AfricaSo says HNK. The world media seems to treat the Northern Iraqi city, Mosul, as more of a footnote their in the stream of news. Giving no more than a passing comments that the Iraqi prime minister declared a “decisive battle” to win back the city. When I read such headlines I know the human consequences will turn out to be horrific. So, today I dedicate my post to the extraordinary bloggers of Mosul who are living on the front line of a war zone. Also, one blogger writes on the conditions for women in Iraq and if you read to the end, you will find the mother of all bikers.
“mspaint love” by nadia n
But First…
Here at Global Voices authors have a tradition of emailing birthday wishes to each other. In the same spirit I wish to send belated birthday greetings to Sunshine. She got the wish that every Iraqi in her situation hopes for. Sunshine writes:
On my birthday, I came home, had lunch, and decided to take a nap, because I couldn't sleep well at night … as soon as I laid on my bed a [gun] fight started behind the house, (about 30 meters away), of course my wish in my birthday was to stay alive.I thought “to run, or to stay???!” then I remembered the saying “what hits me wasn't suppose to miss me, and what miss me wasn't suppose to hit me; so I put the pillow on my head and a blanket, and fall asleep!!!! I was so tired.
At 4 pm I heard singing “ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU” , I opened my eyes and saw my family members around the bed singing, it was really funny and special I blew my candles while I was still in bed ..
Breathless, hopeless, and fatigue
That's what I am now..
I am between the devil and the deep blew see
and between them
I am wishing I am never be…
poem by HNK on her life now in Mosul
Mosul on the edge
Aunt Najma explains the situation in Mosul like no one else can:
In short very little is going right, and the situation in Mosul is going from really bad to much worse.During the exams period, and in the course of one week, two professors in the university were killed in their way back from their colleges. One was killed in front of his children as they were with him in the car, and the other in front of his son who also got a bullet from the attack but survived it. …
It is a bad dream, but that's it, it doesn't end. You just have to live through it and put all your feelings in some jar because they won't do you any good.
ِDuring the exams a car bomb exploded in our street and broke some of the windows.. And during the exams, and in the midst of the mess, they decided to change the flag. And they did. And we the people didn't have a say in this.. They're just way too wise to be true.
Now it's the break.. and I hate breaks.. I'm sitting here at home waiting for the decisive battle on Mosul.. I'm waiting for them to come search the house.. and I do not feel like writing, so excuse me.
Sunshine reports that the past three weeks have been “very very very hard“:
I felt afraid from staying alone at night because the shelling didn't stop and we didn't have electricity, it is hard to admit that 16 years old Sunshine was afraid to stay alone at night! The new operation against Al-qaida will begin soon.
She gives her account of the huge explosion which I reported before but she adds the stories which made her “feel how great people the Iraqis are”:
I heard [on] the radio, when A man said “ I was in the hospital in the day of explosion, and I saw the ambulances bringing people injured very badly, I wanted to help but didn’t know what to do, so I took my car, went to a neighborhood and started to shout, “an explosion happened in a neighborhood, many people were injured, is there any one willing to donate with blood?” and I came to the hospital with about 25 guys”Many people called and adopted the orphans, many people donated with money, clothes, & medicines, my mom and her friend called every dentist they knew collected money to the wounded people.
A man called the radio and his words touched my heart he said “I don’t have money to give, but I’ll work for free and re-build the destroyed houses and shops“ and he gave the reporter his number, the world needs more people like him.
Meanwhile in Basra…
Hussain went to visit his relatives. For readers not faimiliar with the city, here is Hussain's description:
I love Basra city, which lies in the far south of Iraq and in the north of the Arab gulf. So it has the sea and harbors which we don't have in all over the country in addition to its people who are well known for their generosity and hospitality. … More than 75 % of the budget comes from Basra.The strange thing is that all Iraqi ports lie in Basra which means that all imported stuff from Asia and some European countries and exported oil to them should be through the Arab gulf and Basra! If Basra depends only on taxes which come from harbors, it should have skyscrapers everywhere.
