Meditating on Iraq's Current Situation: Seeking Solution

During an interview that lasted for an our on  State TV last Saturday, al-Maliki "questioned if those who want him to go would prefer Iraq to return to the days of dictatorship"!

"Those who call for regime change are limited in number; they are weak and voices of discord,"

I want to enlighten Mr. Prime President and tell him that the numbers of people who participated in the protest were over a million in Iraq, just in case his men were not able to count, as I doubt they CAN count.

"What do they want?" he asked, giving a list of references to deposed ruler Saddam Hussein: "Do they want the return of a dictatorship? Or the Revolutionary Command Council? Or a regime that marginalizes groups?"

So! Now those who ask for change and for a better life, better public services are asking for the return of dictatorship? The only best next option is to go back to dictatorship? Is that the new Iraq?


Iraqi's voices were shouting all over Iraq for the last months:

"Liar, liar, Noori al-Maliki is a liar"

Since there is an increase in exported crude oil (as announced by Laibi) then there must be higher returns. By selling 2,202 barrel per day, Iraq achieved the highest sales return in January that reached 6,082 Billion US Dollars.

"It is said that oil constitutes 94 percent of the country's revenues."

Then if we do the math we arrive to the fact that Iraq is one of the richest countries but its citizens living a poor life.


Agriculture Situation in Iraq
Iraq is know as "Mesopotamia". What does that mean? It simply means "the land between the two rivers". Why is this term important for Iraq? Because the entire point of establishing the ancient civilizations in Iraq was to be built next to the river. Water is important for establishing these civilizations because it's an essential element for agriculture, as well as transportation.

After the war, there are many researches proves that the water has been polluted but that's not the one and only reason for the deterioration of agriculture in Iraq. It seems there's a big plan to restrict the development of agriculture and preventing it to provide Iraq with the needed products let alone the income generated by agriculture.

Farmers abandon their farms because of restrictions set by the Ministry of Agriculture. Knowing these restrictions make it impossible for small and medium farms to survive. Here's a link that would explain this part of the problem as stated by farmers.

Yet, we face a bigger problem than high expenses of irrigation, marketing and polluted lands and water. It's a serious issue that was imposed by Paul Bremer, the American governor assigned after the invasion of Iraq. Jermey Smith, a researcher, director and editor of the Ecologist wrote a lengthy research about agriculture in Iraq. I couldn't find the original text but here's a link to what I found regarding his research.

In this paper, it is clear that the invasion created a new market for the seeds mentions in the research which makes it impossible for farmers to use the previous year harvest. That in itself a serious issue for farmers who has been used to following their own techniques of farming.

Industrial Situation in Iraq
For decades, Iraq was able to provide certain products for the entire population of Iraq and even export the surplus. The industrial sector in Iraq had the basic needed structure to flourish. Oil? check. Water? check. Labor? check. Along with many other elements that set the floor for an industrial country.


Unfortunately, the invasion has its impact on this sector too. From the very first day of the invasion, smart missiles found their way to target Iraq's infrastructure and any essential facility to destroy Iraq. Reading the article Deterioration of the industry after the occupation and its impact on the working class and the Iraqi society made it even harder for me to put my hands on a simple solution for Iraq's situation.


Lack of Security
Lack of security continues to enchain Iraqi people. This led to a huge number of Iraqis to decide leaving the country, their neighborhoods or their cities; as well as taking the option of staying home. The government, hand in hand with the collation forces, created the fake image that because of the lack of security the government cannot achieve it's goals and that the troops are needed to "keep the safety of Iraqis".


The security issue is real, but not for the right reasons. It is unsafe because of the militias of certain political parties or figures. In addition to the thugs who came up to the surface serving certain agendas. As well as the empowerment of ill-willed and criminals as a result of the absent of a true security forces.


Unemployment
All the previous issues led to high percentage of unemployment among Iraq citizens. But the most essential point regarding this problem was created by the first decision made by the collation authority regarding resolving the army and the security forces and many of ministries and other governmental institutions. This act laid off hundreds of thousands or maybe millions of workers. Another reason was the new economic orientation of the occupation and the governments created under its umbrella which aims to privatize all governmental economic projects.


Results for my research about unemployment in Iraq were varying between 40-60 %. Whatever the right percentage is, it is such a shame to have qualified experts or new graduates unemployed and suffering from poverty.


Shortage of Experts and Qualified People
It was ether because of the security issue or the threats by thugs and the new empowered criminals, Experts and people of great brains opt to leave the country in order to keep their families safe. Since it's hard to find qualified people who deserve to be in the right place when needed at the right time, we are left in the hands of a gang that call itself "A government".


For all the facts above, this year, i'm not writing a poem. i'm not writing a post lamenting what we lost because of this invasion and what we suffer under occupation. Instead, I want to face the reality and think of ways to improve the current situation.


