A Family in Baghdad

Sunday, 13 December 2009
Peace be Upon You…
Iraq is passing through very hard and critical times. The conflict over power is now at its peak. Of course it is so obvious and explicit due to the fact that presidential and parliament election is very nearby. These days are crucial to the future of the country for four years to come. The powers that are fighting for power in Iraq are not pure Iraqis. Some of them are being financed by neighboring countries, some are financed by occupying country, and there are internal parties that are Iraqi and no doubt is fighting for power as well.
But it seems that the big doer with military, financial and political capacities is the external financier such as America, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria and others. Each country is financing a party or a group that want to assume power and in return control along with the financier the decision of reforming the future of Iraq. America wants to achieve its international and regional role in Iraq by establishing military bases, and establishing a base of capitalism and strong economy in Iraq. Iran wants for itself a military, political, regional and even religious domination in the region. Whereas, Saudi Arabia is interfering to prevent the expansion of Iran and the Shiite Sector in the region provoking them as a representative of the Sunni Wahabi sector in the area for a long time now. Syria is interfering to support and revive the Ba'athest to reclaim power in Iraq because Syria is still ruled by one party that is the Ba'athest. Even the Iraqi opposition party of the previous regime who allied with America and entered Iraq to found the nuclear of a new Iraqi State on new bases, is now fighting among them over power. Power makes them eat each other up.
Poor humans,
There is no religious conflict in Iraq between Sunni and Shiite, Muslims and non Muslims. These parties don't adopt any ideology. They all manipulate words such as freedom, democracy, human rights and other regardless of real conceptions. They pretend as if they all agree on the same philosophy and adoption of these terms believing in them without any doubt. If so, why they are fighting and what are they fighting for?
The Siitte sector is now divided among themselves. Some are financed by Iran, who want them to assume power in Iraq and some is loyal to Iraq and has a national agenda that differ with the Iranian agenda. This is one of the reasons for exchanged violence in the Iraqi street. Each party wants to bring the other party down politically and demonstrate it as looser and defeated. The Sunni parties also have contradictions in term of politics, perspectives, and various national priorities. There is no religious contradiction between the Sunnis and the Shiite party. The conflict is mainly political and it is about the occupation, distribution of power and wealth in the country. The same can be said about the conflict between the Kurd and the centralized government in Baghdad. There is no ideological, ethnic or religious conflict between them. It is a fight to control the oil wealth in the northern areas in Iraq. May be this is one of the ugly secrets of this profession, the profession of politics. The politician plays on different sides. He changes his perception as needed at any phase. He is on his way to power which is his only goal on the account of people and over their dead bodies, their poverty, their hunger, their ignorance, and complain about oppression and darkness. He shuts his eyes and ears so that he doesn't see what may hold back his focus on the goal. In difficult times he has to appear on the TV screen to assure people and encourage them to support the democratic process to achieve their dreams.
Hahaha… how funny. This is what is happening to the poor Iraqis since 2003.
It hurts me when I see non Iraqi media accuse Iraqis of being trouble makers, hypocrites and cannot be unified. The truth is that people in the street totally agree on interpreting everything that happens in Iraq. They know what is going on and the role of America, neighboring countries and Parties inside Iraq. They are angry with all of them as if they are asking themselves every day: what can we do to change this sad and torn life?
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I read an excellent book nowadays about rebuilding postwar societies including elections, rebuilding state institutions, army, law, courts, institutions, civil society , and other health building elements of a community after a bloody street conflict is ended.
The writer of the book takes several cases and explains them in detail. Various countries were victims of bloody conflicts for tens of years. Then circumstances changed and the phase of rebuilding the state in a healthy way started. The language between the parties and political power has shifted from bullets and grenades to the dialogue and negotiation to solve out their differences and move forward with building institutions and civil stable community.
