BAGHDAD, BEFORE AND AFTER !

Happy Days are Back in Baghdad!!

Sitting like Shahrazad in the Arabian Nights, S., my best friend started narrating her amazing stories to us in one of the greatest Friday dinners I ever had.

"Dig in," she said after I finished reading the Italian poem.

That was the first Friday dinner she has prepared since she left last February. Life at the office stopped since she left. We became just like robots working for the sake of the work and our career. But when she came back, she brought back happiness, life, encouragement, inspiration and joy.

When she first came to Baghdad last year, she turned my life and made me decide to be a reporter. "This is a great reporting B," she told me about the first story we worked on together. I got the first byline story with her then.

She inspires me, encourages me and makes me feel that life is meaningful. She teaches me what journalism means.

Every Friday, she cooks for us the best food, Cuban, Italian, American, Chinese, etc. and at every Friday night, I read poems depending on the kind of food she cooks. Everyone becomes very happy every Friday as she makes the office full of joy and makes us gather and enjoy her wonderful food.

For me she is not only a friend, she is a sister and I bet everybody knows what a sister means. I already have a sister, so I know this feeling and I feel she is just like my sister but lives in another country.

Once, I went through a hard time. I was covering violence in Baghdad day after day and I was so depressed to the extent I was about to leave my job as a reporter. We kept emailing each other. She helped me a lot to pass that period and that hard time and made me understand that my country needs me, needs my power, my loyalty, my hope, my will, and my love.

All what I said is so little in comparison to what she gave me and still giving me. She is our Angel that came back to Baghdad.

A New Five-Star Hotel in Baghdad !!

While I was going over the local newspapers this morning, I read a shocking headline: "A 23-floor, 5-star hotel to be built inside the Green Zone". I read the whole article and I wished I did not. The article says "The Minister of reconstruction announced the approval of the Prime minister to build a 5-star hotel inside the Green Zone." Also, the article said the government is committed to rebuild the country to stop the deprivation that was done under the former regime.

Isn't that ridiculous? What does it mean to spend millions of dollars in a place where no Iraqis can go? If someone gets married and wants to spend few nights at this 5- star hotel, he should get the permission first from the Americans and maybe they would give him a special badge just like others who work inside the fortified Zone. Why did Jafari approve spending millions of dollars on something that would not be used by Iraqi citizens? Didn't he think of the destruction that happened and still happening to Baghdad and Iraqi cities in general? Didn't he think that there are several 5-star hotels in Baghdad that need to be rehabilitated and make the people enjoy going to them? Didn’t he think of the jobless people who are supposed to build their country outside the Green Zone instead of building a fancy hotel for westerners only inside it? Didn't he think that this will hurt the feeling of the Iraqi people when they see they will be deprived from something built by their own money? I just want to understand, why doesn't he think of all of that?

A friend of mine, who works at the ministry of immigrants and displaced, told me that the Council of Ministers rejected donating the ministry which is supposed to provide the refugees of Tal Afar with food and tents. Consequently, the team sent to Tal Afar will be back soon without providing all of the refugees with their needs.

Now I want to ask him, is it worthy to build a five-star hotel for westerners and prevent people of this country from their RIGHT?!

Now you, Iraqi people, the government whom you voted for forgot about you and started taking care of their allies rather than you. You are left with a dirty city, no place to have fun in, no clubs, no open roads, no services, no electricity, no fuel, no water, no safety, and no CONTROL at all. This government is hiding behind the Jersey Walls surrounding the Green Zone where the 5-star hotel will be built. This government which says it "cares about you and about your safety" is building a new 5-star hotel. What a tragedy?! "Long live the Tyrant." As Twenty Four Steps to Liberty said.

Assassination

"An Iraqi working as a reporter for the New York Times was found dead in the southern city of Basra on Monday after being kidnapped by masked men, family members and a doctor said. His brother told Reuters in Basra that four masked men in a dark Toyota vehicle had arrived at the family home in an apartment complex in central Basra after midnight on Sunday.
They said they were from the intelligence services and that they needed to speak to Him in connection with an investigation, the brother said. They bundled him into their vehicle and told his wife and family not to interfere.
The reporter's body was found several hours later in a deserted area on the outskirts of the city." Reuters reported on Monday.

After reading this, a colleague of mine said, "I have to tell my family to be careful and to tell anyone asks about me that I am not here."

Are we going to be killed like this? Does it become so easy for armed men to kidnap reporters and then kill them? Everyday I go out to work, I pray to God to keep me safe, not for me, but for the sake of my family whom I don't want them to be hurt.

Once, at 10 p.m., someone knocked the door.
"I am going to open the door," my mother said.
"No, no. I will open," I said hurrying up to open it. I did that to prevent any danger that may happen to my parents. If someone wants to kill me, I should be the one killed not my family.

