A Family in Baghdad

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Peace be upon you
I know that people's heads are aching from the many reports and political analysis about Obama's victory to be the new president elect for America, but I would like to talk about this issue as an Iraqi, and what is my viewpoint about the subject?
Of course, at the beginning we used to say they were all the same; Bush or Macain or Obama, but after the results of the elections appeared, and Obama stood on the platform after his victory and the short speech he said, gave me the impression he is a man of a different kind; a kind not similar to Bush, or Macain or Clinton, or the others we saw… for his speech was full of balanced logical talk that was not affected by the ecstasy of victory and success, so he didn't appear to us boasting and threatening to use force on the left and the right like Bush used to do in his fiery speeches that come directly after his victory in the voting boxes…
Obama said that that victory was the American people's, not his. And I say: indeed, it is a victory to the poor American people who suffered a lot since the September 2001 events till now, as the former American administration used those events in the worst way, pushing the country into a danger-lined road when they waged wars and occupations in Afghanistan then Iraq, under flimsy unconvincing excuses, even though thousands, or perhaps millions of Americans walked out in many marches refusing the war, before it took place, or each year at the anniversary of the war against sad Iraq…
And as a result of these clumsy aggressive policies used by the American administration, the country's financial situation deteriorated, people's living conditions worsened, unemployment increased, the living costs rose up, and the costs of health insurance for millions of Americans grew higher, while problems appeared in the educational system and it deteriorated, becoming in dire need for attention and care, but the American administration kept behaving like it isn't present, as if deaf and blind to what is happening around it… until the late financial crush took place, a crush that affected the American banks and insurance companies. The Bush administration tried to present solutions, but these weren't convincing enough for the American people. And Praise be to God, perhaps that was the reason why people elected Obama. *******************************************