I've always believed that if we want to make a difference then we should start with ourselves. But regarding the issue of Iraq it's not just me. I do need to collaborate with other as one person cannot do all the needed changes. What makes it hard for me to make a change is a bigger picture. Every day this picture get even clearer. America did not invade Iraq aiming the disposition of Saddam or "the so-called WMD" only. It is crystal clear that their true purpose was to control oil as well as create a new marketplace to support their investments.


Therefore, we need everybody to take a serious action from their own place to end this occupation and find the right people to take our beloved Iraq to the safety shore.


That's all for now...
But we should follow words by action.

Update on Iraq's Situation These Days

Since the news are raining over our head from alBaghdadia news channel with no other source of news in Arabic OR English, I decided to spread their words and do further broadcasting to reach more people.

Two Fridays came and people in the Arab world and the rest of the world are clueless regarding what's going on. I don't know what happened to the media regarding Iraq. I know what's going on in Libya is something big but that doesn't mean to overlook other parts of the world.

Therefore, here's the link of al Baghdadia translated by Google Translate. And here are some of the headings:

• Thousands of demonstrators protest in Tahrir Square, and the security forces usedforce to disperse them
• Thousands demonstrate in Basra and Dhi Qar, and  security forces attacking protesters by beating journalists in Basra
• The people of Hillah, Diwaniyah, Maysan and Muthanna are demonstrating to demand the dismissal of the government and improve services
• The people of Diyala, Anbar, Dujail, Salah al-Din and Ninewa demonstrating against corruption and unemployment

You can find more on albaghdadia facebook page and the youtube chanel for videos uploaded by them and by eyewitnesses.

That's all for now but...
There's much going on in Iraq

Rising Iraq

For over couple of weeks I felt jealousy and had a kind of enviness in my heart. Seeing Tunis trying to change reality and the deposition of their president made me dream. Watching news about Egypt and how the people believed in themselves and their faith that they can obtain their demand gave me faith.

My jealousy and envy, my dreams and faith were all clashing within me, raising the question "why?". Jealousy ruled my head for seeing people revolting against corrupted government. Envious fed my thought, wanting what we couldn't get. By that I mean honor. I dreamed of revolting Iraq to get rid of the occupation, to get rid of the corrupted government. The result of Tunis and Egypt made me have faith in the people again.

When I received forwarded emails written by Youth of February 25th, Iraqi writers and intellectuals, and Shalash the Iraqi's articles, alone with many messages, groups and links circulated via different social networks. All these letters encouraging the Iraqi people to rise and stand for their rights. All these letters set a list of demands. They all confirmed that they do not belong to a certain political party a group, or a region  and that they are all united by being Iraqis.

With unspoken anticipation I waited for Friday 25th.

The previous night I kept dreaming, thinking and praying for the best. I never imagined the government would do a single thing to harm the protesters. The worst scenario in my head was that the government would play the role of the democratic pro-people state and that they would support them but at the same time they would assign certain militias or gangster to harm the protesters or implement explosions here and there.

The Maliki did announce that it's not safe for protesters to go out in the streets since there will be "intruders" who would sabotage or harm the protesters.

But to my surprise, Friday came. the Army and security forces were hitting the protesters, using tear gas, in addition to live bullets, while helicopters flying low above people's head!

Is that all the democracy we have?!

I'm still full of hope that there will be more demonstration tomorrow and I'll pray for a better Iraq, a safer Iraq, and most definitely a peaceful Iraq.

An Iraqi Student

I have to break the silence and ask you to stand for a moment to greet this Iraqi Student.

It's not just that he is working to support his family but he is still a student and investing his time in doing his homework. A salute to such insisting dedication.

P.S.1 I found this photo in a friend's profile on Facebook and I don't know if she took it or a licensed photographer.

P.S.2 I will come back for a real post shortly.
That's all for now
God bless Iraq

Restless Freedom

Watching this video over and over even after a couple of days, not knowing why exactly, shedding tears of mixed feelings, all I know is that people need to know about this all over the world.

It's the video of the press conference that was held after Muntadhar al Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw a shoe at Bush, was released.

This part of his speech keeps occurring to my mind as if I've seen it with my own eyes.