Working for a western media is something very dangerous in Iraq now. Terrorists and Saddam's remnants consider any one working for these westerners is a "collaborator" or "spy", forgetting about the freedom of word and the great humanitarian message the journalist conveys.

A curious neighbor to us asked me once where I work. I told him that I work in an internet café. He insisted that I don't show up in my neighborhood the whole day and that does not mean I work only in an internet café. I tried to convince him that internet is widely used in Baghdad now and that I spend the whole day at the café because many people use it. Finally he was convinced.

For me, I haven't told anyone in my neighborhood that I work as a reporter because I live in a relatively Sunni hot area, Adhamiya where three young men in my age were assassinated just because they work with westerners.

Sometimes, although returning back home exhausted, I go out to see my friends and to make others see me and not to think that I work with westerners. "I saw you on TV few days ago," my barber told me once. "You were sitting in a press conference and the camera was focused on you," he said. I was completely shocked and told him that it wasn't me and that was someone looked like me. He did not believe me, of course, because it was definitely me.

Nowadays, the messengers of free and honest word are being slaughtered and shot in a country that is lost in all prospects. Their weapons, pens and notebooks, are being taken from them by force and their activities are being stopped also by force. The reason is that Iraq, which is supposed to proceed, is going back to the dark ages, backwardness. No law that protects the journalist in Iraq are available. The result is killings and assassinations to the journalists whom, of course, cannot carry a weapon to protect himself as this is against the ethics of journalism.

What is left is God's mercy and the journalists' will to liberate their country from the backward ideologies that is controlling the minds of the people.

Tigris, The Soul of Baghdad

The Tigris (Old Persian: Tigr, Aramaic Assyrian: Deqlath, Arabic: دجلة, Dijla, Turkish: Dicle; biblical Hiddekel) is the eastern member of the pair of great rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of Anatolia through Iraq. (Indeed, the name "Mesopotamia" is a Greek translation from the Old Persian Miyanrudan, which means "the Land between the Rivers". Bethnahrin is the Assyrian word for the area.). The name Tigris comes from Old Persian and means "the fast one". Another name for this watercourse, used from the time of the Persian Empire, is Arvand, which has the same meaning. Today, the name Arvand refers to the lower part of the Tigris (ie, Arvand/Shatt al-Arab) in Persian.

The Tigris is approximately 1,800 km (1,150 miles) long, rising in the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey and flowing in a generally southeasterly direction until it joins the Euphrates near Al Qurna in southern Iraq. The two rivers together form the Shatt al-Arab waterway, which empties into the Persian Gulf. The river is joined by many tributaries, including the Diyala and Zab.

Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, stands on the western bank of the Tigris, while the port city of Basra straddles both the Tigris and the Euphrates. In ancient times, many of the great cities of Mesopotamia stood on or near the river, drawing water from it to irrigate the civilization of the Sumerians. Notable Tigris-side cities included Nineveh, Ctesiphon and Seleucia, while the city of Lagash was irrigated by Tigris water delivered to it via a canal dug around 2400 BC. Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit is also located on the river and derives its name from it.

The Tigris is navigable as far north as Mosul (near ancient Ninevah). In flood season, native rafts on floats, with loads as great as 35 tons, float the 275 miles between Mosul and Baghdad in three or four days. At Baghdad, the wood is sold and the skins for the floats are carried back upriver on the backs of donkeys. There is little traffic going upriver.

At Kut, the Tigris is about 1,300 feet wide and has a depth varying from a normal 4½ feet to 26 feet when flooding. The current at Kut ranges from 1¼ to as high as 4 miles per hour when flooding.

At Amara, the Tigris is only 600 feet wide with a depth ranging from a normal 6½ feet to 13 feet when flooding. Marshlands, starting near Amara, drain off much of the river water so that at Qurna, the depth remains the same but the river narrows to a width of only 200 feet.

Although the upper reaches of the Tigris are higher than the Euphrates, in southern Iraq the bed of the Tigris is lower than that of the Euphrates and the canals between the two rivers have their tailings in the Tigris, causing the water in these canals to flow from west to east..

Sometimes, at low water during midsummer, the lower Tigris has a depth of only 3 feet but, due to its many tributaries, the river is subject to sudden flooding.

The Tigris and Euphrates meet just below Qurna, from which point the Tigris is called the Shatt al Arab and is full of marshy water from the Euphrates and surrounding marshes. The combined waterway is 30 feet deep and more than 1,200 feet wide.Rainfall at Basra is only 6½ inches a years, of which 5½ inches fall between April and October.

Two types of native boats were used on the Tigris River and Shatt al Arab, a round skin boat (skins stretched over a frame of willow branches) known as a coracle (Arabian = Quffa, Akkadian = Quppu) and a rectangular raft type known as a riverboat (Arabian = Kelek, Akkadian = Kalakku). The coracles principally go downriver but riverboats can be poled or towed upstream. With proper rigging, riverboats can also be sailed and rowed.