But he was shocked to find the city neglected by the government in every way and rife with corruption:
the road from the main Harbor … to Basra city is unsafe for driving as the pavement is not good and bumpy due to the careless it has. This is a simple thing, while hospitals, factories and infrastructures are neglected or broken in this city. …
I went to Umm Filous harbor (about 30 km south of Basra), which is used to be a commercial one, but it becomes the harbor of oil smugglers.. When I asked my companion about the matter, who is from Basra city, he said” We have smugglers from Iran, Thailand, Malaysia, UAE , India and everywhere who deal with counterparts in Iraq with million dollars per day! I asked “Do the government know of this matter? The answer shocked me. “Most of the Iraqi smugglers are related to main parties in the government sharing the profits with them “he said.
Hussain concludes:
My question is now for the government, if the government can't control a small piece in the far south of Basra, how it can rule the whole country?
The conditions for women
Neurotic Iraqi Wife has a conversation with a colleague who lives outside the Green Zone where Neurotica works. Her friend explains why she must go to work everyday dressed in black and with her head covered:
“I have no other choice “Neurotica”. Its either I cover up or I get killed“Oh Neurotica, this is happening everywhere in Iraq, not just in Basrah or here but everywhere. We have become easy targets for those animal extremists”. The sadness in her voice slowly turned into anger. “Yes we suffered under Saddam’s regime, but atleast then, we knew who to blame. Now Neurotica, now, we don’t even know who to point the finger at? The Sadr Militias? The Badr Brigades? The Al Qaeda Wahabi extremists? Who do we blame Neurotica? Even the US forces are guilty.
“I don't even know if my neighbour will tell on me, or my friend. Or that old man I buy the vegetables from. Or that small boy sitting in the corner begging. I don't know who will shoot me first. The militia? The police? The Americans? Or maybe a drug addict, or a drunk man? Who is it gonna be? If it wasn't for my elderly parents I would have left long long time ago.
… “nothing has changed. Nothing at all. In Saddam’s time, we lived in fear, and now, we STILL live in fear. Do you think its possible for things to become normal again? Ever?”
Neurotic Wife concludes:
It angers me to see how these women suffer just because they ARE women.…In my eyes, those women, those constantly supressed Iraqi women, are my true heroes. All they witnessed is constant sorrow and pain, yet their constant hunger for survival puts everyone to shame. Everyone, including me. I send my love and utmost respect to these women. These tough, resilient Iraqi Women. The women behind the Abbayas and Veils.
And Finally…
Imad Khadduri found on an Iraqi Classified Ad's website a photo of what must be Iraq's oldest Hell's Angel:
February 4th, 2008
Iraq: The Idiots have finally made Saddam’s wish come true
· 14:43 · Middle East & North AfricaOr so says Baghdad Connect read on to find out why. But the main story is a double bomb blast shattering the perceived lull in violence in Iraq, bloggers put a human face on the impact of such explosions. And reactions to a report that one million Iraqis have died since 2003.
Iraqi Masgouf by Marshmallow26
Here are two pictures of the grilled fish ( simich mazgouf), dad is a professional fisherman, he knows how to grill a fish in a robust way. My aunt and uncle's widow were invited to our house yesterday, so dad bought this delicious fish and cooked it out in our front yard…enjoy watching!!!
If you read no other posts this week read these
While the bomb attacks in Baghdad receive wide publicity, mainly because of their political significance, one must not forget that Iraq's second city, Mosul, is undergoing even worse troubles. Much of which is barely glossed over in the world media. Baghdad Dentist gives a first hand account of the aftermath of one huge explosion that he witnessed first hand. He writes:
it was a DISASTER. even the word disaster doesnt describe the crime happened there. as if a nuclear bomb were thrown there.the trees were 100metre away. the bricks of the buildings were everywhere.the power cables were in pieces allover the place. i couldnt distinguish the houses from each other and from the shops. a cyclon is less less destructive. i stood astonished there. i havent seen like this only when the b52 aircraft bombed one of the buildings during war in baghdad. without any exaggeration 20 houses were severly ruined up and nearly 35 affected. who was that monster who did it? he is the evil himself.
And Baghdad Connect interviews an Iraqi professor who gives an interesting perspective on the design of the new Iraqi flag:
the Idiots (MPs) have finally helped Saddam’s wish come true, when they approved a tentative Iraqi flag with missing three stars that bears solely the wording of ‘God Greatest’!For nearly a decade Saddam’s intention was to drop the three stars … and keep ‘God Greatest’ alone. The move was to portray himself as a heaven’s gate protector for the rest of the Arab countries from any foreign aggressors like Iran.
