Immature Discussions Reveal Hard Emotions And Concern Me!

I’ve been hearing strange analysis of the political process in Iraq and how the state is being formed. It is normal to hear Iraqis discuss politics, even under Saddam, but then they were mostly politics against “the occupiers and enemies” and rarely about the Iraqi internal politics.

“The Iraqi defense minister converted to a Shiite,” said one I know. “No Sunni would visit Iran,” he said as an evidence of the minister’s adoption of Shiite Islam.

Sadoun Dulaimi, Iraq’s defense minister is a Sunni from Anbar, a Sunni province western Iraq. He was given the defense ministry to run when the current Iraq government seated back in April 2004. It was a political and ethnic compromise. The Shiites got the PM post and the interior ministry, the Kurds got the presidency and the foreign affairs ministry, and the Sunnis got the national assembly chairman post and the defense ministry. And the other posts were distributed according to the same “national unity” program!

The Iraqi defense and interior ministries launched several counterinsurgency operations since the government took power. As you read in newspapers and hear from other news outlets, insurgency in Iraq is believed to be headed and directed by members of the Sunni minority in the country. Therefore, the raids, the arrests, and the clashes of government and multinational security forces against insurgents took [lace in Sunni areas. Of course, like in every war, there are innocent people whose fate leads them to be in the wrong place in the wrong time, or other innocent people who are arrested because they are Sunnis and happened to live in the area, where the operations and raids took place. Many Sunnis were arrested by the ministries of defense and interior. Some of them are guilty and others not.

Here is the discussion that went on this morning between A and B on one side, and C on the other
A: the defense minister became a Shiite!
B: yes, we all know.
C: I don’t. Tell me. What’s about the minister of defense?
B: he became a Shiite.
C: how do you know? Was it on the news?
B: no, we just know.
C: but how?
A: he visited Iran!
C: so?
A: what kind of a Sunni that is to visit Iran!!
C: what’s wrong with visiting Iran? Is it a sin?
A: no, but he visited it before the interior minister (who is a Shiite) he did that to go get permission from the Iranians to start gis operations. To show his loyalty and to get the agenda that he has to apply.
C: really? How is that?
B: he visited Iran. Do you know what that means?
C: no.
B: it means he sold the Sunnis and is working with the Shiites.
C: but you don’t get it. His visit to Iran wasn’t for fun or tourism. He visited it with the PM in a formal and announced government’s visit to a neighboring country. They went there to sign agreements with the Iranian government, including security agreements and borders defense. Don’t you think the defense minister should be there.
B: don’t deceive yourself. They are going to kill the Sunnis.
C: I don’t deceive myself. I know Sunnis are being killed, but just as many as Shiites are being killed. To make it easier to understand, the Iraqis are being killed!
A: no. the minister of defense became a Shiite. He is with them against us. We all know that.
C: but what you are saying is provoking. That’s how civil war is fueled. People like you, who believe in conspiracy theory, are going to fuel the civil war.
B: if there is a civil war, we will win.
C: how come?
B: we believe in God and have the will to win.
C: but others have this and they are higher in number.
B: we will win.
C: ok.
And then C left the room. He got enough of hatred being spelled over.

That’s a real story and real conversation that took place in a place in Iraq and among three average Iraqis. My point is: I wonder how many people have such conversation in Iraq every hour? And how much this contributes to provoking people to violence?

BY THE WAY: the U.S. army announced that it will release a number of detainees, including five Iraqi women, Thursday and Friday. And I mention this because its big. Jill Carroll’s kidnappers had one condition to be met before they release her. That condition was to release all the Iraqi women in prisons in Iraq. Some people say that the total number of Iraqi women in detention facilities is Five or Six.

Feeh

You Missed My Point! As Usual!!

(This is directed to the Iraqi bloggers who suddenly decided I am biased)

I cant believe you guys. I cant believe you attacked me this way. At least give yourself another entry to decide that this “totally cool blog,” is biased now and not worthy reading! I am frustrated and disappointed.

“Hey, Sunni Areas Are Under Destruction” is Part One of a three-entry projects I wanted to publish here. It is a political-reconstruction-related point I am trying to make. Are you serious? I cant even believe how easy you are to change your mind people!