Like the Euphrates, the course of the lower Tigris has meandered and changed over the years. In ancient days, the Tigris either flowed where the Shatt al Gharraf is today, or the Tigris had a branch that flowed down the Shatt al Gharraf or, possibly, the Shatt al Gharraf started as a manmade canal through the marshes and the Tigris overflowed into it. The sites of the ancient cities of Girsu and Lagash are located on today’s Shatt al Gharraf.

Abbasids

Abbasids, dynasty of caliphs who ruled the caliphate of Islam from 750 until 1258. All of these caliphs were descended from Abbas, a member of the tribe of Quraysh of Mecca who was an uncle of the pr
ophet Muhammad. The Abbasids seized the caliphate following the overthrow of the Umayyad dynasty of caliphs, and held it until the Mongols sacked Baghdad and killed the last caliph of the line. For most of this time their court was in Baghdād, a town founded at the command of the second Abbasid caliph, al-Mansur (754-775) in 762 (*).

For the first century or so of their caliphate, the Abbasids acted as the leaders of Islam both religiously and politically, despite the fact that during this period their authority was rejected by some. The peak of their power probably occurred in the reign of Harun ar-Rashid (**), who relied heavily on the Barmakid family of administrators. Following Harun’s death there was a period of civil war between his two sons, al-Amin and al-Mamun. Al-Mamun finally triumphed but the prestige of the family was damaged.

By the end of the 9th century the Abbasids were unable to exercise real religious or political authority. Their religious authority had been taken over by the religious scholars of Sunni Islam following the failure of the caliphs’ attempt to impose their will over them in the trial of strength known as the Mihna (833-847). As a result of this episode the caliphs were restricted to a largely symbolic role as merely nominal leaders of Sunni Islam. Followers of Shia Islam rejected the Abbasids completely.

Politically the caliphs had become puppets in the hands of their Turkish soldiers, who were able to remove and install caliphs as they wished. In 908 one caliph held office for one day only. The process culminated with the institution in 935 of the title Amir al-Umara (Commander of the Commanders), which was taken by the real political power, the chief of the Turkish soldiers.

At the same time, territories that the Abbasids controlled fell apart as independent states arose in regions previously under Abbasid rule. Some of the rulers of these states recognized the suzerainty of the Abbasids, but this was merely a token. In 945 the Shia Buwayhid family conquered Baghdād itself, and for the next century the Abbasid caliphate survived mainly because the Buwayhids found it useful in various ways.

Although the 9th and 10th centuries saw a decline in the power of the caliphs, the period was one of great religious and cultural importance. The trial of strength between the caliphs and the Sunni religious scholars sealed the rise of the Sunni form of Islam. It prepared the way for the appearance of the great books of Sunni law and the collections of hadiths (reports about Muhammad). Only slightly later, the Shia form of Islam achieved its definitive form when the line of the 12 Imams came to an end in 873, an event followed by the appearance of books of Shia law and distinctive collections of hadiths.

Philosophy, medicine, mathematics, and other sciences flourished as the Islamic world appropriated and developed the knowledge and wisdom of earlier and surrounding cultures. Particularly important was the science and philosophy of the Hellenistic Near East, and the 9th and 10th centuries saw the translation into Arabic of several works by (or attributed to) figures like Aristotle, Plato, Euclid, Galen, and others. The work of translation was encouraged by the Abbasid al-Mamun who founded the so-called House of Wisdom (Dar al-Hikma) in Baghdād as a center for it. Arabic-speaking Christians were especially active in the production of translations. The system of so-called Arabic numerals originated in India, but was adopted at this time by Islamic civilization, then later transmitted to the West.

The political fragmentation of the caliphate led to the emergence of many local courts and centers of power, which also encouraged the development of science and philosophy as well as poetry and prose, art, and architecture. Some of the local courts that emerged in the eastern regions of the caliphate are especially associated with the rise of an Islamic Persian literature and Iranian national sentiment.

In 1055 the Seljuk Turks, who were Sunnis, captured Baghdad, but this made no significant difference to the position of the caliphs. Although once again honored as symbols of the unity of Sunni Islam, their freedom of action was severely limited. Only in times of Seljuk weakness were individual caliphs occasionally able to exercise some power and influence. By the time the Mongol Empire ended the line of caliphs in 1258, Sunni Islam no longer needed even the symbolic role of the caliphate. It is true that the Mamluk sultans of Egypt established a puppet caliphate in Cairo, installing various members of the Abbasid family who had escaped the fall of Baghdād. Since the end of the Abbasid caliphate in Baghdād, however, no claimant to the office has achieved anything like general recognition among the Muslims.

After their first century or so the Abbasids cannot be said to have had much control over events. They nevertheless provided a focus of loyalty for Sunni Islam during an often turbulent period, and their caliphate may be seen in retrospect as the golden age of Islamic civilization.

