Tuesday, March 02, 2004
Thursday 26/2
It is sunny in Baghdad. Today is the end of the week. On my way back from work, I smiled when I saw the mountains of lettuce displayed for sale on the pavements everywhere. Today I saw big sacks of carrots, bunches of green onions and pumpkins. All piled up on the streets. Majid laughed, what are they doing with it? Isn’t this for the Halloween? I laughed at him and told him that the pumpkins are for the jam. Nobody knows about Halloween here. I remembered my mom when we were kids, she would buy pumpkins in its season and make a big pot of jam. We would eat that jam every morning for breakfast; we would have it with cream and butter.
*****
Assam is away on a trip. Work has become exhausting for me. I am forced to stay longer hours at work and get home late. I spend my time answering the customers questions about various orders. Pumps, drinking water systems, lab equipment. It is easy to deal with orders when the equipments is already available, but when we don’t have it at the store I have to go back to the catalogs, look up prices, submit proposals, technical specifications, delivery time to Baghdad. All these details cause a headache. The annoying part is that most of the people coming into the store are unqualified in this field. The person either owns a small money exchange store, retired from the army or real-estate agent. They ask stupid questions and they don’t always understand the answer. This kind of work requires technical knowledge, I wonder about what is going on. Isn’t there supposed to be a file for each person with his qualifications? Shouldn’t the priority be given to the people who are qualified to do the job? I don’t know, this is a mystery to me, I don’t understand what is going on? or how are these people getting hired?
********
The same thing happened this week on many occasions. The contractor comes in with a specification for a water system to be used on a water well. He wants me to give him the price of digging the water well and supplying the equipment. Digging a water well has nothing to do with our business and therefore I can’t give him an estimate. As for the water system, I need to first know the salinity of the water first. The higher the salinity the higher the device costs. So he asks me to give him an approximate price. I have to raise my voice again to tell him that there is no such thing, each piece has a different price. So he asks me to help him. I tell him to go back and get the specification of the water in the well. He tells me that he can’t, the American in charge of the project doesn’t like discussions. Why not? I ask him, isn’t he an engineer? No … he is a military person. and he doesn’t like too many questions. I put my hand on my check in despair. The military person is leading the army and the wars, I can understand that part, but what is his business in these matters? Isn’t there a technical and specialized team to deal with rebuilding the city? or to manage the military camps? Even in the Iraqi army, there was a specialized engineering unit to run such projects.
*****
As for the emails that I get that comments on my writing on this webpage, they make me very happy. I use my free time when I get back from work to write up answers to the emails again. Sometimes this comes at the expense of getting an afternoon nap. Off course my responses are brief because I don’t have time to write lengthy emails. I enjoy reading the long emails that people send me, the ones that read like novels. They are like bridges of love and trust between Iraq and the rest of the world. Most of the emails I got this week were positive and made me happy. I got emails from the US, Canada and Europe. Many of them are mothers of my own age, there memories are genuine and beautiful. They made me smile and made me feel that the distances between us are getting shorter. It made me feel that we can understand the perspective of each other. One letter in particular made me happy and surprised me at the same time. A letter from an American soldier on his way to serve in Iraq. He is about Raed’s or Khalid’s age . He ask my permission to call me ma’am. He said that he loves Iraq and that he wants to help out. That he learned from his muslim superior how to behave well in a muslim country, how to be respectful to other people’s feelings, because he truly wants to help out. He told me that he was against the war, but now that it happened, he is sorry about the suffering of the Iraqi people. He wishes us freedom, and peaceful living. I sent him a reply. I thanked him and asked him to call me when he gets to Baghdad without hesitation, especially of he needs any help. He replied by saying that it would be against army regulation for him to call me.
******
Another email from an American, he sent me excerpts from Hamorabi’s law. This is the oldest law in human civilization. His email was very respectful towards other nations especially the Iraqi nation. He says that the American people love peace but the governments don’t think except about the type of peace that is in accordance with their self interest.