One lesson I learned from this harsh experience: There is no such bullshit as “Free Press.” We are deceiving ourselves. We ourselves Do Not want free press. Because free press sometimes means to contradict with our points of view and that is exactly what we don’t want to see or hear! What if I was biased? What if I were a Sunni and wrote about Sunni areas only? Isn’t this “Free Press”? Isn’t it free press that I am allowed to write what I feel and what a faction of my people, that is the Iraqis, feel? Isn’t it free press that someone else writes about the Shiites and I should listen and try to check the facts? Isn’t what some of you guys wrote exactly what dictators, including Saddam Hussein, always did and are doing to hide the truth? They usually attack journalists and reporters the way you did to stop them from saying the truth. You know what else, that’s why I said we don’t want free press. Because once you read something you don’t want to hear, you judged that this is Not True. This is exactly how Saddam Hussein and his loyalists ruled for decades!!!! I think you should give it ten more minutes before you decide that I am biased and trying to impose an agenda. And you know what? What I said is true. Therefore, I don’t care if I was biased while saying it or if I was choosing one side to talk about. As long as it is TRUE, it is credible. PERIOD!

NOW, back to the Part Two of this subject. (and the last one)

The Shiites Aren’t Getting Reconstruction, Too!

Have you heard of Sadr city? It is almost 100% Shiite residents, or I believe it is 100%. I don’t know, I cant tell. The point is that we heard about tens of millions of dollars being given to Sadr city council for reconstruction projects. Since the reconstructions talks started after the invasion, Sadr city was one of the main projects for the multinational forces and the Iraqi governments. What is very interesting is that the money is spent, and projects are done (pr so they say) but as always, when it rained heavily a few days ago in Baghdad, Sadr city turned into a swimming pool!

Have you heard of Kadhimiya? It is a Shiite neighborhood that houses one of the main Shiite Imams’ shrine, which is considered as one of the main tourism cites in Iraq. This part of Baghdad gets dozens of thousands of visitors a day because in addition to the shrine, there is a big bazaar. You can find all kinds of stuff in that bazaar like food, cloths, makeup for women, children toys, and so on. BUT people have to step over ponds of sewage and rubble to get what they want. And it’s been this way since ever. And I fear to continue forever!

Have you heard of Hurriya neighborhood? It is another predominantly Shiite neighborhood, and another big one. Same problems as above!! And you know what? I said that before in the reconstruction entry. You know that all the talks about sewage systems reconstruction that they talk about in the summer are NOT true when you see how they work in winter!

Have you heard of Najaf? It is one of the most important cities in Shiite Islam because it houses the shrine of Imam Ali, who is a cousin of profit Muhammed. This city was destroyed in the military operation conducted by U.S. and Iraqi forces back in august 2004. I heard about tens of millions of dollars put to reconstruct the city. But seriously people, there is no one new brick built in Najaf since the military operation. All what was built are private owned houses and shops and from people’s own money.

Once I was reporting in Kadhimiya, that was a few days after our government issued this freaky decision of odd and even car license plates numbers and how each one of them should be allowed to drive in the street at a certain day but not together. Out of curiosity, I asked the traffic police “is today is odd or even?” he said “we don’t care here in Kadhimiya. All cars are allowed to drive always”!!!!!!

To cut this short so you don’t spend time trying to find the best way to piss me off. The point I wanted to make is:

We hear a lot about the “Shiite Iraqi government” and how it works and how it favors Shiite cities. But as an Iraqi, who lives in Iraq everyday!!, I know that this government came to power April 2005 and is going to take power, with different faces, within one or two months, and it did nothing so far. NOTHING. The Iraqis, Shiites and Sunnis, got nothing from this government whatsoever!

NOTE: one more thing I was wondering about: Why when all media outlets in the world talked about the Sunnis being maltreated and abused and tortured in the Iraqi ministry of interior, no one said they are biased?

Hey, Sunni Areas Are Under Destruction!

