If you're wondering why there's road rage (to put it lightly) here in Baghdad, you don't have to look too far. Summer is here with a vengeance, and with no electricity to offset the 100 degree Fahrenheit temperatures, no one is getting a good night's sleep.
We've been of the lucky few who have been able to keep our generators on at night, with our air conditioner blasting. But last night, right before I was about to fall asleep at midnight, it broke down. I regretted not having slept a little earlier- I would've gotten a couple of hours of sleep before the heat woke me up. As it has it, I probably got around three hours of sleep last night, with no more than a one hour stretch at a time.
The electricity situation this year is much worse than it was last year at the same time. We're getting between 2-4 hours of electricity a day, not enough to cool down the house, keep the fridge/freezer cold, or get too many household chores done. And for the average Iraqi whose generator doesn't give out much electricity, its tough. Last night was a definite test for our neighbors and us. Even our babies aren't able to escape this heat. My neighbor's ten month old daughter, who doesn't handle the heat too well, kept her parents up fanning her all night long. Thankfully, my daughter was asleep by the time the electricity went out, and with a lot of tossing and turning, kept herself semi-comfortable.
Okay, I want to post this before the electricity goes off in a couple of minutes. Thank God for the simple pleasures of life- electricity!!!
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8 comments:
another reason for why you should come here.
The generator broke? Or did I just read something wrong. Ajir lil sabireen.. I wish I was back there with you guys.. I feel so spoiled over here..
Real life; thank you for sharing your strength and experiences with us, {I found your blog through the good folks at Global Voices}, so many of us are so insulated and preoccupied by our lives here in the states we forget how real life is beyond our shores {and even in our backyards}..keep bloggin'!
love and peace, somewhere, sometimes, ...B.
Hangin' there, Fatima, allah y3eenkom.
Congrats on being profiled on GV ;)
That is really terrible and with the whole terrible situation around you guys, it may be for many the straw which breaks the camel's back! Just HANG IN THERE - it MUST get better one day ... I pray this day will come VERY SOON!!
Thanks all for your good wishes. b42, thanks for bringing my attention to the Global Voices citation; didn't know about it.
Hope things improve quickly. Too mnay idiots still blowing things up.
The number of ISF have doubled since last year, so maybe by next summer there will be a decent amount of electricity.
Talldave: Definitely hoping so! (Then again, who would have thought that three years later we'd still be like this?!)
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