Snow in Baghdad by Marshmallow26
It snowed for the second time this season in my city, and this time was better and thicker than the first time on Jan 12th. I was lucky enough to take some pictures with my friends … while we were taking pictures a US convoy included 4 vehicles were on the road, two of the US soldiers stepped out of the vehicle, one of them carried a disposable camera, he looked at me and asked if its ok to take a picture with him…
Those guys were surprised about the snow we had. Oh well when I see snow it is as if am seeing peace around me.
Bombs in Baghdad
We have all heard of how 100 people died in a double bombing in Baghdad pet markets last week that was attributed to the work of Al-Qaeda. Iraqi bloggers fill in the background about the area and people affected.
Leilaa Fadil, who works for one of the international media offices in Baghdad reported how life went on after the event:
When the bodies were gone people covered the remains of flesh on the road with pieces of cloth. … Dead birds and animals were gathered up and put into a dumpster. Cleaners swept away the pools of blood, shop owners began to repair their shops once again and life went on.
Neurotic Wife wakes up to the news and is angry. And shouts at the people who spend their time disputing the numbers killed in this war:
we still have worthless people still disputing the Lancet report, asking whether its a true study? No its actually a fake one, done in really weird circumstances, they tell the world. No dont believe this report they argue. This report is all lies!!! If this report is all lies, then all those millions of Iraqis that got martyred and are still getting martyred everyday are but film characters in a sci fi movie, right? … The majority of today’s victims were kids. Real kids!!!Kids whose parents wanted to take advantage of the weekend to entertain them. Entertain them instead of keeping them locked up between the walls of their cold, dark, lonely homes. But no, entertainment in Iraq is wishful thinking. For even the thought of it is a sin by itself.
She also points to ominous signs of more violence to come:
just as I was chatting with HUBBY, BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM, a large explosion took place very close to him. It was so close that even I heard it over the speakers. I guess its official now that the 6 month standoff of al Mahdi militia is over.
Iraq Pundit uses the bombing as an example to berate American politicians who call for a quick withdrawal from Iraq. He writes:
Guess it's easier for the politicians to apologize later. You know, the way Bill Clinton apologized for sitting back and watching the killings in Rwanda while he was in the White House.Most of us can understand on some level why terrorists don't have a conscience. They're murderers. Any sense of what's right and wrong would prevent them from doing their jobs. Please don't tell me to vote for the presidential candidates who look the other way in order to do their jobs.
Alaa gives some background to the area and the people there:
This particular place has been attacked several times before and still it happens. It is heartbreaking really. The people who frequent these traditional and very lovable places are usually amongst the poorest and are mostly young animal loving hobbyists.
He reproaches the Arab media for ignoring this atrocity or blaming others and goes as far as criticising America for allowing its allies to finance groups that openly support Al-Qaeda. Alaa writes:
Perhaps it is this weak-kneed American attitude that has contributed to the aggravation of the terrorist phenomenon.
Talking about weak-kneed attitudes, Baghdad Connect picks up on George Bush's recent trip to Saudi Arabia where he was photographed posing with a sword. In a sketch Baghdad Connect alleges Bush is associating with symbols linked to Al-Qaeda and their brand of religion and how it makes such groups look like they have official American support. While the truth of this is disputable, one can only wonder at how little the American president and his advisors understand about the symbolism of such actions.
One million dead and counting?
A recent survey published an estimate that more than one million Iraqis have died following the 2003 war. Raed Jarrar gives a political reaction:
More than one million Iraqis have died … at the same time, bush is revealing his plans to leave permanent military bases in Iraq…One million Iraqis have been killed because of the US occupation, but US interventionists from both the “right” and “left” are still giving excuses to stay in Iraq.
Oh lord, protect Iraq from the U.S. “right” imperialists who want to stay in Iraq to kill the bad guys, and protect Iraq from the U.S. “left” imperialists who want to stay in Iraq to save Iraqis from themselves.
And Layla Anwar gives an emotional response:
Add to that the 1.5 million during 13 years of sanctions and add to that an unknown number of missing persons and add to that 4.5 million in exile or displaced and add to that all those who were tortured, raped, maimed, and crippled by your liberation.Bravo Americans, you won the jackpot. You won over 2.5 million Iraqi corpses. And you may share the 4.5 million in exile or displaced as as bonus. … You invaded and occupied under the name of Democracy and Freedom, so that makes you nothing but a collective bunch of maniacal psychopaths, a group of revolting sick perverts, a disgusting affront to anything called human, an insult to the world.