Yarmouk neighborhood, a predominantly Sunni neighborhood. Yarmouk is where the most famous streets in Baghdad are. They are called The Four Streets. they are know because they are extraordinarily beautiful and there are no streets like them in a resident neighborhood anywhere else in Iraq. These are four streets, the main two ones are three-lane streets, and the other two are two-lane ones. They go through Yarmouk neighborhood from the beginning to the end and are very vital to Baghdad’s traffic. Two months ago, suddenly, the government decided to do some reconstruction in these streets. I don’t know what the deal is or why these streets need to reconstructed so badly that they should be done before the rest of Baghdad’s poor neighborhoods, which some of them are not paved yet even. So, the municipality workers started digging. Two months ago, they dug a huge hole in the middle of the Four Streets that prevented cars from using the streets the normal way and people now have to make a detours and U turns to find a way to go to their destinations. After they dug that hole, nothing happened. The bulldozers surprisingly jammed and died in the middle of the Four Streets and no one is trying to move them or fix the hole that ruined the neighborhood. It’s been two months and I pass by that place every day to see the bulldozers in their place, not an inch away. (the pictures bellow show the Four Streets now)



Have you heard of Rabie Street before? It is one of the busiest streets in Baghdad. it is located in the western part of Baghdad, where most of the residents are Sunnis. This street had its median rebuilt before the invasion in 2003. It used to be fairly nice Commercial Street with lots of shops and cars trafficking all day long. Suddenly, a month ago, the government decided to rebuild the median AGAIN to show people signs of reconstruction. They first dug the already-fine median and took the bricks off and left them in the middle of the street. Second… mmmm… there is no second. The street is rubble for almost a month now with no signs of try9ing to fix the Destruction!! (the pictures bellow show the street now)

Have you heard of Khadraa neighborhood? It is also in western Baghdad and predominantly Sunni place. It is a huge neighborhood with thousands of houses and tens of thousands of residents. Suddenly, a week ago, the residents woke up to find themselves locked inside their own neighborhood. Cars were driving hysterically in the small streets inside the neighborhood to find a way out to the main streets so people could head to their work and schools. All entrances and exits of Khadraa neighborhood are blocked now by cement barriers, except for one or two from which people can sneak out.

Now, the only justification I could find for such “Reconstruction” obstacles is that the government paid for removing the old median from the Rabie Street, and paid for the cement barriers that were put in the Khadraa neighborhood, and paid for digging deep in the Four Streets, but the over $18 billion of American tax-payer money that we were told was paid to help in reconstructing Iraq is over and the government has no more money to fix what it ruined. These neighborhoods I talked about are fine since Saddam Hussein’s time. they are some of the cleanest and nicest neighborhoods in Baghdad since ever. And they never needed reconstruction.

By the way, I don’t have electricity in my neighborhood, which is not far from where the three neighborhoods I mentioned above. The reason is that the main electricity transformer is broken and the municipality council in this neighborhood, which is responsible for the three neighborhoods I mentioned above, “doesn’t have enough money to buy a new transformer,” we were told by electricity officials a few days ago.

Feeh!

It’s been a week since my friends experienced a horrible accident. One was killed in the accident, and one was kidnapped. I couldn’t write anything about the Iraqi one, because I didn’t want to jeopardize his family’s safety. But now, as most of the news outlets gave his full name, I can say something about him.

I heard about Allan when I was in college a few years ago. He owned one of the most famous music shops in Baghdad. River Bend wrote about this, so I am not going to go into details. But I didn’t know him personally until he worked with Jill. Jill always told me that he is very cautious in his work and had to think twice before he does anything related to journalism. I always told her that we shouldn’t blame him for this because working for an American is not something easy to do.

Allan didn’t want to be a journalist. He was having fun working with Jill. I remember when she came once and told me that “Allan tells me that I don’t like him as much as I like you guys.” She was very serious. So I asked her why he said that. She said that because whenever she tells him about something she quotes me or Baghdad Treasure, or our friend N. So, we decided to invite her and Allan to our office two nights before the elections in Dec. And that was because he didn’t want to go to a certain neighborhood in the lection day to cover the story.

They came to our office. We sat in the backyard. We smoked Nargeela (Hooka with Tobacco of course!) We talked about how Jill tells him stories from our office and he gets angry (in a funny way) and he told us how much she likes us and that whenever she wants to ask a question about security, she would contact one of the “guys.” It was a great night. We hardly convinced him that he shouldn’t be afraid to go to that neighborhood to cover the elections, because it wasn’t more dangerous that other neighborhood in Baghdad.