(*):Abū Ja’far al-Mansur
Mansūr, Abū Ja’far al- (712?-775), second caliph of the ‘Abbāsid dynasty. Al-Mansūr ruled from 754 to 775. He founded a new capital, Baghdād, in 762, to which he transferred the seat of government. He firmly established the new ‘Abbāsid dynasty, crushing several insurrections and repelling invasions by the Byzantines and the Khazars. Al-Mansūr was known as a patron of learning, and he encouraged the translation of Greek and Latin classics into Arabic. He died at Mecca in 775.

(**):Harun ar-Rashid
Harun ar-Rashid (766-809), fifth caliph (786-809) of the Abbasid dynasty of Baghdād. His name is translated as “Aaron the Upright.” He was the son of the third Abbasid caliph, al-Mahdi, and succeeded to the throne on the death of his brother al-Hadi. The period of his reign marked a notable development of culture. Until 803 administrative power was entrusted to Yahya ibn-Khalid (died about 803), the grand vizier, or councilor of state, and head of the illustrious family of the Barmecides. Baghdād, the capital of Harun's realm, became the most flourishing city of the period. Tribute was paid to the caliph by many rulers, and splendid edifices were erected in his honor at enormous cost. He is said to have exchanged gifts with Charlemagne. Harun was a generous patron of learning, poetry, and music, and his court was visited by the most eminent Muslims of the age. He was celebrated in countless songs and stories, and is perhaps best known to the Western world as the caliph whose court is described in the Arabian Nights.
From 791 to 809 Harun's empire was at war with the Byzantine Empire, and in 807 his forces occupied the Byzantine province of Cyprus. Toward the end of his reign Harun was influenced to depose the Barmecides, and in 803 he imprisoned the grand vizier. The caliph died while on his way to put down an insurrection in the eastern part of his empire.

Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2004. © 1993-2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

A Country inside a Country!

"By the order of the Sadr office, no one is allowed to use this road," a policeman told me while I was going to cover the Friday prayer in Sadr City. I was shocked and said to myself, "What is going on?!"

A policeman, who is supposed to receive orders from the Iraqi government, receives an order from a religious Shiite office!

The moment you enter Sadr city, you feel that you are out of Baghdad and you are in another country, a Shiite one which has nothing to do with the government. Police are only welcomed to control the boundaries cooperated by the Mahdi army

Once known as Al Thawra, then as Saddam City, Sadr City is named for the Imam Mohammed Sadr, an Iraqi Shiite religious leader killed by Saddam Hussein in 1999.
The city's 2.5 million Shiites are dominated by the radical Shiite cleric, Muqtada Sadr whose face on the posters stuck everywhere in the city. The city is subdivided into six sections and it is one of the poorest in Baghdad. Unemployment is widely spread. Homes are in disrepair. It is also a haven for criminals released from Iraqi prisons by Saddam shortly before the U.S.-led invasion. Parts of some streets in the city are flooded with sewage from neglected pipes. Residents of Sadr City say that the Baghdad Municipality does not pick up their trash. So they throw their trash on the medians of the streets.

Wearing black shirts and trousers, Mahdi Army militiamen who act as the police force within the community are deployed everywhere in the city.
To attend the Friday prayer, the visitor, although welcomed, has to be subjected to physical search by these militiamen in every 50 meters.

The residents and the militiamen accuse the government for its "failure or weakness" in controlling the country, so they decided to "control" themselves by themselves as "the Shiites are the main target in Iraq now instead of the occupation."

In early April 2004, the Mahdi Army attempted to interfere with security in Baghdad. The militia attempted to occupy and gain control of police stations and government buildings. During this attack, the militia engaged coalition forces and Iraqi Security Forces with small arms fire and RPGs. Coalition forces and Iraqi security forces prevented this effort and reestablished security in Baghdad.

From my frequent visits to Sadr City, I concluded that it is now considered one of the safest areas in Baghdad in which its visitors, Arabs or westerners, may believe they are in another country controlled by its people!

"Dr. Jafari", thank you for the failure and the second fall of Baghdad!

By eleven suicide car bombs today, more than 150 innocent people were killed in Baghdad which fell in the hands of the terrorists whom Jafari, the Prime Minister, said he is defeating. In today's post, I would like to thank him and thank all those in his government for their failure.

Thank you "Dr. Jafari" for keeping your promise in "protecting" us. Thank you for all what you did to save the lives of the poor who were killed today. Thank you for making your "heroes" succeed and proceed in killing the terrorists who are proud to kill innocents. Thank you for liberating Tal Afar instead of liberating Baghdad. Thank you for deceiving us before the elections. Thank you for appointing your "successful" ministers of interior and defense. Thank you for making them the reason behind the "great performance" in protecting the people. Thank you for fighting "the infiltration" of the terrorists among your men. Thank you for the continuous "victory" shows on TV channel while other people are being killed and wounded outside the building of this station. Thank you in speaking with the "dialogue language" with the terrorists who don't care. Thank you for making Baghdad clean and prosperous. Thank you for providing electricity, water, and fuel. Thank you for providing jobs for the jobless. Thank you for saying the truth. Thank you healing our wounds. Thank you for uniting Iraq and finally, thank you for making Baghdad fall for the second time!!