"...a feeling of shame haunted me like an ugly name because I was powerless.And as soon as I finished my professional duties in reporting the daily tragedies of the Iraqis, and while I washed away the remains of the debris of the ruined Iraqi houses, or the traces of the blood of victims that stained my clothes, I would clench my teeth and make a pledge to our victims, a pledge of vengeance.The opportunity came, and I took it.I took it out of loyalty to every drop of innocent blood that has been shed through the occupation or because of it, every scream of a bereaved mother, every moan of an orphan, the sorrow of a rape victim, the teardrop of an orphan. I say to those who reproach me: Do you know how many broken homes that shoe that I threw had entered because of the occupation? How many times it had trodden over the blood of innocent victims? And how many times it had entered homes in which free Iraqi women and their sanctity had been violated? Maybe that shoe was the appropriate response when all values were violated. When I threw the shoe in the face of the criminal, Bush, I wanted to express my rejection of his lies, his occupation of my country, my rejection of his killing my people. My rejection of his plundering the wealth of my country, and destroying its infrastructure. And casting out its sons into a diaspora.After six years of humiliation, of indignity, of killing and violations of sanctity, and desecration of houses of worship, the killer comes, boasting, bragging about victory and democracy.

He came to say goodbye to his victims and wanted flowers in response. Put simply, that was my flower to the occupier..."

You can read The full speech of Muntader after he was released on Khalid's Blog.

I'm glad he decided to share and glad about his goals.
Can't find a better video or links. I'm sort of in hurry.

That's all for now
I wish we can find peace

Increased Training Realisim!

"The cards will identify several rare archaeological sites and artifacts reminding troops that these areas are not only a part of Iraqi and Afghan cultural history, but also their own. "

Never heard of that before!

That's all for now...
Let's hope we won't end up playing cards.. in the wrong hands

Trab Attawie

So, life goes on and we move on...

My sister and I were chatting the other day and she asked for the recipe of the banana sweet. She said A is keeping one of our dishes and refuses to give it back unless he's compensated with another dish of this sweet.

It seems before I leave Jordan, four years back, (FOUR YEARS ALREADY!!!) anyways, it seems that I made him this sort of sweets and he's been asking my sister to make it or at least teach him how to make it. I told my sister everything step by step and then told her to put extra biscuits until it feels like there's sand in the mouth and that's how the name was given to this sort of sweets. Trab al milook (king's sand).

The recipe requires the sort of white cream that was an Iraqi brand, Qish6at Canoon. another ingredient was Biscuit Mary, also found in Iraq only. I told her what to do and what substitutes that can she use in Amman. Then I was inspired to prepare it myself.

Lazy me, didn't want to change and go downstairs for shopping, I put ready made cream whip. Since it was to creamy I add Cerelac to thicken it. Yep guilty, I still eat Cerelac :D

And since I'm too lazy to write right now, enjoy these photos to know the rest.

White cream


Crushed biscuits

Mashed bananas

Mix

Add Walnuts and almond

Spread on a dish and cover it with crushed biscuits


Enjoy




It was very delicious but still not the trab al milook I used to prepare in Iraq. It was sort of trab al milook minus Biscuit Mary and Qish6at kanoon.. that's how I came up with the name Trab Attawie

That's all for now
and taste Trab al Milook in Baghdad

On a Day Like Today

After years of living in the sense of lost, after years of trying to maintain the needed hope, after saying all the prayers needed to preserve wisdom, after all years of avoiding insanity, after all the years of being in denial and convincing myself of Holding on, I come to realize that years would never stop passing by and this day of the year would no doubt come and I have to face it.

I'm away from beloved Baghdad. I'm away from family and friends. I'm away from the land I was born on; away of the soil I took my first step on, away from the house I was raised in, away from my neighbors, I'm away … but… not mind and soul.
War, chaos, loss of uncountable people and things, unemployment, corrupted system, mysteries, sadness, chain of mischief, lost dreams, burnt houses, smell of death, widows, orphans, tears, sad stories, cruel memories… That's all what we are left with?

Promises are never kept. Lies are said for free. History is writing while people are looking away. I don't want to write another poem. It's just the same haunting story. Politicians are merely but a joke. People are treated like sheep. An observer is watching like a jerk.

I don't want to sound devastated. I don't want to show despair. I just want to tell you the picture is not pleasant, And it needs a lot of repair. What's going on right now is unfair.

I lost my focus and lost my words. I'm not sure if it makes sense. But that's all you're going to get on a Day Like Today. Life is frozen… the clock is broken. The prayers you're saying are not answered today.

It may read like a poem. It may seem like an epitaph but it's nothing but a stirring thought; A rage that has been calm; Waiting for the right time: to take an action and answer the call of the Palm.

Oh Iraq, returning has become the dream that makes my day. Your memory is the sweetness in this bitter life. You are the sound of laughter, background music for this noisy life, the kiss on a mother's forehead, the grip of an infant fist.

That's all for now.

Another Stolen Memory

A photo of one of the high schools I went to

Checking news here and there, following different reporter to see how the story being told by someone else; I came across photos about Iraq. Viewing one photo after another and something caught my sight. "I know these words" I thought. I must have read it at least a thousand times. Very familiar in shape… and its meaning! It meaning was the high school I went to for three years. The school I used to hate. I considered it a black page in my history. But recalling my memory, for moments, a very short time, I look at things differently right now.