Before that, she told me about their trip to Najaf. They both drove to Najaf to write some stories about the daily life of Iraqis. “he thought he is a tourist,” she told me after they came back to Baghdad. She told me stories about how he spent most of his time in Najaf buying souvenirs from the bazaar to take back to his family and friends.

He was full of life. The best he could do is to reject. Whatever I said, he said “No. you can do it the other way.” When he came that night to our office, he brought with him his own tobacco because “yours is not good quality. You know nothing about Nargeela,” he said repeatedly and loud to make Jill hear it. We laughed a lot.

We have no information about Jill yet. I hope she is doing ok. I hope the kidnappers heard about her from TV or read in the newspapers how a great person she is and how much she loves Iraq and how much she wants to stay in Iraq to help its people get thorough this difficult time.

And as she likes to end every phone call with me, I say “Feeh.”

My Friend Is In Trouble!

Note: I have published this entry the day after she got in trouble and had to delete it for some security reasons. but now i know i should republish it with no editing.


Jan. 8, 2006
I couldn’t sleep last night. Every time my eyes close, I jump in my bed thinking “what is happening to her now?” All night long, I was this way.

One of the closest and best American friends of mine was kidnapped yesterday. I am not going to discuss any details, but I want to say some words about her, hoping that the kidnappers read this blog or someone tells them about it and help her.

She is working in Iraq for three years now. She is a freelancer. And because she has no newspaper to belong to, I always tried to convince her to leave the country. It is very dangerous for foreigners to travel in one soft car in this country now. She wouldn’t listen to me. “I am not afraid. I write about people and they read what I write. They wouldn’t hurt me,” she always replied when I asked her to leave.

She left several times to vacation outside Iraq and in emails she told me “It is homesick. That is how I feel now. People here are not like Iraqis, are not full of love, are not nice. I cant wait to come back and see you guys.” And when she arrives, she says “Hi guys. I am back home.”

She loved this country and its people. She sympathized with its sufferings and committed to tell the truth. When I talked to her about how the Iraqis live, she always cried. She cried for the sufferings of Iraq more than Iraqis. She has the nicest heart in this world. When I blamed Iraqis for what is happening in the country, she said “don’t blames the Iraqis. You should blame the governments for what they do.”

I remember once we were chatting and I asked her, “so where is home for you?” And without hesitation or a moment to think, she said “This is home. Iraq. Why? What’s wrong with that?” and as the chat goes on, at some point she smiled and said “I know my fate is in Iraq.”

I don’t know what kind of a room she is in now. I don’t know what kind of people are keeping her and how they treat her. All what I know is that she doesn’t deserve to be hurt. She deserves to be respected and her work and feelings to be appreciated.

Until she is released and comes back to her family and friends, please pray for her.

And as she liked to end every phone call with me, I say “Feeh.”

Happy Birthday, Iraqi Army!

Today is the 85th anniversary of the Iraqi Army.
I would like to take the chance to salute the Iraqi soldiers, who served in the Iraqi army since 1921. I also want to thank Iraq’s friends who are trying to help the Iraqi Army to stand on its feet after decades of humiliation and brainwashing under the former dictator regimes.

“We believe in you. You are The protectors of Iraq. God bless you Iraqi soldiers.” I try to say these words, or some of them, to any Iraqi soldier I see at checkpoints in Baghdad or anywhere in the country. They need the support and I try to do my best to show them that support.

For them, I republish my own translation of the Iraqi anthem in this blog.

My homeland….
Glory, beauty, sublimity, and magnificence in your hills
Life, safety, happiness, and hope in your air
Will I see you rise, safe, flourished, profitable, and dignified?
Will I see you rise reaching the Simak (a name of a specific start), my homeland?
My homeland.. The youth will not give up. Their goal is to achieve independence, or they die
We don’t fear death and will not be slaves to the enemy
We don’t not want an everlasting humiliation and a miserable life
We don’t want that. Instead, we will restore our immortal glory
My homeland….
Sword and the pen, not words and conflicts, are our symbols
Our glory, vows, and sense of responsibility are our motivations
Our strength is an honorable aim and a waving flag
Bless you in your sublimity, defeating your enemies
My homeland

Oh Boy, This Will be Controversial

I was encouraged to talk about the situation in Iraq under Saddam’s time and now. So, here, I will talk about myself in both eras.