And finally:
Marshmallow26 explains the importance of the mobile Internet in her life:
I don't even know who said this adage: the world is a small village, but it is %1000 true, we were shocked when the Internet technology invaded our world, life, work and houses but we never thought that there would be another source; mobiles or cellular phones which I call the teeny-weeny genius invention will give every one of us the feeling of mastering the world by one touch!! What a lovely feeling… I did buy a card and a SIM card and boom I had internet via my phone, well now this type is making me more sluggish than the first, why? You know that the weather is getting really frosty and I can't resist the heat and the softness I have in my bed, I decided to check my emails and my blog besides your blogs while am in my bed and my head is under my pillow!! What a lovely feeling. I wouldn't imagine that I can travel around the world while am in bed, ahh so relaxing…am thinking of taking my cell phone with me to the bathroom next time, ha-ha.1 comment · »»
January 27th, 2008
Flagging at the Iraqi Blogodrome
· 01:17 · Middle East & North Africa
Collage of the new versus the old Iraqi flag by Konfused Kid
Iraq has a new national flag. Some people may say that flags are really not important, but for Iraq it is big deal. Every new regime has sought to cement its presence through the national symbol. And this government is no exception. So what do Iraqi's really think and were the media right? And, if you read to the end, find out what design the Iraqi bloggers collectively agreed upon.
But first, if you watch no other video blog this week, see this one:
Alive in Baghdad continues its essential role, bringing the story of an Iraqi family that had to deal with the kidnapping of their child. With the total breakdown of security in Iraq, kidnapping is a problem that faces all Iraqi families - we hear so much in the news yet nothing can bring home the devastation of kidnapping more than hearing directly from the families that were directly affected.
AIB writes:
In 2006 Baghdad became a nightmare, more then 200 being kidnapped every day in Baghdad by gangs and militias. … Some families travel every morning to the morgue, looking for their fathers, brothers, or other relatives, because in many cases though the family pays a ransom to the kidnapper they never received their loved one, so they go desperately searching for a corpse, and there are many kidnapped people who, to this moment, have never been found.
Well, this time the media has got it so wrong
Bloggers from all sides of the political spectrum were incensed by the way the media reported the new flag. Nibras Kazimi's blood boiled:
I'm happy about the flag change … but reading the papers this morning still managed to get my blood to boil….It’s funny how the western media is so ignorant about the history of the flag that had just been changed. The three stars do not refer to the tenets of Baathism, rather they represent a proposed union between Egypt, Syria and Iraq….
The western media is also neglecting to mention that choosing a new flag and national anthem is mandated in Iraq’s new constitution
And Baghdad Treasure was really irritated:
The American news outlets changed the facts about the former flag. They attributed the flag to Saddam Hussein… the flag was basically chosen before Saddam came to power. …The other thing is that all American newspapers and websites insisted that the three stars symbolized the three Baath Party goal … they did not. … Unsurprisingly, the US media did not have the guts to mention that fact. Instead, they insisted on misinforming their audience by saying these three [stars] represented Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party goals.
One blogger is happy
Nibras Kazimi likes the new flag but not without reservations. He writes:
I am happy about the temporary change to the flag: it opens up the possibility of future, more dramatic changes. I don’t like the Allahu Akbar (‘God is Great’) slogan on it and what its colors represent, but parliament ruled that the change would be temporary and would last a year.
The rest… hate it
Layla Anwar expresses her anger in poetry:
Look what they’ve done to our flag, ma.
They turned it upside down, ma.
Tied it up and threw it to the grounds, ma…Look what they’ve done, ma…
They have invaded us, occupied us, killed us, destroyed our country, our history, our heritage, our people, humiliated us, pillaged us, plundered us, impoverished us, divided us, tortured us, raped us, imprisoned us, exiled us and now they changed our flag.Look what they’ve done to us, our country and flag, ma…
And Zappy is in denial He changed his blog banner and sidebar and wrote:
See the Flag … on the right? This the flag I was raised under, and thats the only flag I know about.