Taxi !!

"Not in my way, I am sorry," said 15 taxi drivers whom I stopped this morning while I was going to work.

Waiting for an hour just to get a taxi drives me crazy in this country. What made this matter worse is the government's decision of the odd and even numbers which made the taxi drivers the Emperors of their age.

Unlike other countries who use the fare counters in taxi cabs, fares should be negotiated in advance with the taxi driver in Baghdad. Today, for example, the taxi driver asked for 5000 ID.
"Why?" I asked.
"You are going to Jadriya and it's far and crowded," the driver answered carelessly. "Usually it costs me 3000 ID" I said
"I know, but you know that we work every other day now,"

Mentioning the decision of the odd and even numbers he said his car is subjected to this law as it is not an official taxi cab rather than his own car.

Getting a taxi in Iraq's new conditions turned to be so ridiculous and bothering. You have to beg the taxi driver in order to take you to your destination. If the driver's mood is not good, he will use the routes as he likes, not as you like and never asks for opinion or cares if you have an appointment or not. The worse thing is that in the hottest times when heat reaches 120 degree F, they do not turn on the Air Conditioner, and then you have to suffer all the way long in Baghdad's killing heat. Moreover, most of these drivers are not licensed. They just buy cars and use them as taxi cabs and of course, consequently, these ignore all the traffic standards and signs.

On the way to work, I was wondering, "When shall we be getting normal taxi cabs like other people use in other countries? Why did this government fail in every prospect? Why do the people forget about law and order?"

Is it that difficult to restore?

Yes, it is obvious because no one is cooperating to stop the bad habits here.

A Treasure in Baghdad

Much like its poets, Iraq’s painters and sculptors are among the best in the Arab world, and some of them are world-class. The first generation, which became active in the 1940s, included Faiq Hasan and Ismail al-Shaykhali. Their paintings are figurative works in the impressionist style. Other important artists of this generation are Jawad Salim, Nouri al-Rawi, Mahmoud Sabri, and Tariq Madhloum. Jawad Salim was deeply influenced by the cubist style of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, as well as by ancient Mesopotamian art and the Soviet style known as socialist realism. To a younger generation, active since the late 1950s, belong painters Diya al-Azzawi and Hamid al-Attar.

Baghdad is rich in open-air sculptures and monuments designed by many of these great artists. Many of these sculptures and monuments are dedicated to the Iraqi people and the rich history of the country.

Today's treasure is Jawad Salim (1920–1961), a pioneering Iraqi artist who died prematurely at the age of 41 and the sculptor of the most famous monument in Baghdad, The Monument of Liberty.

Born into a family of painters, Jawad Salim came from Mosul. After studying under his father, Salim traveled to Paris and Rome to train from 1938 to 1940. He worked in the Baghdad Archeological Museum during World War II and became interested in sculpture. Salim continued his studies at the Slade School of Art in London from 1946 to 1949. After returning to Iraq, he was given the position of head of the sculpture department and the Institute of Fine Arts and was commissioned to create the Monument to Liberty by the newly established Iraqi Republic in 1958. Salim also worked as a graphic artist and illustrator.

The Monument of Liberty, one of Baghdad's most recognizable icons, adorns the Tahrir Square at the heart of Baghdad's eastern bank. The monument was to become a metaphor for republican Iraq's struggle for justice and freedom. Although many other monuments were commissioned and erected in Saddam's era, none were able to eclipse or capture the aura of Nusb Al-Tahrir. It has also become a common motif for many Iraqi and Arab poets.

In 1950, the Iraqi artist Faiq Hassan (1914–1992) founded The Pioneer Society, paving the way for several art collectives in the country, including the Baghdad Modern Art Group, founded by Salim in 1951. The latter soon emerges as the most influential art movement in the country. Debates within the group on the synthesis of tradition and modernity spark critical theories that influence several generations of artists. Artistic debate in Baghdad—and Beirut—includes not only artists but also critics, poets, writers, and architects. Their influence is felt in intellectual circles all over the Arab world.

A Normal Day for a Westerner in Baghdad!!

Taking off her black scarf immediately as she entered the restaurant, the westerner felt entering a place that is not in Iraq. Invited for lunch with an Iraqi friend who used to be scared to take her in public places normally, she felt free for the first time in Baghdad since she came two years ago. This westerner had never been in public places without putting on her "bullet-proof" scarf which she never forgets. This time, it was different! The restaurant was for high class people and no westerner has visited it previously.

"There were many people gathering and women wearing their modern clothes," she said delighted and happy to the extent that it was noticeable on her face and eyes.

