Tribute to Anthony Shadid

Originally published on the Washington Post Website: 

Ever since I worked with him at the Post’s office in Baghdad, I knew every word he wrote was powerful. I learned his style and focused on how he asked questions. There was a meaning in everything he asked. That I took as the best journalism school ever.

Today, I’m heartbroken to hear that a world journalism icon passed away. Foreign correspondents like Shadid continue to pave the road for better and credible news coverage that no one can silence except death. Rest in Peace, Shadid. Your legacy continues and will never die as long as there are journalists who follow your path of revealing the absolute truth around the world.

The ‘infidels’ win once again

This time, the so-called “infidels” won the hearts and minds of many Iraqis who are relentlessly sharing a YouTube video of the Australian version of Britain’s Got Talent, The X Factor, in which Iraqi war survivor Emanuel Kelly performs.

Emanuel, who doesn’t know his actual age because he was raised in an orphanage for disabled Iraqi children, was rescued and adopted by Children First Foundation director Moira Kelly along with his brother Ahmed after they both suffered from limb deficiencies as a result of chemical warfare in Iraq.

After I watched the clip in which Emanuel performs in the show’s auditions, all I was able to think of is how happy I am for him. He’s lucky he’s no longer in Iraq where orphans and the disabled are in most cases not treated as equal or in some cases as human beings.

Our Iraqi society, or the Arab society as a whole to be specific, has no mercy on disabled people. It’s harsh, non-accepting and degrading. Most people like Emanuel would end up being beggars on the streets.
In the non-Arab societies, however, Emanuel has a better life in Australia where there is a great deal of respect for humanity. In advanced societies, the disabled are considered different only by the way they look. They are still talented and useful to build the society.

On several occasions, I have come across disabled people working in some of the busiest jobs. The Apple stores in the US, for example, do not discriminate against the disabled. I was helped a few times by blind and deaf employees and an employee whose hands were missing most of their fingers.

Now imagine that in Iraq! The successive wars created hundreds of thousands of Emanuels. What is happening to them when even the healthiest Iraqis can’t find jobs?

I’m very proud of Kelly who made Emanuel and his brother Ahmed see the light of life again after being buried alive in Iraq. I’m very thankful that she paved the road for them to expose their talents and be confident of themselves.

Those who call non-Muslims “infidels” should go to hell. Those “infidels” should be rewarded for making humanity meaningful, not death and blood tainted.

Here is a video of Emanuel’s audition:



And here is an interview with Emanuel after the show:

New Project Makes News Gathering in the Arab World Take a New Turn

A lot of news organizations already know what “crowdsourcing” is. Some have already started using it. However, a new real-time crowdsourcing project is making news gathering take a new turn. “Alive.in” knows how!

“Alive.in” is a project launched by international news startup Small World News. The startup’s team is using a group of Arabic translators to crowdsource the translation of the real-time messages left on @speak2tweet, a service launched by Google and Twitter during the Jan. 25 revolution in Egypt, allowing callers to tweet by calling one of three numbers and leaving a voicemail.  

Founded by American journalist and media specialist Brian Conley, the project first started with crowdsourcing the Egyptian revolution news. When Conley learned about Google's collaboration with Twitter, he thought it’s time to put this service at a stronger use through Small World News, which he co-founded in 2005. The goal, according to the project’s website, is “to reach a wider audience.”

He then contacted Steve Wyshywaniuk, co-founder of the startup, and told him about Google’s new technology. "It hit him instantly that with the number of translators we're connected to, he could assemble a team to help translate the calls," Wyshywaniuk told ReadWriteWeb.

Conley then started reaching out to Arabic translators via Twitter, reported RWW. He then created a Google Docs spreadsheet from which they could collaborate on transcribing the messages and then translating them from Arabic to English, Spanish and German.

And that’s how “Alive in Egypt” started.

Today, “Alive.in” has expanded and is now covering Iraq, Libya and Bahrain.  Citizens of those countries are contributing with real-time photos, calls, videos and tweets, reaching out to the worldwide audience.

The new project has taken news gathering into an even more advanced path, thanks to the technology and the creativity of journalists and media enthusiasts like Conley, Wyshywaniuk and their hard-working team. Today, mainstream media outlets need to rethink their strategy and apply new technologies at best use so that they survive and provide their audience with more up-to-date news.
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Note: The team of “Alive.in” encourage those interested in helping translate the messages they crowdsource by emailing translate@alive.in. Those interested in being involved with the project can contact @BaghdadBrian or @SmallWorldNews on Twitter.

The End of the Oppression Era in the Arab World

The sounds and images of the Jubilations in Cairo’s Tahrir Square filled my heart with joy. I still cannot believe it is happening in my lifetime. Finally, Arab dictators are no longer in power and Arab peoples are more defiant than ever.

I’ve always been a proud Arab, even though my Arabism was flushed down the toilet throughout the last 30 years of my life due to the series of failure that hovered over the region up until the Tunisian revolution.

What happened in Tunisia revived hope in my heart that my fellow Arabs are now strong, defiant and willing to oust their dictators no matter what force they need to face.

It is about time! Throughout my 30 years of life, Arab dictators were mostly the same. They gathered at the useless Arab summits, “discussing” hot topics affecting the Arab “Homeland” and congratulating each other for the “successes” they had achieved throughout their decades-long presidencies.

All of that while Arab peoples were hungry, unemployed and oppressed.


This time, however, things are no longer the same. A joke spread by Arab tweeps these days says that the new Arab summit, which will be held in Baghdad, will be an introduction summit where new leaders will introduce themselves for the first time!