It said:

"Nidhal high school for girls"

"Founded on the year 1972"

That's the high school I hated. But what I hate now is the hideous pale colour of its paint. The silly posters hanged on the wall. The two silly signs saying: "Welcome Security Forces and Army" and "Carrying arms are forbidden inside election center".
The place seems dirty, stained walls and trash on the floor. I can't believe this is the same school I went to. The schoolmistress used to be a very firm lady. She used to reign with an iron fist and this is not an exaggeration. Mrs. Hinoof was one of the best principles in Baghdad. We never really liked her but she knew how to run the school. Throwing trash on the floor was never an option back then.


Schools are closed, no work and time is wasted. I heard the electricity is on 24/7 as a bribe for people to vote! It's all silly and a mockery play.

That's all for now

Let's wait and see.

Attawie, How Did a Tank Get onto your Roof!?

It's funny how we've been talking all these years and I've never mentioned this story! It all came back to me after viewing our home from Google Earth and seeing the black metal thing lay on our roof. And it hit me. Attawie, how did a tank get onto your roof!? David asked.

The war started 2003 and we were supposed to stay at home. But after two days we could take it no more and my mother's aunt called and said you'd better come now or else. Believe me her "or else" was threatening more than any bomb flying in the air. The old lady cares about us, plus, we were freaking out because the two previous nights were horrible. It felt the house was falling apart over our heads. Since our home is located close to what they call it green zoon nowadays, it was wise to leave. For certain reasons we kept going home every day.

On April 8th, we saw Iraqi tanks almost in every street in our neighborhood. An Iraqi solder asked us why we were there. He said: "Leave the area. Leave Baghdad if you can. It's a battlefield". Next time we went to our home was on April 17th. To tell you the truth, I can't remember the streets. Maybe it's bliss not to. I was praying all the way home to arrive safely and find our home still standing there.

The house was a mess. Two of our doors were broken. The neighbor blocked one of them with a chair and pushed the car to close the second. Cats and rats were playing hide and seek. Dust was everywhere. Broken glasses of shattered windows were everywhere. But thank God my room was as clean and tidy as I left it. No broken windows and the door to my garden was standing as strong as it could be. My room was the place where we slept during the later weeks.

When we were checking room after room we were shocked when we opened my sister's room. We couldn't see the carpet; instead, we saw a carpet of dust. But the weird dust looked like gray concrete dust. When we looked at the ceiling we could see the sky. That's when my father remembered his last visit to the house. When the bombing started and a strange bang shook the house and the noise was so loud that he could hardly get what was going on and had to leave in a hurry.

After a couple of hours we heard from neighbors that the other half of the tank was six houses away from us. It was an Iraqi tank that was bombed even though it was standing there in the street all abandoned.

That's how a tank ended up onto our roof
And that's all for now.

Wonderful Week With My Cousins

The following is a recap of my uncle's family visit (19-23/11/2008)


As much as last week was tiring, exhausting, hectic and crazy, IT WAS FUN.

My uncle's family came to visit us from Germany. His three sweet little kids are amazing. This was the fourth time for us to meet. The two boys and the sweet little girl are smart, loveable as well as naughty. Even though there are a lot of hotels in our area but my mother insisted on receiving them at our home. She wouldn't want to miss them not for an hour during their short visit.

The kids are taller and cuter now. You can't but love them. They are fluent in German and doing pretty well on understand Arabic but could do better on the speaking part (I have to admit they speak Arabic better than some Arab kids in UAE). At times they reply in German and think everybody can understand them. Thanks God I studied German for a while and I could catch a word and understand what they want but my poor sister kept telling them "in Arabic please" and they think she's joking!

Since it is very cold in German, and my uncle being a busy doctor, they hardly enjoy outdoors activities. Therefore, their visit to UAE is such a good time to do so. My mother assigned me to set a schedule for each day. I had to do phone calls and do some bookings here and there. Had to check websites and search for the best places to visit. And I was able to set, somehow, a good program for the week.

We arranged our schedule so the family would take a week off from work/schools to enjoy the reunion.

We drove to Um al-Quwain shortly after they arrived and checked in Flamingo resort to spend the night. The activities there included crab hunting, but unfortunately it was so cold and the tide was high that we couldn't catch as many crabs as we wanted. Actually only three guys from the group were able to do so. But we've seen how it goes. I stayed in the boat and enjoyed watching everything with my three little cousins.


Flamingo beach Resort

That was followed by a buffet and special crab dish for those who participated in the crab hunting. I tried it and it tasted like fish with a sweet taste.


