Nice Bombs

Reflections on Baghdad...

I am back and trying to fall into my routine and start working on this documentary. I have urges to compare and contrast what I have seen in Baghdad in comparison to living in America. But you get into murky territory when you begin to hold up 'Western' vs. 'Eastern' cultural differences. K has elaborated on some of these. And since she is 100% All-America born and raised in Kansas I think her perspective is enlightening.

I've been asked by some friends and co-workers the same question: so what was it like?

Well, it's a hard question to answer and I'm not sure if I have just one answer for you. One thing for sure is that Baghdad is not your typical Middle Eastern city. It's one of the oldest cities in the world and you can feel and see a direct lineage to it's ancient past. Many of the customs, culture, food and music pre-date Islam. 12 years of harsh sanctions (thanks Bill Clinton for your slow death) and constant war had it's toll on Iraqis and the landscape. And yes you can blame Saddam for most of the damage. While Iraqis were suffering Saddam built extravagant mosques for millions of dollars. But the recent US occupation and bombings have had the most physical impact. For example, the Iraqi National Museum, was left unguarded and looters stole many priceless artifacts. And it got a giant missile hole right in the front of the entrance, go look at it. This pissed many Iraqis off. That US soldiers did nothing about the looting until a few days later.

There is very little in terms of law or regional policing. I mean there is really no established government yet. All you have left is people self-governing themselves. And I must say it is uplifting to see a whole society rely on itself to maintain order and harmony. True, there are many gripes and an endless list of complaints that deal with everyday life. But folks are managing and there is a friendly approach to conflict, even when things get heated. We laughed every night. People really do help one another out. They watch out for their neighbor and look out for each other. Something we can all learn from. The West must have seemed like a cold place to some Iraqis visiting here for the first time.

Is Iraq dangerous?

Yes it is. Although whenever I interviewed my Father about the state of Iraq he would elaborate in great length on how everything was 'normal' and that we never had any problems (true). But almost everyplace we visited had some form of an attack and even the open markets, like the 'thieves market' there was a robbery of someone my cousin knew. But my Father is correct in that Kristie and I were able to walk around and shop on our own with ease. The only thing that would freak me out is when there were US troops with their military vehicles and such.

But while we were in Baghdad we heard many bombs and we were near some of the places that got hit:

--Jan. 31: At least nine killed, 45 wounded by car bomb outside police station in the northern city of Mosul.

--Feb. 1: Two bombs explodes in a house occupied by many Palestinians. I believe two people died. (This is one of the first bombs we heard. It woke K up and freaked her out. The circumstances for the bombs are questionable. The next day there were a couple of car bombs aimed at Iraqis police officers in the neighborhood that my parents lived, no injuries.)

--Feb. 10: A suicide bomber explodes a truckload of explosives outside a police station in Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad, killing 53 people. (We were there, this was near the open Market where K was a celebrity)

--Feb. 11: A suicide attacker blows up a car packed with explosives in a crowd of Iraqis waiting outside an army recruiting center in Baghdad, killing 47 people. (This made us jump out of bed. The sound and thunder of the explosion was so intense. You knew it killed many people, it had this dark residual silence after the blast...evil and meaningless.)

--Feb. 18: Two bomb-laden trucks blow up outside a Polish-run base in Hillah, killing at least 10 people, including the two drivers. Some 65 people are wounded, including Iraqis, Filipinos, Poles, Hungarians and an American. (this happened right after we left)*

(*Source: associate press)

I miss the rituals. When I would wake-up in the morning I could smell the tea brewing and the bread being warmed up. Maybe some eggs would be frying but we would always have 'gammar' (a type of cream) and 'dibbis' (date syrup) to spread on our bread. There would be cheese, tomatoes, cucumber and fruit. Breakfast would last maybe an hour or even longer since we may be talking about politics or religion. There is always talking and sounds from the many vendors on their carriages selling things on the street. You may hear one of the many stray cats outside the door meowing for scraps of food that my aunt would hand to them. Most of the cats are sick and look horrible. My aunt says all the cats after the war started getting ill and dying.

I do miss all my family in Iraq and the warmth that comes from that. Everyone is always ready to help you, take care of you and especially feed you! It's a whole side of my family that has been so far away from me. My cousin T is like my older brother, and my Uncle K is very much like a grandfather figure to me and Auntie S and the Luma's were always ready to feed me.

Bye sweet Baghdad.

I do encourage American citizens to travel to Iraq and to see for themselves what our foreign policy is doing. Go spend some time in Iraq but avoid the restrooms at the border of Jordan (yuck).

Iraqis are so generous and kind...


End of broadcast from a fever head-dream.