A Family in Baghdad

Saturday, June 12th. 2004
Good morning…
Baghdad is fine, despite the sadness, the unknown future of Iraq and the Iraqis. But we do not give up hope, in a beautiful, shining tomorrow…
Because I didn't give up hope in the Iraqis…I wish they would remain a symbol of gallant deeds and country love… I wish they wouldn't "sleep" as others have slept…that they wouldn't become "sheep" as some others have become…
For they are the hope that remains to this tired nation, on which enemies has fallen from all sides…
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An American young man asked me, when he visited us along with a group of young men and women from America, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland, who are peace activists around the world…
He asked me how I wished to see Iraq within five years …
I thought… Then answered: I wish to see Iraq free, beautiful, and progressed… in the educational programs at schools and universities…in our way of thinking towards life… In every thing, but…without loosing our identities… Muslims, or Arabs, or Iraqis…
Without loosing our culture, nor forgetting our history… we do not want to dissolve in a mixture that has no identity…
I said to them: I am a Muslim, you are Christians, or have no religion… I don't care… there are no barriers to us being friends… respecting each other, listening to each other without losing identity…
Different cultures, histories, and religions build a beautiful world filled with peace and security…
No wars… no hate… not destroying each other…
This is how I wish the world to be in the coming years… where our children and grandchildren would live, along with your children and grandchildren…
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This delegation gave my son Majid a C.D. containing the songs of their group, which sings for peace… on the C.D. was the picture of a B-52 airplane throwing hearts and love over the world…
I remembered the B- 52 that used to throw missiles on Baghdad during the last war…we used to call it (The Plough), because it ploughs the earth, destroying every thing upon it…. Humans, trees, buildings and vehicles.
When we used to listen to the daily news, and they would mention the B-52 take-off from some base in Europe, for example… we used to laugh and say: count the hours… it would reach you in 6 or 8 hours, then the raid would begin…
And of course… their raids used to last all night long on the Iraqi army positions….which was smashed mercilessly.
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A few days ago, I was typing my war diaries from my old notebook, and I noticed that since the fall of Baghdad we started wishing for security, and waiting for it…. Along with the electricity and water supplies.




And here we are, more than one year later, still talk and ask for the same items…as if time has stopped, and became meaningless.
Why?
People's demands of providing the least simple daily-life requirements have become so difficult?
Aren't they priorities?
But until now they weren't …
Not to the Governing Council, nor to the Occupation forces…
And of course, you would hear long stories, and many excuses…
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Last week, when the tank driver shot the students in the café', I felt very sad when I heard the story… because I am a mother; and I felt the amount of pain mothers and fathers would feel… I called Raed and asked him to help me make contact with any Human Rights organization in order to make a complaint. So he went and checked, then called me back, saying:
There is no such organization in Iraq right now…. Take the e-mail address and try to contact them…
When I opened their web pages, I found reports about the encroachments of the occupation forces on Human Rights in Iraq, but no one cared or co-operated in this subject…
I remembered the explosion in the United Nations Office in Baghdad, the killing of the representative of the U.N. Secretary, the closing down of the office and the withdrawal of the staff to Amman until further notice…
Who gains from bombing that office? And who has a benefit in removing the U.N. from Iraq?
Are they really the Iraqis? I doubt that… we all doubt that.
These things are done by the enemies of Iraq, who fill Iraq now, from all nationalities and loyalties.
And the Iraqis are the losers.
Destroying electricity networks, targeting the police stations and the new army, these acts are not done by honest Iraqis … these are committed by mercenaries who would gain political goals…and abusing the Iraqi people, destroying their reputation, making all this an excuse to deny them independence, and authorizing foreign parties to decide for Iraq…until further notice…
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As for the Security Council's resolution about the Transitional Government, and the deploying of multi –nationality forces in Iraq, well… it looks nice enough on the out side, but is filled with mystery and unanswered questions….
Giving the right to the foreign forces to take necessary measures in controlling security? This point, for example, would be an excuse to every military operation that would claim more victims, civilians or others…
We will remain in panic, because there are some foreign forces that possess unlimited authorities, and control everything….
Which means…no independence in the foreseen future...
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And the newspapers are filled with talk about the Prime Minster Ayyad Allawi….many reports claiming he works for the C.I.A., that he was responsible for the bombings in Iraq in Saddam's time….
Why are they exposing the man, distorting his reputation??
Is he really a C.I.A. agent? Would these stories deprive him of honesty and competence?
Who brought him, and chose him to lead the government?
Is this some blackmail policy, so that he would always remain under control, and wouldn't revolt against them in the future??
How are we going to respect him, and trust him??
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I am neither a political nor parties expert, but watching and meditating in what is happening, and analyzing it, gives logical possibilities…engineering taught me how to think and analyze every thing in life.
When I went to Beirut with Azzam at the beginning of my marriage, after graduation from collage in 1976, I worked as a volunteer in rebuilding the Palestinian refugee camps, reconnecting electricity and water supply, and other necessities…
I was at the beginning of my twenties…
I looked up to the political leaders, heads of parties and organizations, but I found them very far away from people and their interests. The most they cared about in life were positions and privileges, and the fight between them for these privileges.
There was a devastating civil war that lasted for 15 years, interests, and interests, and interests.
Tens of thousands of innocents died in that war… until party owners reached a formula to stop the war.
From that time on I hated politics and politicians. I found it was the worst job in the world…the further away from honesty… filled with lies, deception, and games. From it flows wars, destruction, devastation to people and countries…. Because it is a job of many interests. And interests are usually for a few people, the damages being paid by the innocent people…
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If it was for me, I would have kept on writing, in this website, about children, flowers, and birds… and all the beautiful subjects that wouldn't upset the mood, or raise conflicts.
But the world we live in is flailing, moving towards falling… due to the policies of foolish men, who satisfy the interests of a small bunch. While the people of the world are sleeping…some are watching, and some are paying the price.
I see that we all are responsible…
Responsible in opening our eyes and minds to understand what is going on around us. To stop the evil ones in their trucks, and encourage the honest to accomplish what is in the best interests of the mass…
If we keep silent, or a sleep, it is as if we are accomplices in the works of the evil.
The world is a small village, and we want it filled with peace and security.
This is the responsibility of us all…
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Today, the Municipality of Baghdad employees came, to remove all the encroaching in the streets, and ask the peddlers not to get in the streets in order to show their wares, and to use the sidewalks in a way that wouldn't disturb the pedestrians. They gave a time limit to those who built unauthorized temporary structures, to remove them as soon as possible. A while ago, some shooting occurred against the police by these people…some reinforcements came along, and they took the people who were shooting to the police station, arresting them, with all the necessary procedures.
Yes, these are very good news… we are with the Iraqi police, we want everyone who encroaches to understand that there is a state that checks upon him, and enforces the law. Everyone should understand that freedom doesn't mean overrunning other people's rights.
This gives us hope that the killings, kidnappings, and robberies would lessen, once there is a state that protects its citizens, and looks after them…
We welcome this state, support it, and with it build a new, strong Iraq.
And some time, if the Iraqis feel that this state is wasting their rights, and giving authority to a foreigner so he would be their leader,… well, then we shall have another word to say.
I wish the Iraqis would have the strength to stand up and say : no, when it is time to say so…
I wish they wouldn't remain asleep, or become like sheep…and so lose their rights, as was the case at Saddam's time.
I wish no painful history would repeat it self here, another time…
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{translated by May....Baghdad}