Me introducing you to the first Crab I ever taste :)

We enjoyed jumping and playing on the green grass at night. My sister and I were 5 years old again. The place was empty and we almost had the entire resort for ourselves.

Next day was the beach day. It was too cold to swim. I enjoyed walking on the sand, collecting some shells while they tried some fishing and playing with sands. We checked out and went for sightseeing in Um al-Quwain. Then we passed by a nice place and we had to check what was it. It turned out to be another resort and we went in and took some photos. We thought we'll try boating but it was lunch break for workers there and we didn't want to waste time. Therefore, we drove back to Sharjah and enjoyed water jet skiing.

It was their first time to try jet skiing. Mine was the second. But after the long drive home and my sister being so not cool by trying some tricks gave me motion sickness and I forced her to take me ashore.

The third day was dedicated for some beach fun in Dubai but I didn't join the party. The next day was dedicated for Abu Dhabi. We went sightseeing here and there including Emirates Palace Hotel where there's an exhibition of new projects in Abu Dhabi. It was fun and I was one step away from camel back riding but everybody was scared and my uncle said that he tried it in KSA and it wasn't fun at all. Plus we were close to a donkey and a horse and the smell was horrible so I had to withdraw and leave that for another adventure.

On the schedule I dedicated a day for Sharjah's museums but things somehow that day got very messed up and we had the chance to visit only Sharjah Aquarium. Oh and we went horseback riding. This time my horse was Penny, a nice, cute white horse. This time I was very confident that I made Penny run all by myself.


Sharjah Aquarium

Two nights in a raw I told them the bedtime story "the rabbit and the turtle" (al arnab wa al sul7afat) which they two little ones pronounce it funnily as (al alnab wal sulfa7at). After jet skiing I helped their mom blowing their hair with the hairdryer. Such a hard job to keep a child to sit let alone stand still!

In Iraq, the child is not raised by his parents only; it's the job of the entire community. The extended family plays an important role, neighbors too. I believe my three little cousins have a thirst for interacting with family. I cannot help thinking of all those Iraqi kids being raised in different countries all around the world and what they have to miss about Iraq, the Iraq that we knew and spent our childhood. They enjoyed their visit and when I tease them and say "I'll keep you here and let your mom and dad go back to Germany" a certain look of eagerness shows on their faces but then they would say "No, you come and stay with us". And oh my how I wish to go and visit them in the near future.

That's all for now about me and my cousins!

Pray for Gaza

I was writing about how I enjoyed the previous week with my uncle's family visit and I did finish writing and was about to publish it but the weather is so gloomy for that excitement. It felt silly to be happy about it. The news about Gaza is very frustrating. Seeing the black smoke arise in the sky of Gaza reminds me of videos of Baghdad that we saw only after the war was "over".

News about Iraq are not promising at all but I still have hope. I just have to.

The flu caught me again and maybe that's what's frustrating me the most.

I feel tragic. so here's what's going on my mind.

Grandma said: bring them after schools
I wish to see the sweet little ones.
Assured her once and twice she would
But somehow promises were never kept.

Black clouds arising in the air
As bombs invades the village
Gaza was never the same
Watching news is how we spent the day

Innocent kids horrified at schools,
Mother panicking looking for the children
Father never made it home
That's how they spent their day

Lunch turning to coals on the stove
Broken china shattered on the ground
Meals never served on tables
And that's how they spent their day

That's all for now
And pray for Gaza

What's the News?

Is it possible that next press conference for Bush would be behind shoe-proof glass or they would just force journalists to take off their shoes!

Why am I thinking of that? Because of this. In case you still can't believe it! Here it is.

That's all for now but i'm sure there's gonna be much much more somewhere else.

Winter Hallucination

"Yesterday experiment went great" I said after greeting my dad good morning.
"So, you agree on that?" he replied.
"It was useless to have the AC on during the night and we're all covered with blankets and quilts. I used only a sheet instead and even had to pull my quilt early morning. It's winter in UAE, after all". I assured him.
"Yes, no need for electricity these days" he replied.

I jumped correcting him "You mean AC! oh please dad, electricity is a bliss"

The conversation happened shortly after I read this:

"One of the regular questions people ask is (why) the most powerful nation on earth has been here for five years, but the lights can't stay on," said Brigadier Hamish McNinch, a senior British military engineer working on electricity in Iraq.

The question is: Why the greenzoon was able to be provided with power 24/7 since the invasion?

The U.S.-backed government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki hopes to end regular power shortages by 2012 and triple effective power generation capacity from 5,500 megawatts today.

2012! sure! If the "U.S.-baked" (ironically that's how I read it) Iraqi government wishes to say that. Yeah, why not!

"If people reduce power consumption by switching off heaters and water-heaters this winter, they will have a steady supply," said Aziz Sultan, spokesman for the Electricity Ministry.