For me, it’s not a joke. It’s real! It’s happening! And it’s happening in Baghdad where the last summit it hosted was in 1990 before Saddam invaded Kuwait.

As I was watching the flock of the wonderful news coming out from Tunisia and Egypt via Al Jazeera and Twitter, I couldn’t but wonder if I and my fellow Iraqis would have revolted against Saddam had he not been ousted by a bloody war.

Today, Tunisia and Egypt paved the road for a real democratic Arab world. No more silence. No more fear. Arabs are determined to ending the oppression eras of their totalitarian regimes. The road will be messy and maybe bloody but the reign of change has arrived and it won't go back to where it was.

Long live Tunisia! Long live Egypt! Long live the quest for freedom and democracy in the Arab world!

Al Jazeera’s Success vs. the American News Networks’ Failure in Covering Tunisia

America was founded upon the principle of liberty and freedom, but guess who was covering the quest for freedom in Tunisia extensively yesterday? Al Jazeera, not the American news TV Networks!

I am utterly disgusted by how American TV channels have abandoned an important historic event of our time. Tunisian people took to the streets and toppled a Saddam-like totalitarian regime, but their voices and images from their revolution did not make it to the American viewers. CNN, FOX News and MSNBC were busy interviewing celebrities and discussing pet-related stories.

At work, I was able to follow Al Jazeera’s minute-by-minute coverage of the revolution through my iPhone. The Qatari network has an iPhone app that live broadcasts their news, in addition to its presence on Facebook, Twitter and Al Jazeera Blogs.

It was simply everywhere and for free!

Tech Crunch, a popular Web publication that offers technology news and analysis, summed it up in this article on how American news networks failed in covering the news. The article discussed how tweeps criticized American TV networks that were busy broadcasting news related to Marta Stewart’s dog and a guy who was arrested for drunk-driving a donkey in Texas on MSNBC, while CNN was busy interviewing the Jeopardy host about a robot contestant!

This is not journalism. What Al Jazeera did is!


And thanks to the social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook that brought the news to the American public, along with a few articles American newspapers published later in the afternoon yesterday.

Many know that Al Jazeera is unavailable in most American states, the thing that deprives millions of American viewers of watching breaking news with real, good reporting.

Making Al Jazeera, or at least BBC world (not the awful BBC America), available on air, cable or satellite will provide Americans with an alternate source to watch real news, not the heroic rescue attempt of a puppy who was stuck in freezing river.

Shame on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News for intentionally ignoring a gripping event that will directly affect the United States' foreign policy if such a revolution is spread across the whole Arab world.

Christmas in Baghdad

The team of “Only for Iraqis” has again surprised us with a new online comedy animation video with a powerful message: Do it yourself and do not wait for others to do it for you!

Their new video starts with the narrator saying that on Christmas Eve the world was celebrating, except Baghdad because it was coated with lack-of-electricity darkness.

In the dark, an Iraqi child was waiting for Baba Noel (Santa Claus) to bring him the bicycle he wanted for Christmas. An Iraqi old man comes across him and tells him to go home because Baba Noel is giving presents in America, not here. The kid becomes angry and tells the old man he’s not going home unless he gets his bike. He was wondering why Baba Noel was giving presents to children all over the world, except the Iraqi children.


The old man feels bad and decides to help. He calls Santa but Santa was aggressive. He didn’t like how his name was turned into “Baba Noel.” He then calls Iraqis “terrorists” and says he’s not going to Iraq.

The old man then calls Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki for help! Unsurprisingly, the Prime Minister cannot help! Not willing to give up, the old man calls all his friends and acquaintances and posts a wall ad, calling on all Iraqis to bring their generators to use them light the Christmas tree and to do Christmas themselves this year.

And they did! They set up the huge Christmas tree and decorated it with lights they turned on through their generators. After the lights were on, Iraqis took to the streets to celebrate Christmas, and their city became brighter than ever, first time in years.

Indeed! The message in the video was very powerful. It urges Iraqis to stand up and start rebuilding their country themselves, instead of waiting for others to help them. It’s time to do that before it’s too late.

Watch the video (Arabic):

The New Islamic Republic of Iraq

Iraq has officially become like Iran and Saudi Arabia. It is now a country that bans music, theater and alcohol, a country that I can call the New Islamic Republic of Iraq.

What a tragedy! Why don’t they call it “banning life”?

Is that art?!

Last week, the Iraqi government shut down social clubs that serve alcohol in Baghdad, enraging the educated class who demonstrated against the extreme Islamic-inspired order. Today, Iraqis woke up to hear a far worse order; the Iraqi Ministry of Education has banned theater and music classes in Baghdad's Fine Arts Institute, and ordered the removal of statues showcased at the entrance of the institute without explaining the move.

In a country that went through wars, sanctions and a horrific totalitarian regime, art remained defiant against Islamic extremism throughout centuries. Art has always been an integral part of Iraqis’ lives. Yet today the turbaned Mullahs, who are turning secular Iraq back into the Stone Age, have denied Iraqis’ the right of keeping art part of their country, erasing the Mesopotamian heritage that we inherited thousands of years ago. I wish the Sumerian makers of the Golden Guitar were alive, 3000 years later to see what has happened to their country.

Iraqis raised their voice and democratically elected a secular slate last March, but the Islamic fanatics who wrote the post-Saddam constitution wrote it in a way that they will always be the winners who will get the majority of the seats in the parliament.

We need two things: a new constitution and an atheist regime. Not secular, atheist. That’s how we can achieve success in arts, science and modernity. As long as there is a religious regime, no country will ever progress! Gods and politics will never reconcile. I choose not to side with religion. I choose to side with sanity.