Land of a 'Thousand' Palm Trees

Euphrates River, Najaf, Iraq.

Palm trees and more palm trees, Najaf, Iraq. I love palm trees, but this looks like an overgrowth of fungus. :)

Views Above and Around Baghdad

A friend sent me these pictures taken from above of Baghdad and Ramadi. I'm always surprised by how organized the streets of Baghdad look from above, especially when I compare it to other Arab countries from above (one in particular, but won't mention it so that my sisters don't pounce on me. :) I think alot of people forget that during the '80's, Iraq was on its track to becoming one of the most industrialized countries in the Arab world, until stupidity struck its ruler. But the infrastructure still attests to the good that this country has seen.
Mosque in front left corner formerly known as Um Al Tubool, now known as Ibn Taymiyyah.

Baghdad from above. In the distance, you see Baghdad Tower (Burj Baghdad), formerly known as Saddam's Tower. Close to my house in Baghdad.



Habbaniya Lake, Ramadi.

Habbaniya Lake, Ramadi.

Another Family Story: Car Bombs and Hospital Issues

My husband's youngest aunt, who lives in Mosul, had a close call with reality last weekend. Her husband, S, came home from his shop all bloodied and injured. A car bomb had exploded near his little store and a piece of shrapnel had entered his chest, and another his leg. His relatives drove him to the nearest hospital, but for whatever reason, the hospital refused to admit him.
He went home to his wife and daughters in his bloody clothes, and continued bleeding till the following morning.
The next day, a relative drove him to a doctor friend, who was able to locate and extricate the shrapnel in his chest. He was unable to take out the metal in his leg. All of this was done without anasthesia.
And so, the struggle of my Iraqi family continues.

Sultan Hashim's Execution and Instability in Iraq

It is interesting that whenever there seems to be a relative lull in the sectarian violence and the political situation begins to head in the right direction there always seems to be a crisis that erupts that keeps Iraq ’s politicians divided. It is uncanny!

During the constitution when people were talking and trying to reach compromises a certain politician announced that he wanted to create a Shia super-region south of Baghdad, inflaming Sunni anger and causing tension.

When the elections occurred and people were looking forward to selecting a new prime minister and negotiations on the government were underway, Samarra happened and the unraveling of Baghdad occurred. More recent events are when the politicians are hard at work to finish important legislation and things seemed to have been calming, the government announced the arrest warrant for one of the Sunni ministers. And most recently when all was quiet on the political landscape with people waiting for the reports of Crocker and Petraeus, the government decides it wants to execute one of Iraq’s most decorated and professional military officers Sultan Hashim, regardless of the constitutional and legal issues barring the execution without a Presidential Decree. It works like clockwork in Baghdad , but I don’t think it is Baghdad’s clock or Washington’s clock which is important in Iraq anymore, it is the clock of certain neighboring countries which actively work to keep Iraq in a state of instability. There were clear constitutional and legal problems with the carrying out of the executions and even more fundamentally there were problems with the verdicts issued especially because some of those sentenced to death were simply officers carrying out orders and their only recourse was resignation, which Saddam would submit once they were six feet under.

Shia and Sunni alike have questioned the verdict meted out to Mr. Hashim, even President Talabani called for amnesty for him. I don’t think anyone wants to protect criminals like Chemical Ali, but the rule of law is the rule of law and either Iraqis respect the constitution they voted on or they completely ignore it, simply returning us to the days of autocratic regimes selectively applying law as it sees fit.

Granted Political Asylum in US!

It's a bittersweet situation for Cousin A, but he was recommended for political asylum here in the States after leaving Iraq more than two months ago. 'A' is Bilal's brother, forced out of Baghdad after his brother's murder and after the situation has become unbearable and unliveable for him.
Alhamdulillah. He can now start rebuilding his life here in the States.

It's really an interesting situation. The US has granted less than 800 Iraqi refugees political asylum since the invasion, while Sweden has granted 18,000 and Australia 6,000 (according to Refugees Int'l). So, hopefully, this is a move in the right direction. Congrats, A!