If people reduce power consumption by switching off heaters and water-heaters this winter, they will have a steady supply! Supply of what? Light?. I bet people prefer to have candle-lit romantic warm evening rather than shower in cold water during winter.

If people could live without switching on heaters and waterheaters this winter they won't be complaining of power issue at all from now until 2012. And thus al-Maliki can live happily ever after.

The point of having electricity is to be able to use all the luxurious advantages of the "technology"; having warm place to live during winter, having warm water to stay clean, let alone ironed shirts for the sake of universal acceptable appearance.

That's all for now.

Dead-Mouse Morning

Almost stepped on a baby dead mouse, yes, not a good morning sign. But I survived the day and others did not.
The last time I heard “I hate to be the carrier of bad news” Tiswahin, my sister’s fish died. This time I heard the phrase but it was way much serious and the news came from Baghdad. The phrase was followed by “Poor Hiba…” my heart skipped a beat “…. Her husband died.”

Hiba, my mother’s second cousin, who got married less than a couple years back and recently, had a baby girl.

I asked how. “Yesterday, during Karada’s mishap, the missile fell on the house next door when he went out to turn off the water boiler. A shrapnel landed on his head and dropped him dead instantly”

I was in a shock for a moment. I’ve never met him but I knew her since we were kids. I tried to process the bad news but I couldn’t. My parents were taking a nap and I thought I heard my dad’s voice and went in to their room and couldn’t keep my mouth shut. My mother was almost asleep and she woke up on the horrible news. I could process that it was not a bright idea to tell her while she was asleep and still couldn’t feel anything.

I went to my room, tried to go back to my book but I couldn’t. it hit me so hard that I started crying, not for the man deceased man I never met, nor for poor Hiba, but for the poor baby girl who will be raised without a father. No matter how much she will be loved, no matter how better the situation will get in Iraq, which I doubt for the current time, this girl will be raised without a dad.

Not only this girl but an entire generation will be raised without a father, mother or someone close to the family, and will carry the emotional scars with them all the time wherever they go.

Do We Feel Good?!

Something I had in mind for a while now
“It’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life
But still Iraqis are not feeling good”

This fact is tearing me apart. It is so hard for me to digest that we approached the fifth year of the invasion and still we suffer. Not from a tyrant but from a set of idiot people who believe themselves to be something. They lie, they steal the fortune of the country, steal people’s hope and they divide them into sectors and give them segments and treat them accordingly and pretend to be serving Iraq.

People think that the invasion is hurting Iraqis inside Iraq only and it’s only the matter of the residency that bothers Iraqis abroad. Today, I don’t want to underestimate the hard times Iraqis are facing and going through every day and every minute inside Iraq, nor do I want to highlight the hardship Iraqis undergo in foreign countries. All I want to talk about and all I’m concerned about is the next generation upraised abroad.

It could be just a byproduct that results from wars and refugee-life or it could be a part of the big plan, which doesn’t matter anymore because it is happening anyways.

The symptoms of the disease I am talking about are the loss of the identity of the next generation, the loss of the original dialect, the loss of longing to go a place called homeland or even worse by considering the foreign countries as their home.

I don’t want to include those who change their passports for necessity nor those who prefer to be someone else. We can see Frenchmen living in Britain or Asian living in the States. What hurts me the most is to see Iraqi children speaking other dialects and sometimes other languages and that is what I want to talk about. In UAE, I saw kids who speak no Arabic at all. When I ask the parent why it is so they say we want our kids to speak good English.

Those kids are sent to KGs and schools that use English as a first language and in best cases they take Arabic as a foreign language class. Those kids are mingling with other foreigner kids and communicate in English. The parents are obviously busy with their jobs and spend so little time with their children. The housekeeper is someone probably from some Far East country who speaks either broken English or broken Arabic.

Yesterday, I met two kids, a girl and a boy. Both of them were my teachers’ kids. The seven-year boy speaks a sweat Iraqi dialect; even though he occasionally uses a funny word either in UAE dialect because of the school he’s attending, or Egyptian because of the dubbing of cartoons in Arab world. On the other hand, the six-year girl speaks only English. At the beginning, I thought she was shy when I asked her about her name and she didn’t reply. After a while, I asked her again and the dad told me to ask her in English. I thought he wanted to brag about his daughter speaking English. And when I did, she didn’t reply again but this time he said to her “go ahead, reply” and she said Miriam. When I switched to Arabic she smiled and remained silent. He spoke with her in English and told me to ask her again. Then he said that she speaks only English and very little Arabic.

I asked him why it is so that she speaks English and he said that her mother wanted so. She thinks that she and her husband suffered a lot and lost so many chances for the lack of good English and she didn’t want that for her kids.