In Baghdad after the US-led invasion, it became impossible for a westerner to work, live, or at least spend some time with friends. Journalists, contractors, foreign laborers and even anti-occupation NGO employees were abducted and taken hostages, some were beheaded by foreign fighters and remnants of Saddam's regime and some others survived and freed. This made large number of westerners who came to support this country leave it desperate and alone.

The question has to be asked, what is to be gained by scaring all these people out of Iraq? What would they gain in having no one from outside in Iraq?

It became so disgusting to make Iraq's friends scared in every moment they live in a country which was the safest among other countries.

Wake up Iraqis! Wake up, you, the government!! What the hell are you doing? When are you going to stop all of these disasters? Is it nice to see friends kidnapped, taken hostages, or beheaded? For God's sake! Would you imagine the same thing happening to you in their countries?

We have to restore the safety to Baghdad in order to restore the happiness and smile that we miss. Did you forget that we had the Arabian Nights?! Shahraiyar and Shahrazad are so sad. They want to do something but they feel that they are muted!!

A Salute to Baghdad College

Flipping through my photo album, I looked at my high school photos and remembered my friends and colleagues whom I miss a lot. Baghdad College, a high school that was founded by the Jesuits in 1932, was one of the most famous schools in Baghdad where appliers had to be subjected to a special IQ exam in order to join it. Graduating from this high school makes me feel so proud and grateful to all those who established it and taught and still teaching in it. My six years (1992-1998) of study in Baghdad College were the best times in my life. I gained knowledge in which not all the young men in my age were able to get. Unlike the other schools in Baghdad, Baghdad College was well-equipped and full of chemistry, biology, and physics laboratories, in addition to the English language practice laboratories, which were my favorite.
I don't have that huge thing to return the favor to this school except to mention how great it was in this blog and salute those who founded it.

In 1931 Jesuits were requested by Pope Pius XI (at the urging of the Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad) to start schools in Baghdad. This they did, and more. In 1932 four Jesuits went to Baghdad and started a secondary school and then later in 1956 started another school Al Hikma University. Both came to a sudden halt in 1968 when the two schools were taken over by the Baathi Governemnt and the Jesuits expelled from the country. The Christians cherished the work of the Jesuits from the start and the earlier suspicions of Muslims dissolved once they realized that the Jesuits were not covertly trying to convert their sons but were offering them an excellent education. In fact Muslims are listed among the Jesuits' strongest supporters. They saw them as religious men whose only purpose was to take seriously Jesus' admonition to serve others. That service came in the form of education. Muslims and Christians alike came to realize that the Jesuits introduced to the Baghdad community unanticipated intellectual, spiritual and social benefits.

The most interesting part of the Baghdad College and Al-Hikma story does not concern buildings, curricula or huge campuses but concerns rather the people that built and used these creations. It still is the students, their families, the Jesuits and their colleagues that make us remember that "fleeting wisp of glory" with such emotion. This story of the Baghdad Jesuit adventure, which is related in Jesuits by the Tigris , focuses on the interaction between young American Jesuits and youthful Iraqi citizens and their families. Starting in 1932 it grew into a strong bond of affection and respect.

Much more than other Jesuits in their American schools the "Baghdadi" Jesuits entered the family lives of their students frequently and intimately through home visits to celebrate Muslim and Christian feast days as well as a myriad of social events, both happy and sad. There was much more than ordinary student-teacher bonding. On campus the Jesuits participated in games, debates, drama, contests, athletic events almost as much as the students. Jesuits became enthusiastic about their Iraqi charges when they noticed early on that there was a great affinity between these Iraqi students and themselves. Jesuits found the Iraqi students warm, hospitable, humorous, imaginative, receptive, hard-working and appreciative of educational opportunities. This story presents evidence that the Iraqis found the Jesuits happy, fun-loving and dedicated.

As the years went on Iraqis increasingly liked them and were proud of the two schools as part of the Iraqi scene. Each of the many government crises were opportunities for successive governments to force the Jesuits to leave. The fact that they were always allowed to continue is testimony to how widely Jesuits had been accepted. The exception was the Baathi coup in 1968. In spite of the Jesuits' strenuous efforts to remain in Iraq, they joined the long line of Jesuits in various lands at various times who were expelled from their adopted country.

A remarkable phenomenon is the number of biennial reunions of the Jesuits and their graduates. Why do hundreds of middle aged Iraqis spend long weekends every two years with post middle age American Jesuits in order to celebrate two schools from which Jesuits were dismissed 25 years ago? Why have two and a half decades not dimmed memories of activities and routines of everyday school life? Why has the hostility between Iraq and the United States not weakened the bonds of friendship between these Iraqi students and their American teachers - not even frayed them? First time visitors to these reunions find the excitement, the enjoyment and the camaraderie of both parties beyond belief. This book is an attempt to explain this latter phenomenon as well as to respond to an alumni request for a record of the Jesuit Baghdad adventure which they can pass on to their children.