Bush's Visit to Anbar

President Bush made a surprise visit to Anbar on Monday and brought along his National Security Cabinet. What was interesting was that all of Iraq ’s leadership was flown out to meet him in Anbar. Note that Iraq’s PM has been saying that we are working with the recruits in Anbar to build a local security force (even though realistically he has put any and all obstacles to that process).
So the President along with the PM and other Iraqi leaders meet with the tribal leaders of Anbar and one of the first things they complain about is that the Police are not receiving salaries nor equipment as the PM had promised and stated that he had given. The PM stayed completely quiet and did not answer or object to any of the comments.
The symbolism in the Anbar trip was important…First of all the President of the United States visited a sovereign country yet did not go to its capital indicating that what is happening in Anbar right now is more important than what is happening in Baghdad. Secondly, the President got a reality check as to what the government was really doing to support people who have asked for help against extremism (almost nothing). More to follow…

Fixing Iraq's Problem

I recruited a new member to my blog, one who will bring a more political perspective to this blog, politics being his forte. Here are some thoughts that occurred to him recently...
Many have complained of the lack of progress in Baghdad and state that Iraq’s politicians are not willing to compromise in order to reach political agreement. People claim that Iraq’s communities cannot live together and should therefore be softly partitioned and that Iraq cannot be resolved militarily so people should give up on Iraq.
It is true there is not a wholly military solution to Iraq’s crisis, nor can reconciliation be reached between Iraq’s disparate communities until a major obstacle has been overcome, lack of trust. The sad fact is there is no trust between Iraq ’s politicians which is translating into politically and ethnically motivated violence on the streets of Baghdad . I think it is high time that Iraqis forget about the past both distant and recent, forget about their identities and ask themselves a simple question, do they continue to want to live in an Iraq for all Iraqis?
The most dangerous thing is for communities to start comparing suffering, especially if one community tries to have a trademark on suffering and continue to feel oppressed today. Injustice only begets further injustice, oppression only fosters underground revolutions, and suffering ingrains hatred. In order for Iraq to move forward we must overcome these issues as Iraqis, even if our politicians fail to do so, and say in a loud voice that we forgive one another and wish to live peaceably together. Then and only then, can we overcome the obstacles standing in the way of true reconciliation. Dwelling on the past only hinders one's ability to create a vision for the future.
These are a few thoughts I had while sitting in on some meetings attended by all of Iraq’s major players, realizing that beneath the niceties there lies a true lack of trust embodied by the security presence of each and every member present.

Katrina Revisited

I published this post last year, on Katrina's anniversary. I think alot of the problems from last year and the year before remain as they are, unfixed. Check out the discussions from last year's post.
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My younger sister was telling me a while ago, after I started this blog, that reading my accounts of life in Baghdad, and reading a Palestinian lady's accounts of life in Gaza, made her lose a certain respect for the people of these nations. Reading about the crazy violence, and the random kidnappings and murder, made her see these people as rather uncivilized people.
That was never my intent when I started this blog, and as I continue it today. But I realize that my sister's words do not only reflect her feelings, but those of many people who are bombarded by daily images and stories of bombings, lootings, kidnappings, terror and violence in these hotspots.
But I must say that such behavior is not necessarily endemic to these people. It is a result of a catastrophe that has left Iraq, and any other country in its same shoes, in complete chaos, the result of having no government, no governmental authority, no leader, no law in place.
That is what happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrine hit it exactly one year ago today, on April 29, 2005. I remember watching the news of this natural catastrophe which hit the Gulf Area, in between the few moments of quiet I had while caring for my then newborn daughter. I remember the images of chaos, the dead bodies floating in the streets, the people begging for help on national television, the looting, the guns going off randomly, the National Guard threatening not to come to the city if individuals did not stop using random gunfire to defend their belongings; the horror of having your home destroyed in seconds, of losing your loved ones and not knowing if they were dead or alive, ...
At that moment, all I could think of was... Iraq. This is Iraq. This is Palestine. This is every land and people that have been destroyed by a catastrophe. This is America getting a taste of what it is like to be left without law and order. It doesn't only happen in the Middle East, it happened right here, in the heartland of America. When I saw the looters who had to steal food to survive (or not), when I saw people having to take the law into their own hands, defending their homes and businesses from randoms looters, all I could think of was life in Iraq today. This is what a state of chaos and lawlessness does to a people. It leaves them to fend for themselves, some stay true to their goodness, in others, it brings out the worse.