The same story I saw almost a year back but I thought it was rare. The mother works two shifts and the father is still in Baghdad. The daughter is being raised on the hand of governesses in KG and the mother insists that the grandparents should speak English with the grand daughter, even thought they speak broken English.

The language we use is a means of communication but most importantly it reflects the linguistic competence in our brains. That’s why it reflects our identity.

Those parents sure want the best for their children but the fact is at such ages the can teach them up to five languages, the more the better, which would be real of good benefits to the kids once they are older. By losing the language, the mother tongue, entire generation is being wiped off from the future of the country.

Statistics speaks of casualties and they still don’t seem to settle for a number, even thought the supposedly respected Iraqi government keeps underestimating the real number, but what makes me wonder the most is the fact that does it really matters if they were 1200 000 or 600 000 as long as the number keeps getting bigger and the number we’re talking about represent deceased human being who had families and behind each family nowadays there’s a sad stories that they would carry over generations and would hurt the future of Iraqis and how those families would perceive whoever behind those crimes.

Those Were Our Days

It has been so long since I attended a symphony orchestra concert. I’m not sure if it was late 2004 or early 2005 in Amman by the Jordanian symphony orchestra, which was Noor al Hussain Institute orchestra. Yesterday we were invited to a concert by the Emirates Youth Symphony orchestra at the Cultural & Scientific Association Auditorium (CSAA). At the same place, Dubai International Exhibition of the Arabic Calligraphy Art was held (21-30 February 2008/ the 5th session). My mentor recommended me to see the exhibition so I seized the opportunity and went with my dad and his friend, a well know Iraqi art critic.

The exhibition was great. Calligraphers from the Arab and Islam world were there but what made me proud, there was a showroom only for Iraqi calligraphy artists. There were so many exquisite works. I’m looking at the catalogue to mention a couple of names but it’s too hard, there’re many worth mentioning. But I have to say I saw a remarkable, modern red work by Mohammed alNoori, my mentor’s friend. It is simple but very catchy.

Another great Iraqi calligrapher is Wissam Shawkat who designed the calligraphy (mashq) in the “Jali Thuluth Atyle” on the front of the (CSAA) and he did a great job on that. I was surprised to know he’s only in his early 30s.
After the the Calligraphy exhibition we went to the concert hall. It was still early, therefore, we went to see Jana Kudsiova’s exhibition at the same building. She’s an artist from the Czech Republic, who moved to UAE in 1986 and is involved in many charitable activities. And currently she’s the Art Coordinator of Emirates Youth Symphony orchestra and the organiser of the Art exhibition. She’s created beautiful art pieces with wooden, back body of violins, on canvas.

When I saw the children with kind of UAE traditional uniform, the joy on their faces and their tiny violins in their hands, they reminded me of myself when I was their age. The first singing participation, I was only 3nd grad student. And my first orchestra participation I was 5th grader. It was only early 1990s and the country was going under dire circumstances but yet we were able to held concerts and do our best but more important we were able to enjoy it.

They played many Pieces but I enjoyed some better because I played those pieces when I was a member of Music and Ballet Symphony orchestra. They are: Radetzky March by J. Strauss, Hungarian Dance No 5 by J. Brahms, Sabres Dance by A. Khachaturian. While they were playing my fingers in my left hand kept dancing the tune and my right hand was moving the bow. I had tears in my eyes, missing those days when it was easy to enjoy music. Now the school, Music and Ballet, in Baghdad is suffering not only the lack of students and teachers but also the savagery of extremists who threatened both teachers and students. Many times the school was attacked in the name of Islam and that it represents evil by music and ballet. They burnt parts of it and destroyed the instruments’ store. I’m not sure what’s going on right now but I don’t believe its situation got better.

Many artists, musicians and ballet dancers graduated from this school, which was founded 1968. Most of the students are now playing and teaching music all over the world, to name a few:
Mohammed Othman: Pianist, composer, the conductor of the Jordanian Symphony orchestra
Abdullah Hassan: Violinist, composer who won many awards
Sultan al Khatib: Pianist & the Director of Research and Development at EVCTV
Kareem Kan’an Wasfi: Cellist

Let’s hope that we’ll witness the day when the school will be vibrant again and to provide Iraq with excellent artists and spread the joy by the sound of the music and bringing back the nights when we enjoyed the Nutcracker and the swan lake ballet.

..................................
PS: I wrote this post three days back but I didn’t post it. My colleague's father died and I just didn’t feel to post this. She is our youngest colleague at the institute, only 14 years old. They buried him in Sulaimania/ Iraq and came two days ago.May he rest in peace.