The problem is the outside world thinks that Iraq was like Afghanistan or Somalia before the invasion in 2003. But that is not true. Iraq, even under sanctions, was not dying. We weren't starved to death. We had clubs where we could go and enjoy weekends. We had streets filled with cafés where we could go and meet with friends, or girlfriends. We had singers and bands. We had boat trips in the Tigris that we went to so we could dance, drink, and enjoy our days. When I was in college, I had a 25-member group. We went to lunches in restaurants at least twice a week. When I went out with friends that time, the earliest to go back home was 1 am or 2 am, that is if I go back at all.

Now, none of the above exists in my life. And Yes, because there is no security.

BUT, when I walked in the street, I had to carry three kinds of ID. One: the national Iraqi ID, two: the university ID, three: the military service ID (which was kind of ID o show that you either finished your mandatory military service OR your are not called in because you are a student) if I don’t have one of these and got caught by the military police, I might disappear (I never experienced that, but I know of people’s relatives who were taken by the military police, and after the invasion in 2003 they were found in mass graves!)

Also, I couldn’t discuss anything has to do with government AT ALL. Not even the silliest thing like… I don’t know, like I couldn’t say in public how miserable the electricity was. I couldn’t tell people that my family didn’t participate in the two referendums Saddam held in 1995, and 2002. In 1995, the government asked whether the Iraqis want Saddam to be the president. People had to answer with Yes or No and Saddam got 99.99% Yes. In 2002, he asked the same question, he got 100% of the votes saying Yes. And that was called “The biggest Yes for the leader of the Arab Nation, and the biggest No to America.”!!!!

If I had told the wrong people that we didn’t go to any of them, I might not be able to talk to you now because as far as I know, dead people don’t have blogs!! And then, everyone would know that my family and I were executed by the government.

Now, when people disappear or be killed, which has become normal now, no one knows where they are or who take them or who killed them! Is that better or worse than before?

Under Saddam, if you see people chatting in a café, there must be an intelligence informer somewhere near them listening in case they are planning to assassinate “the leader of the nation.” Therefore, as a result, people were very careful in speaking frankly even in their houses (I am not exaggerating. Ask Baghdad Treasure how his family was scared of discussing political subjects even in the house.) People feared each other because Saddam’s regime planted an informer in every street, every café, and every inhabited spot in the country and that’s why I always say that we don’t deserve to be forgiven for what happened under Saddam, we were responsible for 100% of what happened because he was one man, we were more than 20 million, why didn’t we do anything? Why did Iraqis accept money from the government for tipping their relatives and neighbors to the security system? It is 100% our fault and it is repeated now. Anyway, so my point was that people couldn’t speak freely because they knew they would be tipped to the government and then executed. (there were rumors before each of the referendums that if people don’t participate, they would be executed or deprived from food ration. Just to force people to go)

Now, people cannot speak frankly because they know they’ll be tipped to the government, which is Shiite and religious, and to the militias, which is Shiite and hide behind religious slogans, and to the insurgents, who are Sunnis and know nothing but killing. So, now we fear three endings for freedom of speech (killed by the government’s special agents, or killed by the militias, or killed by the insurgents.) is that better or worse than before?

Under Saddam, we didn’t have elections. He ruled for more than 20 years without even anyone trying to ask him why. The first thing he did when he came to power was to kill his closets friends. He killed the same friends who brought him to power, because he knew they wouldn’t let him rule for more than four or five years. We didn’t have the freedom to chose among many candidates and decide for ourselves who should lead us forward to the future. We had the same government since 1978.

Since the invasion in 2003, we were blessed with two elections and a referendum. And believe me when I say that people were free to chose and no one forced them to leave their houses and go. People felt that they were tasked with deciding their future and they wanted to make a decision. The only problem is that in the two elections, we had the same candidates. And in three years, we had the same leaders, and for the coming four years! is that better or worse than before?