The budget was depleted for a war that didn't show a positive side to the Iraqis and the American's alike, even after five years, during which billions and billions of dollars were spent, and the result was: dead and wounded Iraqis, prisoners, widows, orphans and bereaved people, the destruction of the infrastructure of Iraq, a country that didn't gain back health until now, in spite of all the illusionary stories about signing contracts and the reconstruction. The Iraqi still suffers the lack of electricity and clean water, and Cholera spread during the last months also, while the job opportunities decreased, even thought some areas saw an improvement in the security conditions, but people are still suffering poverty and the spread of unemployment largely.
The security conditions improved, regrettably, after Iraq was divided, meaning- the mission was accomplished… Baghdad is divided into Sunnie and Shia'ats areas… the provinces are divided into Sunnie and Shia'at ones, the elections are drawing close, may God forbid what fighting will take place over who gains power…then, there will come the law to divide Iraq into Sunnie, Shia'at and Kurdish federal regions… meaning- the country's future is ugly and scary. The Iraqi is either displaced inside the country, a refugee in the neighboring countries, or seeking re-settlement to a third country, or else; living inside Iraq working with political Parties and the government, his life threatened with danger everyday, or- a deprived poor person who has no power and no say in matters…
I mean- if a person was insulted, poor, and deprived in his own rich country, a country full of wealth and oil, how would he feel? To whom should he direct his anger? Against his government, against the occupation, or at them both, together? ******************************************
And do the American people realize that these are the conditions of the Iraqi people since the occupation in 2003 until now? Bush kept deceiving them, deluding them, and kept hiding the facts…but he cannot lie forever…
The American people lived in a closed shell, they do not know what is happening in Iraq since 2003, Bush and his administration closed all outlets for the truth to reach people about the situation in Iraq, but hundreds of activists came to Iraq or neighboring countries to investigate the truth about what is taking place in Iraq during these five years. They went back to write articles in newspapers or on web sites, or they made documentary films, in continuous efforts to deliver the truths they have seen with their own eyes, to their people in their countries, to open their eyes, so they would put pressure on the administrations to stop lying to people and deceiving them, hoping they can stop the war there, to withdraw the tanks, helicopters, and armies from the land of Iraq. This is not the way to create democracy for nations; not by tanks, helicopters, nor by armed soldiers barricaded in military convoys, terrorizing the civilians everyday ….. And, democracy isn't created by backing up local leaderships whose alliance is to America, and not to their own people, who do not care about their people's suffering, nor to solve their daily problems…
Aren't these the same boring, repeated stories from Latin America, Vietnam, and the other countries occupied by America in the previous century, inflicting bitterness, humiliation, disgrace, poverty, hunger, and imprisonment on its people? Installing leaderships who have no mercy for their own people? And what was the result? All these became stories of the past… Vietnam is liberated, and so are most of the Latin American countries, and started now to move towards real democracy without foreign intervention. These countries started to shape a new history created for their people… but unfortunately, when America came to occupy Iraq, they pushed us back to the previous century, reviving the memories of the British occupation in the minds of the Iraqis, as if we are back to square Zero all over again; back to live and see what our ancestors have seen in the twenties of the previous century…
In spite of everything the American Media is trying to fabricate, about how Iraq is liberated, and moved on to a new era of freedom and democracy, human rights and transparency… but we all know it is merely empty talk…as long as the occupier is parading in his tanks down the streets of Baghdad and other Iraqi cities, we are not free…we are a country without dignity… As long as they storm into houses, searching at will, detaining whoever they wished and releasing whoever they wished; as long as they raid Iraqi towns and villages by planes, and the government doesn't question them nor can they stop them, then where is the country's independence?
Even the leader among the Iraqis; the party heads, the clergy, the tribal chiefs, Parliament members, or ministers, I don't think they can deny that their country is occupied… that the real decision isn't in their own hands, but in that of the occupier. And even if the occupation plans to withdraw from the streets and hide in permanent military bases, this will not change a thing of the fact that Iraq is an occupied country, a country that does not hold its destiny in its own hands…
This is a sad thing…
This is a shameful thing… for this to happen while we live in 2008, and not in 1920.
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I liked the speech of Obama, rather- it astonished me. I couldn't believe that a live leader in America now has this vision. He said that the power of America lies, not in its military strength, nor in what wealth it posses, but in what noble values it has, that he asks the Americans to go back to values of their founding ancestors, so that America can be the leader of the world.
I saw the audience applauding, with tears falling from the eyes of some… if I was an American, I would have done the same… this is the America we should love and be proud of, to be leader of world countries, this is the America whose people marched against the war in Iraq…this is the America that wants to withdraw its armies from Iraq, leaving the country to its people, to build by their own hands.
This is an America I like and respect, and I want her to help Iraq rebuild itself, then withdraw like a friend does after finishing the task of saving a friend in need….
I was happy for the happiness of all my American friends, who suffered the terror and oppression inflicted by Bush and his extremist rightwing administration…I felt that at last they took a fresh breath of relaxation, got rid of the nightmare, and achieved their beautiful dream…
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When we were in America in 2006, with an Iraqi women delegation, we visited churches, universities and houses, and we saw the people there and how much they rejected the war in Iraq. A lot of them came to apologize and they cried, asking- how can we help the Iraqi people? We told them- change your leaderships, elect new leaderships who want peace and dialogues with other nations, instead of wars and occupations as a medium with others… and yesterday I felt happy, I felt that the American people, especially the part who love peace, who believe in the freedom of nations, those were the people who voted for Obama, because he presented to them an intellectual speech different from the aggressive, racial, Hitler- like speech of Bush…
And I admit that my view to the American people is changed now… for me, they are no longer some selfish people who are ignorant to what is happening around them; they proved that they knew about all the negative issues that surround them, and that they have chosen the change, and that is a positive sign…
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Perhaps there are some people who think I am a naïve ignorant person, as I paint a rosy picture, optimistic about what happened yesterday or what is about to come, but I am a realistic person, and through my experiences in life I learned that a human who possess values, cannot be changed by anything. The longer he lived, the more consistent and steadfast he became to the values he holds and believes in, and I think Obama is a man of values. Whatever the system in which he operates is, I mean- the formation of the American administration, and it is a complicated formation which isn't easy to penetrate or change its direction, but I feel confident that Obama is honest in his values, and he will be strong and brave to defend them, and enroot them. Also, the American people are required to remain by his side, to encourage and help him to choose the paths of peace and dialogue with others, without aggression, violence, and wars. And I wish they would utilize their country's wealth and revenues for the American citizen's happiness and comfort, not to drain people's money then use it in ugly wars that would burn the green and the dry alike, on other countries like Afghanistan and Iraq; to destroy towns and villages, killing civilians, embittering their lives, turning their lives into poverty, hunger, and sickness, after they were promised with freedom and democracy as a price for that military intervention….
I wish the coming years would be better than the ones that passed, for the American and the Iraqi people… I wish well for all of us… I wish we would live a good, secure life… and build a shiny, blossoming future for our children and grandchildren…
I hope the Iraqi leaderships would take advantage of the coming of a new American president who has a different logic than Bush, to build a new relation on different bases with this new president, bases with mutual respect, not weakness, submission, and fear from him, I hope they would use the time to strengthen the state institutions and clean them from corruption, to strengthen the army and national police forces and provide them with enough weapons and training to handle the security agenda in the country.
As long as Obama is planning for an early withdrawal of the armies from Iraq, the Iraqi leadership should make use of that point to speed up the reform process for the country, especially the security conditions, and to make a true push towards a national reconciliation… also they should not be lenient with the conditions of the Security Treaty, or make the occupation army's authority an authority without a guard; an unlimited authority; this should not be permitted by any self-respecting leadership that respects its people… that the value of the American person equals that of the Iraqi; I mean- an Iraqi who kills American soldiers is sentenced to death, while the American soldier who kills Iraqi civilians is sentenced to eight months in prison?
This isn't justice…!
Not only Iraq, but all world nations should reshape the relations with America in a healthy way, a way that has mutual respect, and an understanding to the other side, not a relation of master and obeying slave who doesn't argue, like the one established by Bush's aggressive administration. And what an ugly history and a shameful past poor Bush has left behind, he and his colleagues, ; Dick Tcheeny, Ramsfeld , Gondalesa, and others of war's evil generals…
I wish the world would not be afflicted again with racist, blood thirsty leaders like those… we want peace to reign in our lives, our present, and our future… we want peace to be the new dialogue language among the people of earth … that we entered a new era that has no vocabulary like – the clash of civilizations and fighting terrorism… for these are ugly words sold by war generals, to justify their aggressive policies against other countries…
Enough of what we saw; destruction, ruin, bloodshed, and sorrow… I wish the time that comes would be better than the time that passed… I wish that with all my heart…

Note: perhaps all my assumptions would be wrong, and Obama will continue the aggressive, racist, disastrous policies, and that means there is a mistake in the American democracy system, when people run to install lying leaders… I don't know… but the positive change must take place one day…
And this is the responsibility of us all; work to achieve peace on earth…