Busy their Minds, Waste their Lives

I was watching "Taken" the other day when I thought what a nightmare would it be for children to believe there are aliens and some flying saucers out there who want to get them. My worst nightmare was about a crocodile swimming in the schoolyard, which nearly became a lake for a while because of a broken pipe back then. My friend and I would be sitting on a huge tree trunk (there were two huge trees that fell during the 1991 war and nobody removed them. They ended up to be our spaceship when we played Space raiders. That crocodile would approach us quietly; opens its jaws to reveal the sharp teeth…and I would wake up shaking.

Other than that nightmare, I had a fright from the tiger Sheri Khan, which came to my imagination from The Jungle Book. My worst fear was that he would come to my bed and take me. How would he reach the eighth floor? How would he enter our apartment? How would he take me? I never wondered. I used to sleep near the wall and leave the other side of the bed empty.

Away from the reoccurring dreams about escaping and running under a sky full of missiles and the horrifying sounds of regular shelling and bombing, which were the background music to our mothers' lullabies. As an Iraqi child, I had a normal childhood.

Thinking of spaceships and strangers from another planet would freak the hell out of any child, and would occupy the mind of any adult, if there were any real evidence of their existence.

But let’s say we had brothers and sisters on other planets and we were happy to contact them. Spending zillions of dollars to invade planets to contact the "brothers and sisters" up there and tell them we like to be "Friends". If we want to know those "aliens" and be acquainted with; why not spending only time, not that millions, and try to understand and be acquainted with the "brothers and sisters" who already exist on the same planet? Why not find peace on earth, instead of searching for "out spacers" and try to play "peace" with them?

I find it easy to understand that the US administration wanted to keep it’s citizens busy with flying saucers at that time, as much as Occupiers and the new Iraqi administration wanted to busy "most Iraqis" with slapping their faces and hitting their heads with blades, or jab themselves with made in UK shackles. It is another version of the same story, to distract masses of what is really happening on the land of reality.

First of all, they would be busy preparing for the event, whether the tools or food and what to wear. Add to it the rehearsals for the whole ceremony. Second, they would be busy during the ceremony. Third, they would need more than just a couple of days off just to heal from the beating and the bleeding. Four, which I believe the most important point, is the number of irreplaceable cerebral cells, which are being damaged during such a behavior.
They are 12 Imams, the 12 are dead, and each Imam’s death took place in a month, therefore 12 times a year. That’s the minimum!

I am still wondering how could self-punishment or self inflicted-torture can be self-purification? And purification from what? The slaughters that happened centuries ago? Or even the Original Sin? Or the sins committed now? Does that come from a real religion? If they are believers, do they really think that would make them God's favorite creatures? Do they ever think of God? God forbade tormenting or killing people and even animals. Would He approve self inflicted-torture? I am really interested in these questions to an extent that I’ll take them and study them seriously once I have time.

To sum it all, I don't blame the ignorant but I'm blaming hypocrites who claim to be religious men and lead those ignorant to waste their time and life.

WHY

This is not a real post but I'd like to share this article written by an Iraqi in Amman after our National football team won the cup.
Sorry for those who doesn't read Arabic, and I don't think there's a chance to translate it any soon.

An Iraqi's letter

Do they still call it Freedom

Fourth year of misery and mysteries; Where are we now and where are we going. For how many more coming years? For what? Hope had abandoned the land which once wrote the very first letter ever. Logic seems bizarre on the land where the wheel was invented. Beauty disappeared. Nothing has left but hideous streets, which once were cloud nine; today they are spotted with innocents' blood.

Four years of mysteries. What is going on and why? Who started it and for the interest of whom? Mysterious crimes are committed in the name of religion and in the name of God, in the name of homeland. As if this land is doomed for misery. We can go on and on counting the mischief and blame others, blame each others, and blame ourselves.

People are killed for who they were and who they are now. Yet some are killed just for being there on this puzzling land.

Cradle of civilizations, it was called once. Now it is a demolished land. Buildings are being bulldozed. Trees are burned on the sidewalk. Cats and dogs escaped the diseased land. Birds deserted the skies. They ran to save their lives. Human are being subjugated in the name of liberty and freedom, are being insulted on their own land.

We leave hoping to start a new life but still this land pulls us by the magic it once had. So I believe that magic still lingers on. It still pulls us by the memories we keep in our minds, by the dream of going back to our childish never land, the land that tries to be optimistic. It still pulls us by its palm trees, with its two rivers and the smell of the "masgoof" fish in the restaurants of Abu Nawas. It pulls us with a unexplained inspiration for art, the art that relate to the ancient warriors who built the strong walls around Babylon.

It pulls us back to our roots. The roots that never knew what rest means, with all the wars, the struggle, and the resistance to remain liberated from foreigners' authorities.

It pulls us back by its very sweet sound, it's the precious Iraq.

here's what I wrote last year.