Under Saddam, infrastructure was bad and old. When we had winter rain storms, Baghdad flooded with water. In the late 1990s, there was a big storm in Baghdad, in which streets in many parts of Baghdad were FULL of water and even cars disappeared under water. People in Al-Salam (Tobchi) neighborhood died of electric shock because water came into their houses and, for their bad luck, the neighborhood had a rare long hours of electricity. Children sank in the streets too.

Now, when it rains, the same streets flood with water and the same neighborhoods suffer of lakes of sewer for days and days because the sewage system is not rehabilitated yet. (ask about Alawi, Bayaa, Amil, Hurriya, and other neighborhoods of Baghdad and all other provinces. Except Kurdistan.) The only difference now is that people don't die of electric shock because there is no electricity! Is that better or worse than before?

Under Saddam, if I was seen talking to a foreigner, I would be put in prison and if they don’t charge me with treason and execute me, I would be released in a few years, maybe without a tongue. Foreigners were exposed only and exclusively to the Mukhabarat members (civil security)

Now, I am free to work, talk, marry, and fool around with foreigners. But if I was seen doing one of these actions publicly, I will be killed. Is that better or worse than before?

Saddam favored some places and cities in this country. In the area where the Green Zone is, Saddam had his republican palace, other palaces of his, his relatives’ and henchmen’s palaces and houses. Electricity was never cut in that area. NEVER. While the rest of Baghdad was scheduled to 3 hours with electricity and three hours without, more or less, since 1991. There is a compound in Qadissiya neighborhood on the western bank of the Tigris in Baghdad in which Saddam gave his ministers and henchmen houses. It was called “the ministers housing compound.” Also, electricity was never cut there. In Oja, his home village, he built a modern housing compound for his relatives and some of his henchmen and it was privileged with everything. All Iraq was deprived of satellite channels and dishes, but these places above had the right to use them.

Now, in the Green Zone electricity doesn’t cut. In “the ministers housing compound” electricity doesn’t cut also because it houses ministers and other high rank government employees. In every U.S. base, electricity doesn’t cut. So, now is better or before?

Under Saddam, the Baathists were preferred in every aspect of life. If you were a baathist, you could get a job easier than the non-baathist. If you were a baathist, you could apply for M.A. degree, while the non-baathist couldn’t (or could but never was accepted) and that is what happened to me. Anyway, a friend of mine got the highest marks in Iraq for his Bachelor’s degree. There was a decision made by Saddam that if you get the highest marks, you can apply for the M.A. degree and will be accepted with no additional tests. He applied and was rejected although the decision was clear that he wasn’t even supposed to worry. He wasn’t baathihst.

Now, if you belong to Dawa party, you can get a job. If you belong to SCIRI, you can get a job. If you are independent, you should give someone a blowjob! So, which is better, now or before?

Now, one of my friends in the office said “the Shiites are free to practice their religious rituals. That’s better than before.”

Under Saddam, the Shiites couldn’t practice their ceremonies, which are a lot during the year. Or lets say the did, but very resirictly and sometimes secretly. The Sunnis were free to practice their rituals.

Now the Shiites are free to do whatever they want, any kind of religious ceremony. But the Sunnis cannot. Is it better now?

The answer to the question I ended each comparison with is “It is not better now, and was not better under Saddam.”

You can read this entry and other blogs and go back to internet and google some news about Iraq and try to decide for yourself whether it is better under Saddam now or not. But now, I will say what I think.

Before, I was forced to accept to be restricted in making friends, making comments, expressing my feelings, and judging the government. And that applied to all Iraqis. If I decided to be free and do whatever I liked under Saddam, I don’t think I would be breathing now.

Now, I am free to choose to be free or to fear. I can decide to be brave and practice the freedom I have, or decide to continue living silently and whatever happens is none of my business. Now, I am free whether to criticize lack of services provided by the government and the ill performance of this government, or choose to be silent. Now, I am free to choose to leave Iraq, or stay, or leave and come back to stay. Now, I am free to choose to love the government and admire it, or to curse it in public and criticize it.

And this “free to choose,” is enough for me to keep breathing. This “free to choose,” is expensive and we paid for it and still are paying, and what comes hard and expensive is not something I would not appreciate. I would say that this “free to choose,” is the only thing to go under “now is better” I could think while writing this entry, and it is enough to make me happy that I am still alive experiencing the slow change.

Feeh!