The boy was playing with his friends in a local vegetable and fruit market. A stone was stuck in his shoe. As he bent to get rid of it, his eyes caught a man walking abnormally. He chased him but the man didn't give the boy a minute to identify him. In a quick move, he opened his brown thick Jacket and pressed a button on his explosives belt blowing up everything around.
In moments all bodies were grilled like chicken. They flew away from each other and fell over sidewalks, shops, and burning vehicles. Out of the effect of the blast, men were thrown at a coffee shop at the same time the windows were breaking into small pieces. Women in black Abayas died with their blood mixed with the grilled vegetables and fruits they bought. Close to them, a wounded woman sobbed and wailed in the burning market. As everything was burning, the shoe of the boy fell on one of the cars indicating that he also died and nothing was left of him but his shoe. "Terrorism has no religion" appeared in the background after the shoe fell.
This was not a real story. It was an advertisement against terrorism in Iraq. However, in reality, such footage happens almost everyday.
Anti-terrorism advertisement campaign increased in Iraq in the latest period. The interior ministry's advertisement can be seen and read in all media outlets. The most notable ones are those appear on TV. "For the eyes of Iraq, open your eyes," one of the advertisements shows urging the people to call on a specific phone number if they see or hear about terrorists.
One of the other moving advertisements I've watched is about a group of Iraqis fighting each other as they are gathering around a palm tree trying to grasp as much dates as they can and put them in their baskets. Suddenly, they all stop and share the dates equally.
During the elections Iraq witnessed after the fall of the former regime, intensive advertisement campaigns urged the people to go out and vote defeating all terrorist attempts which tried to make this process fail. Accompanied by the melody of the national anthem with the Iraqi flag flapping in the hands of voters, the advertisements played a big role in making the process succeed.
Until now, it's only the elections advertisements proved to be successful. Others like the first one I mentioned have not succeeded yet. In my own point of view, I think it's hard to succeed. Let's be frank and say that Iraq is no longer going through terrorism only. We are going through a fierce civil war where no one trust the other and no one considers the other a brother or a sister which I think is applied to the third example mentioned above. Everyone wants everything for him. Iraqis, specifically the ones who are left in Iraq, want everything by forces like those who were fighting over the dates. I wonder when the day comes when everyone believes in sharing this country.
Most people now believe that the interior ministry should not be trusted. Police commandoes' reputation is stained with blood with evidence. It's hard to make people believe that what happened in the prisons or the sectarian raids may not happen again. When al-Jihad neighborhood clashes were erupted, the interior ministry commandoes were allegedly seen helping the Shiite armed men breaking into the houses of the Sunnis and killing them. A Washington Post article mentioned that citizens in Amiriya neighborhood dialed the interior ministry emergency phone number which the advertisement kept showing.
In moments all bodies were grilled like chicken. They flew away from each other and fell over sidewalks, shops, and burning vehicles. Out of the effect of the blast, men were thrown at a coffee shop at the same time the windows were breaking into small pieces. Women in black Abayas died with their blood mixed with the grilled vegetables and fruits they bought. Close to them, a wounded woman sobbed and wailed in the burning market. As everything was burning, the shoe of the boy fell on one of the cars indicating that he also died and nothing was left of him but his shoe. "Terrorism has no religion" appeared in the background after the shoe fell.
This was not a real story. It was an advertisement against terrorism in Iraq. However, in reality, such footage happens almost everyday.
Anti-terrorism advertisement campaign increased in Iraq in the latest period. The interior ministry's advertisement can be seen and read in all media outlets. The most notable ones are those appear on TV. "For the eyes of Iraq, open your eyes," one of the advertisements shows urging the people to call on a specific phone number if they see or hear about terrorists.
One of the other moving advertisements I've watched is about a group of Iraqis fighting each other as they are gathering around a palm tree trying to grasp as much dates as they can and put them in their baskets. Suddenly, they all stop and share the dates equally.
During the elections Iraq witnessed after the fall of the former regime, intensive advertisement campaigns urged the people to go out and vote defeating all terrorist attempts which tried to make this process fail. Accompanied by the melody of the national anthem with the Iraqi flag flapping in the hands of voters, the advertisements played a big role in making the process succeed.
Until now, it's only the elections advertisements proved to be successful. Others like the first one I mentioned have not succeeded yet. In my own point of view, I think it's hard to succeed. Let's be frank and say that Iraq is no longer going through terrorism only. We are going through a fierce civil war where no one trust the other and no one considers the other a brother or a sister which I think is applied to the third example mentioned above. Everyone wants everything for him. Iraqis, specifically the ones who are left in Iraq, want everything by forces like those who were fighting over the dates. I wonder when the day comes when everyone believes in sharing this country.
Most people now believe that the interior ministry should not be trusted. Police commandoes' reputation is stained with blood with evidence. It's hard to make people believe that what happened in the prisons or the sectarian raids may not happen again. When al-Jihad neighborhood clashes were erupted, the interior ministry commandoes were allegedly seen helping the Shiite armed men breaking into the houses of the Sunnis and killing them. A Washington Post article mentioned that citizens in Amiriya neighborhood dialed the interior ministry emergency phone number which the advertisement kept showing.