It's somehow incredibly fitting to me that, contrary to what the articles said, the part that was kept is the only part that actually was Saddam's doing… [the adding of the words “Allahu Akbar”]. What else stopped in 2003: not corruption, persecution, poverty, or killing, so why not keep that little bit consistent too if this really is the flag of Iraq 2008. Is there any better statement of absurdity than to put God's name on all of this bullshit they expect them to swallow? Any better summary of the audacity of the last five years? As if God needs to be associated for these sociopaths and apologists, like he doesn't already have enough working in his name. No wonder he left us.
Baghdad Treasure simply hates the new design:
So the Iraqi people woke up today to find out their flag has been changed! But what a horrible change! The new flag is dull. Just red, white, black and dark green. They should have either changed the whole thing, or kept the original. They removed the stars and left what Saddam has already put! The “Allahu Akbar” inscription. The only thing they did is they changed the handwriting of Saddam into the Kufi calligraphy. The main idea of having “Allahu Akbar” is still there! And who put it? Saddam!! So have they really removed Saddam’s imprint from it?
The legitimacy of the vote was also questioned.Konfused Kid writes, “the Iraqi parliament today approved a new interim design to be approved for one year with a majority of 110 out of 275, 100 MPs were absent from the session.” While Salam Adil (that's me) wonders about the politics behind the new design:
This flag represents a humilliating defeat for Kurdish chauvinism - with Turkey breathing down their necks the Kurds have realised they only have two choices. Be a part of a united Iraq or a poor suburb of greater Turkey. They desperately needed a standard that they could hoist to warn off the Turkish army that is massed on the Northern border. Hence the compromise on the new flag. But what a compromise. Gone is any sign of the Kurdish symbol, the yellow sun, but instead they agreed to a flag that bore the Arab and Islamic colours. Oh dear.
And Finally…
Iraqi bloggers had their own fiery discussion on the design of the new flag. Konfused Kid was pleased to report that the discussion ended in a consensus:
we all came to the conclusion that the best Iraqi flag is this:0 comments · »»
After all, Good old Greendizer is really loved by all Iraqis, even the fake ones, mu baba?
January 20th, 2008
Iraq: Another New Flag?
· 23:36 · Middle East & North AfricaA proposal by the Iraqi Parliament to change the flag has started a heated debate among Iraqi bloggers this week. And there is more.. hear news from the front line of the Iraqi resistance, remembering the 1991 war, what happened when the army tried to demolish a bridge in Mosul and the low down on Iraqi satellite TV.
If you read no other post this week read this one:
Last of Iraqis has a chance meeting with members of the Iraqi resistance and reports an original view of recent events in Iraq that you will never read anywhere else. He says: “It's strange how a man can know so many things in few hours that he couldn't know through searching and asking for years.” Find out how Al-Qaeda rules the prisons, who are in the Awakening movement and what is really going on. Before parting Last of Iraqi asks the question on everybody's mind:
“let's imagine that the occupation is gone and you have given the chance to select a president or the members of the government? Do you have someone in mind? Do you have someone that you really trust to take control?”
My two friends laughed and said” that's the sad truth….there is no one” but O answered “there are, they are the leaders of the clean and true resistance” ….. I laughed and said” don't imagine that they will keep their words, look at the history….no politician keeps his words after he wins… majority of them cares about their profit and benefits, so the true solution is in real democracy….which is something so close to impossible in Iraq”
Or this one:
A&E Iraq remembers 17th of January 1991:
oh God, that date, it took me back, to my third year in the primary school, when my mother rushed into our room, and took us in hers.
It was the first time I hear those sounds; those explosions which were enough to rack our small house, I still remember how scared my mother was and how my father tried to calm her down.Those weeks never left my mind, the horror, the bad news, the color of the sky, the rockets and the darkness.
It was the start of the first Gulf War and A&E Iraq reflects on all the times and events that has gone on since then. He writes:
I can’t forgive the arrogant stupid leader who never thought of the consequences, I can’t forgive all the brothers who never tried to tap on our shoulders, or probably who were pleased that our country was destroyed.And of course I will never forgive the savages cowboys who never showed mercy, never hesitate killing civilians and tried to respect humanity.
After 17 years, the world has been changed; the ones who were planning to wipe Baghdad from the map are talking about humanity, democracy and rebuilding Iraq!
All the Arabs who paid the bill to destroy the Iraq and kill as much as possible of its people are now against the invasion, and crying for the “assass