******
I have a hidden feeling of happiness. The Iraqi and American nations, each are thinking about the other. What does the other side want? What is their perspective? All these Iraqi websites, that have people from different perspectives writing, they are a miniature representation of our society. And the emails we get are a miniature representation of the society over there. These all bridges that help us build ties of trust and respect between the two nations. Some of the emails are from snobby Americans that are hostile in nature, but these are a small percentage. I usually simply delete those right after I read them and I smile, I don’t care about that point of view, because it is limited in its capacity to think. It is like the stupidity of Bin Laden and his narrow explanation of relations to others. When the issue of Iraqi occupation because a point of contention among the American people as they are about to enter presidential elections, this is a positive thing. We have a saying, sometimes what hurts you benefits you. This occupation has been a disaster that has descended on all of us. But I am sure that is has made the American public re-evaluate things again. It made people think about the meaning of a military presence here. The usefulness of them staying here. They are becoming convinced that Iraq is not a threat to them. Maybe they will start thinking that Iraq needs their help and support to build a new country that is suitable to its people, religion and its values. The mucking of a foreign hand will ruin and distort our values and our religion, intentionally or unintentionally. The American people should pressure its current and upcoming government to execute on the reconstruction of Iraq plans in a truthful and transparent manner. Exactly like they are doing in America, with all the American accomplishments, subject to accounting and questioning. While Iraq is in a state of chaos, there is no room for accounting and questioning. The responsibly will stay hanging in the neck of the occupation forces. I hope that they appreciate this situation and treat it in a serious and just manner. If this doesn’t happen then it will reflect badly on the Americans.
********
Yesterday, I had to go to work in the evening at the store. I returned home at eight in the evening. I rarely am late like this. I turned the security locking system on in my car, to guarantee that nobody could open the door from the outside. I was very nervous and I wanted to get home as quickly as possible. At the beginning of the street leading to our house an American check point. Mmmmm! is there a problem? I am going to be late, I told myself complaining. So I waited for my turn. The American soldier came and direct the light at me, the street was dark, I opened the window, he said a searching station, to the other street, he pointed with his hand, I told him that my house is on this street, if I went to the other street I will be far away, I don’t want to be late, search my car here, he said very angrily, No! go there. I said, but I am a woman, I don’t want to be late, Don’t you care? He said that it doesn’t matter to him, I raised my voice and said, my darling, you should care, I turned left and I felt angry. I had to wait my turn again. Then I found the same soldier coming towards my car again with the light in his hands. He said in faint voice, I hope you are not annoyed. I told him that I was annoyed. He told me he was sorry, but that he was following the instructions. I smiled and felt sorry for him. I wondered what stupid person brought this poor guy over here and made him face me face to face. He is afraid if me and I am afraid of him. He is suspicious of me and I am suspicious of him. When I got the searching point. There was an Iraqi person accompanying several American soldiers. He smiled and apologized and asked me to open the back trunk and the front of the car. They searched the car. I wished them a happy evening and went back home. I felt very sorry more than the anger. I wished they would all return to their families safe.
[translation by www.ihath.com]
It is sunny in Baghdad. Today is the end of the week. On my way back from work, I smiled when I saw the mountains of lettuce displayed for sale on the pavements everywhere. Today I saw big sacks of carrots, bunches of green onions and pumpkins. All piled up on the streets. Majid laughed, what are they doing with it? Isn’t this for the Halloween? I laughed at him and told him that the pumpkins are for the jam. Nobody knows about Halloween here. I remembered my mom when we were kids, she would buy pumpkins in its season and make a big pot of jam. We would eat that jam every morning for breakfast; we would have it with cream and butter.
*****
Assam is away on a trip. Work has become exhausting for me. I am forced to stay longer hours at work and get home late. I spend my time answering the customers questions about various orders. Pumps, drinking water systems, lab equipment. It is easy to deal with orders when the equipments is already available, but when we don’t have it at the store I have to go back to the catalogs, look up prices, submit proposals, technical specifications, delivery time to Baghdad. All these details cause a headache. The annoying part is that most of the people coming into the store are unqualified in this field. The person either owns a small money exchange store, retired from the army or real-estate agent. They ask stupid questions and they don’t always understand the answer. This kind of work requires technical knowledge, I wonder about what is going on. Isn’t there supposed to be a file for each person with his qualifications? Shouldn’t the priority be given to the people who are qualified to do the job? I don’t know, this is a mystery to me, I don’t understand what is going on? or how are these people getting hired?
********
The same thing happened this week on many occasions. The contractor comes in with a specification for a water system to be used on a water well. He wants me to give him the price of digging the water well and supplying the equipment. Digging a water well has nothing to do with our business and therefore I can’t give him an estimate. As for the water system, I need to first know the salinity of the water first. The higher the salinity the higher the device costs. So he asks me to give him an approximate price. I have to raise my voice again to tell him that there is no such thing, each piece has a different price. So he asks me to help him. I tell him to go back and get the specification of the water in the well. He tells me that he can’t, the American in charge of the project doesn’t like discussions. Why not? I ask him, isn’t he an engineer? No … he is a military person. and he doesn’t like too many questions. I put my hand on my check in despair. The military person is leading the army and the wars, I can understand that part, but what is his business in these matters? Isn’t there a technical and specialized team to deal with rebuilding the city? or to manage the military camps? Even in the Iraqi army, there was a specialized engineering unit to run such projects.
