A Family in Baghdad

Dear Faiza...
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I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Baghdad the summer before the
first gulf war. It was some of the most beautiful days of my life. I met
my husbands family for the first time, we sat out in the garden in the
evenings till 2 in the morning talking and eating and drinking. I played
with my nieces and nephews; we went to the museums, to the market, to
Babylon, and to a Mosque. I experienced as much as one possibly could in
the three short weeks of my stay, however my family would not allow me
to sleep on the top of the house, I really wanted to try it one night,
but they refused and were worried about my comfort.

The following summer is when Bush Sr. invaded Iraq. What Saddam did was
bad, but the US coerced him and gave him the green light to go into
Kuwait. They tricked the Saudis into supporting us convincing them that
Saddam was building troops near their borders which later was proved to
be not true by satellite photos. Bush Sr. to me is just as evil as his
son. My heart was crushed when the first bombs started to fall. All I
could think about was my beautiful family, my precious little nieces,
how scared they must be. I was so torn apart, I felt so guilty, I was
so depressed. The worst thing was, that I felt like I was the only one
that saw what was really happening. Everyone in America seemed to
support Bush. No one saw the hundreds of thousand of innocent Iraqis
that lost their life, fighting a war that they wanted no part of.

Then came the sanctions..the horrible, horrible sanctions...it seemed
that my dreams of ever going back to seem my family again were
diminishing. We would try and send money via the black market when we
could. I remember telling friend at work how hard it was to sneak money
into the country, and she had the audacity to ask me if I felt guilty
because I was breaking the law sending money into Iraq. I could not
believe my ears that she even asked me. Wonder if it was your sister
there I asked her, with no money to feed her family, would you not do
everything in your power to help her? They do not see it like that. Just
because something is the law does not make it right. Even Hitler had his
laws, and what Bush Sr. did to the Iraqi people was just as bad as
Hitler, only he was able to hide his sins in the American Flag and came
out looking like a Hero.

When George W cheated his way into the White house, my husband and I
looked at each other across from the kitchen table, and our hearts just
sunk as low as they possibly could go. We both said it together at the
same time, and we said it out loud, we said it before 9/11, we said it
before the threats of weapons of mass destruction, we said "there is
going to be another war in Iraq during this administration. And I hate
to say that we were right.

But Dear Faiza, there is one thing that is different before and after
this war, then the first war. I don't feel alone this time. I feel
like there are a lot of Americans that are standing with me. They are
beginning to realize that this Administration needs to go. There are
still a lot that stand behind Bush although I just don't understand why,
I have even argued with my own family how even though they see what he
has done to my husbands family, they believe in him because he is a
Christian and he does not believe in abortion. A Christian I ask, what
kind of a Christian would stand up for war but not peace, what kind of a
Christian would sacrifice his troops for oil knowing full well they
would find no weapons of mass destruction, he is the wolf in sheep's
clothing. He has succeeded in fooling many Americans that he is a man of
God, but I see otherwise. I see beyond the flag and the church from
which he hides, I see that his heart is not pure, and I have a strong
feeling that his days are numbers. History has repeated itself many
times so far, a father and a son became president, a father and a son
started a war, a father and a son failed at war, and a father and a son
will both only serve one term in the White house.

I may be putting to much hope in Kerry, but I will do everything in my
power to help him get the vote. All I know is that this administration
does not have the heart to do what it takes to help Iraq. They are so
wrapped up in there own greed and their own ego to truly care about the
Iraqi people. I really hope that a new administration can do something
to change the image of America to the rest of the world that we are not
as evil as the powers above us. While we are at home sleeping, they are
off in the world doing their evil deeds and we don't have a clue what
they have done, until something like 9/11 comes along and jolts us up
out of a dead sleep and we wonder where did this come from. They tell
us that the terrorist hate our freedoms.....so tell me then why did they
not attack Canada....they hate our freedoms?????? Someone sacrificed
their life because they hate our freedom??????? Come on.....this kind of
sacrifice was one of revenge, and I want to know what they are revenging
for! What did you do to make them hate us?? This surely is not about
freedom.....I may be blind, but I am not stupid, please give me that
much credit.

I am sorry for ranting on like this. I just want you to know that I
understand, and I see what has been happening. Others are now starting
to see as well, more than I ever dreamed was possible. Dear Faiza, you
are helping to bring peace to your country by sharing your view with the
world. I will stand by your side and as more and more people stand up
together, we can make this happen. The power of people is stronger then
the power of money. Bush will face his falling days just like Saddam.

There is a saying in the Bible that if you have faith even as small as a
grain of mustard seed, you can move mountains. I can visualize the
mountains of hatred being removed and replaced with a loving peace.
Just keep visualizing it, and it will come.

Much love to you and your precious family,

Deborah