The Jesuits, themselves, were sensitive to the needs of the Iraqi churches and offered a great deal of pastoral assistance outside of their classrooms. Their primary reason for being educators in Iraq was to help rejuvenate the native church. The Jesuits intended to strengthen the Christians in the practice of their faith in a Muslim world; they welcomed Muslim students also - it would have been unthinkable not to. In this educational setting these Christians and Muslims got to know one another intimately. In this context also the Christians developed a patriotism and pride in a society of which they were a part.

*The arrival of the Jesuits in 1932, the start of World War II in 1941, the start of the Republic in 1958 and the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1969.


Note: The source of the background is: http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/bag/bag.htm

Another thing!! While I was navigating in the web, I found a poem by an Iraqi graduate of the Baghdad College, Dr Sabah Aris. The poem is amazing and so moving to the extent it made feel i am the one speaking.

The Legend of Baghdad College
By Dr Sabah Aris

At Christmas time, I was back Home

Where the past has slept, and memories roam,

Where the Palm Trees stand,

With Graceful pride, That hides the pain,

They have inside,

I remembered when, from the cup of knowledge,

I came to drink,

And of a place we know,

I began to think,

Where the lessons of life,

I once have learned,

So, to Baghdad College, I now returned,

The streets were dark,

Yet I could see,

My withered desk, At Class, One E

As I moved my hand, to touch the walls

I felt the bricks, begin to cry,

As neither of us,

Could say Goodbye…

The years will pass, and the walls will fall,

Yet the BC Legend, will stand up tall,

And always live, in you and I

For legends born,

Will never die …

Some releif in Baghdad cafés

Sitting on a chair and playing dominos, an old man called for tea in a Baghdadi café.

watching him made me remember pictures of some Baghdadi cafés in one of my father's favorite books, "Heritage of Baghdad".

Among a mixture of smoke rising from cigarettes and Argeelas [water pipes], Iraqi men spend most of their time talking about past, present, future and other problems in cafés.
Escaping from the daily problems like water and electricity cut offs, unemployment, terrorism, lack of security and general chaos, the cafés became the center of political and social debate among them.

In Baghdad, there are ancient cafés that are no longer considered normal cafés rather than centers for intellectuals and educated people. As an example, Al-Mustansirya café that was built in 1587 on the banks of the Tigris and restored in the 1960s. Its walls are filled with old photographs of poets and long-dead Iraqi singer Mohammed al-Qobbanji.
Another one, al-Shahbandar, a century-old café in which those who adore knowledge and wisdom gather in. Many of them, buy books from the Muttanabi street and then sit and enjoy discussing the content of these books.

Before the US-led invasion, people used to spend much time in the cafes they used to go to. But after that and because of the lack of security, they stopped staying for late hours like they used to do previously escaping the hard life they go through. In Adhamiya in northern Baghdad, for example, cafes used to stay up to early hours of the morning. Now, at 10 p.m., these cafés are almost occupied by ghosts and maybe some sleeping cats.

Now, Baghdadis are deprived even from escaping. They have to face all these problems at their homes!!

"I miss Baghdad"

When I was waiting at the Baghdad International Airport for a flight to Erbil last month, an American friend of mine started asking me about Baghdad as he's never been here before the war. I took a long breath and said, "I miss Baghdad."

He asked me how come I miss Baghdad while I live in it. "It is not the same Baghdad. I feel I live in another city and I do miss Baghdad," I answered.

Remembering how Baghdad was beautiful, I started describing how amazing it was. Starting from the nice streets like Abu Nawwas, I felt I am talking about my soul, my soul which was crushed twice. Once when Saddam and his gang were not loyal to it and second, when the American troops crushed what was left.

My friend whom I was accompanying told me one thing, "Bassam, you should leave this country. It's been fucked up!" expressing that he hates to say that. My reaction appeared on my face immediately. "I know," I said sadly and as if my heart was telling me "No, no. don't do that."
"I will come back. don't worry," I said.

When the plane took off, I started looking at the city and said, "Oh my God! It looks so beautiful." Then memories flahsed back in my mind: playing with my cousins near the great Sharzad and Shahrayar statue in Abu Nawwas St., going to the amazing Baghdad Island, spending Eid with friends and relatives in Baghdad's cafés and restaurants, enjoying the fireworks during the celebrations, enjoy visiting the Baghdad International Fair, going to picnics with my friends and colleagues of school, going to the swimming pools in the five stars hotels, and so on.

"Welcome in Erbil International Airport …," the airhostess said waking me up.

Staying in Erbil for some work did not make me forget about Baghdad. The bad news continue as usual. Watching the news in my hotel room, "dozens of Iraqis were killed in three car bombs in central Baghdad," the CNN reporter said.

One day, I was alone in the hotel as I did not have much work to do, so I decided to hang out and buy some clothes from a nearby commercial street.