I was looking over pictures today of New Orleans then and now, just to remind myself of some of the horrors that these people went through. I saw a horrific picture of a body floating down the water-flooded streets, unclaimed and unburied for days. I saw a picture of a man standing in front of his oriental rug shop, with a large hand-made sign reading, "Don’t try. I am sleeping inside with a big dog, an ugly woman, two shotguns and a claw hammer…." I saw a picture of a makeshift grave for an elderly woman who had been killed in a hit a few days after Katrina. Her body was left unburied on the side of the road for five days. I saw a picture of a family standing with a large sign which they waved at the helicopter flying above, begging for help. I saw pictures of human misery, and I hope they never recur to any race of people, here or abroad.
What happened in New Orleans, or Iraq, or Palestine, can happen anywhere. We are just fortunate that we are not living under the circumstances that these people are living under, or we might very well see the worst in our fellow neighbors and friends. May God protect us from all catastrophes, natural and man-made.

Away from Blogging

A few things are keeping me away from blogging. 1. Living away from Baghdad (Thoughts from Baghdad is my title! :) ), and 2. my new Facebook account. Seems to be filling up my blogging time and needs.
Sorry about the few and scattered posts, but I have an important post coming up, inshaAllah, a story of my street in Baghdad.

Group Effort to Clear Highway

I was driving home from an eye doctor's appointment in DC a couple of hours ago, on 66 West, when the car in front of me suddenly stopped. It took me a couple of minutes to fully register what had happened in front of me.
A huge tree had fallen and completely blocked the highway in front of me. All the cars around me came to a full stop and people started running out of their cars to see what had happened. A woman had climbed out of her car, which was stopped right at the tree. She was looking ahead of the pile of branches and screaming. I realized that the tree had just fallen, and a car was stuck under the mass of branches, and I feared someone was hurt.
After a few minutes it became clear that everyone was ok, just really shaken up, and one car was seriously wrecked.
I climbed out of my car, opened the back seat door and took my two year old out of her car seat. I explained to her what had just happened. And then I started worrying about my five month old at home with my sisters, she'd be waking up soon, and ready for her feeding. Man, if i had only been a few minutes earlier. But in reality, if I had been just a minute earlier, I may have been that car stuck under the tree, wrecked. So, alhamdulillah.
Within minutes, I saw a line of men walking up from behind me. They went up to the fallen branches and started moving them. Man after man came up, till there were at least twenty men picking up the fallen debris. I was impressed by this feeling of civil responsibility and communal work. People could have just sat in their cars and waited for the firemen and police who drove up soon after to pick up the debris. But they realized that we would all get moving that much quicker if everyone pitched in and picked up a little. A car and a motorcycle even stopped on the other side of the highway (which was moving really slowly because of the rubbernecking and a bunch of leaves on the road), and two men got out to help. They could have driven on, but they were there to help their neighbors. I wish I had a camera to take a picture of the men standing in line, picking up a heavy branch, led by sixtyish year old looking man. ...
I was thinking of what the response would have been like had I been in Iraq... People would have started backing up on the highway, driving 'wrong-side' as they call it, to get on their way home, or wherever they were heading. That was my first reaction, was there anyway I could back up to the exit I just passed...
It took about thirty minutes for the firemen, police and the random passersby to clean up most of the fallen tree. Within minutes, a policeman started waving the first cars through the one open lane, and I was safely on my way home.

For some pics, check out this link.