*****
As for the emails that I get that comments on my writing on this webpage, they make me very happy. I use my free time when I get back from work to write up answers to the emails again. Sometimes this comes at the expense of getting an afternoon nap. Off course my responses are brief because I don’t have time to write lengthy emails. I enjoy reading the long emails that people send me, the ones that read like novels. They are like bridges of love and trust between Iraq and the rest of the world. Most of the emails I got this week were positive and made me happy. I got emails from the US, Canada and Europe. Many of them are mothers of my own age, there memories are genuine and beautiful. They made me smile and made me feel that the distances between us are getting shorter. It made me feel that we can understand the perspective of each other. One letter in particular made me happy and surprised me at the same time. A letter from an American soldier on his way to serve in Iraq. He is about Raed’s or Khalid’s age . He ask my permission to call me ma’am. He said that he loves Iraq and that he wants to help out. That he learned from his muslim superior how to behave well in a muslim country, how to be respectful to other people’s feelings, because he truly wants to help out. He told me that he was against the war, but now that it happened, he is sorry about the suffering of the Iraqi people. He wishes us freedom, and peaceful living. I sent him a reply. I thanked him and asked him to call me when he gets to Baghdad without hesitation, especially of he needs any help. He replied by saying that it would be against army regulation for him to call me.
******
Another email from an American, he sent me excerpts from Hamorabi’s law. This is the oldest law in human civilization. His email was very respectful towards other nations especially the Iraqi nation. He says that the American people love peace but the governments don’t think except about the type of peace that is in accordance with their self interest.
******
I have a hidden feeling of happiness. The Iraqi and American nations, each are thinking about the other. What does the other side want? What is their perspective? All these Iraqi websites, that have people from different perspectives writing, they are a miniature representation of our society. And the emails we get are a miniature representation of the society over there. These all bridges that help us build ties of trust and respect between the two nations. Some of the emails are from snobby Americans that are hostile in nature, but these are a small percentage. I usually simply delete those right after I read them and I smile, I don’t care about that point of view, because it is limited in its capacity to think. It is like the stupidity of Bin Laden and his narrow explanation of relations to others. When the issue of Iraqi occupation because a point of contention among the American people as they are about to enter presidential elections, this is a positive thing. We have a saying, sometimes what hurts you benefits you. This occupation has been a disaster that has descended on all of us. But I am sure that is has made the American public re-evaluate things again. It made people think about the meaning of a military presence here. The usefulness of them staying here. They are becoming convinced that Iraq is not a threat to them. Maybe they will start thinking that Iraq needs their help and support to build a new country that is suitable to its people, religion and its values. The mucking of a foreign hand will ruin and distort our values and our religion, intentionally or unintentionally. The American people should pressure its current and upcoming government to execute on the reconstruction of Iraq plans in a truthful and transparent manner. Exactly like they are doing in America, with all the American accomplishments, subject to accounting and questioning. While Iraq is in a state of chaos, there is no room for accounting and questioning. The responsibly will stay hanging in the neck of the occupation forces. I hope that they appreciate this situation and treat it in a serious and just manner. If this doesn’t happen then it will reflect badly on the Americans.
********
Yesterday, I had to go to work in the evening at the store. I returned home at eight in the evening. I rarely am late like this. I turned the security locking system on in my car, to guarantee that nobody could open the door from the outside. I was very nervous and I wanted to get home as quickly as possible. At the beginning of the street leading to our house an American check point. Mmmmm! is there a problem? I am going to be late, I told myself complaining. So I waited for my turn. The American soldier came and direct the light at me, the street was dark, I opened the window, he said a searching station, to the other street, he pointed with his hand, I told him that my house is on this street, if I went to the other street I will be far away, I don’t want to be late, search my car here, he said very angrily, No! go there. I said, but I am a woman, I don’t want to be late, Don’t you care? He said that it doesn’t matter to him, I raised my voice and said, my darling, you should care, I turned left and I felt angry. I had to wait my turn again. Then I found the same soldier coming towards my car again with the light in his hands. He said in faint voice, I hope you are not annoyed. I told him that I was annoyed. He told me he was sorry, but that he was following the instructions. I smiled and felt sorry for him. I wondered what stupid person brought this poor guy over here and made him face me face to face. He is afraid if me and I am afraid of him. He is suspicious of me and I am suspicious of him. When I got the searching point. There was an Iraqi person accompanying several American soldiers. He smiled and apologized and asked me to open the back trunk and the front of the car. They searched the car. I wished them a happy evening and went back home. I felt very sorry more than the anger. I wished they would all return to their families safe.
[translation by www.ihath.com]
# posted by Faiza Al-Araji @ 9:12 pm 