"Are you from Baghdad?" a Kurdish clothes store owner asked me.
"Yes," I replied. Then he started talking in a perfect Iraqi dialect.
"How is Baghdad?" he asked.
"Fifty, fifty," I replied.
"Oh! I miss Baghdad," he said. I was shocked.
"Really?!" I exclaimed.
"Yes, I used to go to Baghdad back in the eighties. It was so beautiful. Is it the same now?" he asked.
"No, you will never know it," I said.
"I cannot go there," he said.
"Why?" I wondered.
"Because I am a Kurd," he said.
"So what? You should come but you should be careful of the strangers who came from outside Baghdad and trying to destroy it," I said.
"Baghdad was so nice and beautiful. I used to bring my family and enjoy the modern life in it," he said.

Returning back to the hotel walking, I remembered a very well-known Iraqi song, called "Baghdad", by a wonderful Iraqi singer, Kadhum Al-Sahir.
"Her eyes are my home and my bed and her ribs are my pillow. She wipes away all the sadness of my life if her finger touches my forehead. Embrace me, you the most beautiful women. Baghdad, Baghdad."

A Friday Tour

Having graduated from a private college, I had to buy the curriculum unlike students of state universities whose education was free. Every Friday, I used to enjoy going to one of the most famous and beautiful streets in Baghdad.

Al-Mutannabi Street in Baghdad is a well-known book market named after the most famous poet in the Arab history, Abu Al-Tayyib Al-Mutanabi (915-965 A.C.).

I used to go there with my friends and some classmates in college. I bought different kinds of books, mostly English poetry and novels. However, the half-mile long street was lined on both sides of the street with books ranging from 1980s computer manuals to linguistics textbooks, copies of the Quran, medical and engineering schools text books.

Back in 199s when Iraq was under the Embargo, this street was never empty. Even people who were starving for food used to go there; some never bought a book but came to water their thirsty souls with walking among books and knowledge hoping they could find something cheap to buy and read.

For three decades, book owners in this street were not allowed to sell any book that opposed the former regime. However, such books were still sold secretly there.

After the fall of the former regime, Al-Mutannabi Street is again filled with customers, from communists to clerics, who would once have faced jail or execution for reading some of the materials that opposes the government.

The street is open for customers seven days a week but the most crowded day is Friday in which dozens of educated people, intellectuals, scholars, students, university professors, etc. come by and spend hours in this wonderful place to carry on improvement and to get knowledge despite the bad situation the country is going through.

baghdadtreasure@gmail.com

Wine and Grief

Today, I preferred to post a poem about Baghdad. I hope u like it. This poem is written by a well known Iraqi poet, called Mudhaffar Al-Nawwab.

Wine and Grief
By Mudhaffar Al-Nawwab

The tavern is asleep.

Forgive me, I will leave now.

My heart is filled with wine and grief:

I wish I could roll in the sand

And the scent of melon

On the banks of the Tigris.
...
I hear an infant crying in his cradle:

Please God, let him have a homeland

I lived without one!
...
Baghdad wakes up from her dream,

Naked;

She washes her beauty with dew

And twilight blueness;

She goes inside to God

And comes out carrying the Sun

And some mint tea from Basra.

The banks of the Tigris are still asleep:

The informant forgot his report

On the table and is gone.

The report says: the wine is bad.

He lies about everything,

Even about the wine!

The Magic Stick!!

The day before yesterday, I was reading a local newspaper and suddenly a headline drew my attention. "What should we do and what the Municipality should do".
Back in the 1980s, I remember how Baghdad was clean and neat. The streets were so clean, traffic signs everywhere and traffic policemen stood monitoring if someone violates the law. People were so clean and organized.

Today, Baghdad looks miserable, dirty, and terrible. It is strange that this dirtiness increased after the invasion of the Americans to Iraq. Tanks and humvee hummers, completed the tragedy by driving on the sidewalks and destroying all the fences of the highways.

The author of the article in the newspaper said whenever an official of the Baghdad Municipality appears on TV, he says "we don't have that magic stick." Does cleaning the streets need a magic stick? Where are all the money Iraq has? Then, the author moves to criticize the people for being so uncooperative to clean their city. But the problem is that Iraqis now do not respect law and order as they did not previously. I know it is hard to say but that is the truth. These people did not make Baghdad clean and organized because they respected the law. They did that because they were afraid of Saddam! Yes, Saddam. Being a tyrant, he used to punish the people severely to the extent he forced the people respect law.

Iraqis should RESPECT law. They should be aware that the cradle of civilization is collapsing day after day and the only way to restore it is to work as one hand to prevent that. It is not difficult.

Just today, I read on a website that the World Bank allocated 85 million dollars to Baghdad Municipality projects, which include water projects, sewerage, and major designs of the capital. The question comes, what happened to the 85 million dollars????! Stolen of course!