The first cast was about the Salvador state, then Nicaragua, then Cambodia. I am interested in these three models. All three lived through long bloody conflicts due to what was called the cold War. Although this was cold when it came to governments and nations of Soviet Union and America, but it was hell for the nations and governments of these poor and weak nations. And I saw Iraq live the same predicament. These countries lived these wars between the seventies and nineties when the communist and the American rise backed off and when the funding of gangs and armed militia has stopped after bringing corruption to these countries burning the green and the dry which made people live a real hell, the same that Iraq lives since 2003.
The book has stories about other countries such as Haiti, Ethiopia, Angola, Liberia, and Mozambique. I am sure even before I even read about these countries that the main cause is international and regional conflicts in these poor and small countries. Their inhabitants are victims to these conflicts. As I remember vividly what happened during the civil war in Lebanon, the international, regional and Arabic powers had their thumbprint there for 15 years, causing the migration of Lebanese who were scattered and suffered the war consequences. Then the external parties agreed on ending this game and conflict. They found a compromise that fit everybody, and so it ended. Here we are in Iraq and it is our turn. When I read about the history of Salvador, Nicaragua and Cambodia, the same terms are reiterated: migrated, refugees, Death squads, armed militia, killings, violence, and blood shedding of innocent civilians. These terms applied to Iraq after the occupation and it became our new history, our current history. America came to declare dictatorship in Iraq and the mass graves of opposition of former Iraqi regime. We look back today after more than six years on occupation. What have we gained of regime change in Iraq?
We approached a phase that is darker and harsher than before. When America entered Iraq, it opened the appetite of all parties in close proximity to interfere and flame the conflict with what serves their interest. What are the gains?
There is violence and blood shedding in the street every day. There are also thefts and administrative corruption as well as thieves who are not help responsible or tried in courts. The country is like a garden with wrecked walls and without guards. It is an unstable and unsecure dreary forest. How will this country turn into a peaceful, quiet, stable oasis? The answer is clear: when the foreign powers in Iraq decide to end their conflict there, only then the Iraqis will be able to clearly see the road toward building a healthy, independent, secure, just a and stable country.
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When I read in the book how the transforming process from armed conflict to stability and state building and democracy in these small countries happened. I noticed that election is the first step. But for many years and for many times until situation is changed on the grounds and the election becomes real and not forged.
In the initial election, some parties boycott the political process. In the second, the parties take part in the election while the conflict continues. In the third, the parties start to be convinced that they should reevaluate their existence and work on the grounds. They start to abandon the armed confrontation against other parties. They start to think how to claim power in peaceful methods and how to win more votes in the next election by serving people better without arm force and violence. These are the normal routs that people usually take if there is no interference from foreigners or occupation.
But I agonize over Iraq and what has scarified and over the countries that passed through this bitter experience, the experience of transferring from violence and blood shedding to civil life, and to building communities, institutional state, social justice and flourishing stable state. This can happen when these countries are given enough space to do so. Occupying governments like America infuriate and anger me. How harsh hearted and criminals are they! Then make the nations their guinea pigs. They expose them to violence, killing, hunger, poverty and disease. Then they decide to stop the fight to serve their strategic interest and send humanitarian organizations like USAID, UNPD from the United Nations to fund and manage the building of democracy and transparent free elections, train workers in these institutions, train the army, police, lawmakers, judges, and parliaments to build strong state institutions. I stand appalled with those hypocrites, double faced people who measure with different weights?
They themselves carry out ugly crimes against humanity. They present themselves as builders of human civilization and stable dignified life to human beings. This is the case of someone with no religion and who doesn’t believe in God and fear Him. This is the case of someone who sells himself to the devil and thinks that he is Faro as he said to the Israelis: "I am your Al Mighty God", killing their children, rape their women, thinks that he can cause people to die or live and thinks that he is doing them a favor.
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May Allah save Iraq from this predicament very soon! And may Iraqis go back to build a safe and stable country free of the occupation and the interference of neighboring countries. Amen.