Restoring Iraq's Treasure

Hundreds of artifacts, looted in the wake of the US-led invasion of Iraq, have been returned to the country, but many more remain missing, stolen from Iraq's ancient sites.

Al Jazeera's Owen Fay, reporting from Baghdad, looks at the efforts to safeguard Iraq's cultural heritage.

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Five Years on ... Lifetime for Iraqis

I wasn’t prepared for what I read, couldn’t even believe that I read it correctly and that it could be our fate as well. His words shock, but I found them so real. It was a blow, a reminder, and a desperate call.

While waiting for some friends at the coffee shop this morning, I browsed the internet in search of news, maybe hopeful ones. Yet, one article took me thousands of miles away, to Iraq. The article was about the 33rd anniversary of the start of Lebanon’s civil war. In a televised speech, Lebanese Prime Minister, Fouad al-Sanyoora, said, "Today, after 33 years of wounds, we are still suffering and we haven't recovered from its effects, pains and memories."

I took a sip from my coke and leaned back on the chair and gazed off nowhere in particular. His words took me 17 years back. I was in a taxi cab with my mother, shortly after the 1991 U.S. led war destroyed our country’s infrastructure in response to Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait. My mother was still hopeful that the destroyed buildings we passed by would be rebuilt and Iraq would restore its power and life. The cab driver sounded pessimistic. I was only 11 years-old then and had no idea how cruel life could be. He told my mother, “We could easily rebuild the buildings and the bridges, but how are we going to heal people’s wounds?” Seventeen years passed and his words still ring in my mind.

It was different. My mother was right. Things got better in terms of buildings and the cab driver was right as well. But that was not a civil war and things were not as bad as they were during Lebanon’s civil war. Now it is. Chaos, blood, refugees, occupation, revenge … But it’s been only five years. Would it continue to fifteen more years like how it happened in Lebanon? I think it would. All politicians are caring about is their benefits and loyalty to their religions, ethnicities and sects rather than the country itself.

The entire coffee shop seemed quiet for a minute. People were talking but I wasn’t listening. I just saw their mouths opened and closed and there was a killing silence, one that makes you feel you were in a nightmare trying to say something or hear something but you can’t. I tried to imagine the future, but forced myself not to. Too much pain to carry to that ambiguous future.

Last Wednesday marked the fifth anniversary of Saddam’s fall. Five years passed and the train of pain and mayhem is still going on and on and on. It doesn’t even seem it is going to stop. I am afraid that this war is going to take us as far as the war took the Lebanese. Life of Iraqis is already destroyed, tainted with mayhem and ongoing horror that forced millions to immigrate, seeking a safe roof to cover their bare heads.

A few hours ago, I was surfing Youtube about Iraq and found an astonishing series of documentaries and news reports on Aljazeera International Youtube page. The one that shook me off and chilled my entire spine was called “Witness,” a nightly weekday documentary series, presented by the former BBC reporter Rageh Omaar.

Unlike everyday, Omaar was the one to be the witness on that show. In 2003, he covered the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Five years later, he visited Baghdad and saw how things dramatically changed. In part three of the series, he interviewed an Iraqi friend of his who was kidnapped and tortured by insurgents who also forced him unwillingly to watch them behead another hostage. The way they both narrated the story left me motionless, eyes wide-open and mouth open. It could have been me to be beheaded or forced to watch the beheading. As I was watching I thanked God a hundred times for protecting me and my family from such horror.

The other series were those of Iraqi translators’ lives and the lives of the Iraqis in general during five years of ongoing war. Below are the most interesting videos I found where Iraqis’ real life has no space or little attention on American media.

Working in a War Zone: Life for many in Iraq has been a daily struggle to survive. Some jobs have opened up and local Iraqis have found a platform to perform. However, not every one has an exactly hassle-free job. A journalist and a translator with the American army describe their experiences of working in Iraq.

Witness - Return to Iraq: Witness presenter Rageh Omaar returned to Iraq five years after reporting on the US-led invasion. He found much had changed and, as ordinary Iraqis told him, rarely for the better.

Witness - Return to Iraq - Part 1

Witness - Return to Iraq - Part 2

Witness - Return to Iraq - Part 3

Witness - Return to Iraq - Part 4

Failing health care in Iraq - 20 Mar 08: Five years after the invasion, Iraq's health care system remains in crisis. Hospitals have to deal with the aftermath of bombs and shootings on a daily basis. It is very hard for doctors to do their job. They often lack basic equipment and the necessary drugs to treat the injured. And many health workers have just been murdered or kidnapped.

Like Omaar said in Witness, “for so many [in Iraq], the last five years have been a lifetime.”

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Musical Escape

You stand around. You wait. You gaze and you start to listen. The lights are dim, except that on the stage . Musicians stand in a curve-like line. The Orchestra strolls on the stage, and start doing magic with their musical instruments. The auditorium is packed with audience facing the stage, anticipating fun and musical escape. The Orchestra sings and plays music and all the audience has to do is to pick the message of the night and enjoy it. “If music be the food of love; play on,” William Shakespeare once said. And so the West Philadelphia Orchestra did last night.

It was a concert my friend Ali and I were invited to by our American friend Gabe. The music was not American though; it was Balkan. At the North Star Bar, the Orchestra played music from the Balkan region. This music of southeastern Europe is influenced by various ethnic groups from the former Ottoman Empire.

I was lucky that the concert started late at night, after I had dinner with some close friends here in Philly. I talked to Ali and convinced him to go even though it was late at night. It’s been always interesting to attend such events where one might enrich his/her knowledge about other cultures to learn and enjoy life the way it should be.

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In Response to Fitna, Schism Changes the Message

After the controversial and hateful film “Fitna” was shown to the public, Raed al-Saeed, a Saudi blogger created a similar kind of film in response. However, the film’s message was entirely different.

"It is easy to take parts of any holy book that are out of (context) and make it sound like the most inhumane book ever written," al-Saeed said in a statement posted at the end of his video.

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Treasure's Queen

It was a chilly day here in Philly. The sun was hiding behind dark grey clouds and the wind was cuddling the newly born small leaves around the bare trees. The mail vehicle was parked at the corner of the opposite street. A group of school children were making their way to their homes, chattering out loud. I was on my way to the house after work. My iPod was on and my mood was singing with a traditional Turkish song that I used to listen to when I was young. I looked at everything around me: how normal it looked. God! How I miss it at home. The sounds of vehicles, the chatters of the neighbors’ kids coming back from school and the spring mood that surrounded our house’s garden and its trees.

As I stepped on the front stairs of the house where I live, my eyes caught a big package, a white box addressed to me. It took me a few seconds to think who sent it while the music was still playing. I turned off the iPod and glanced at the box. Then, I knew who sent it to me. It was from my friend and regular reader of my blog, Annie.

When I saw Annie’s name, I knew what inside the box was. I went to my room upstairs and unwrapped it. There it was a beautiful piece of art. A blend of humanity, history and heritage made with affection, not by Iraqi hands but by American.

Last year, I wrote a piece about how I miss my mother and our house’s garden which she took care of. Annie fell in love with the post and the way I reflected my feelings and nostalgia. My mother is the queen of my life and she is the treasure that represents all the wonderful women in Iraq. And that’s how Annie named the piece “Treasure’s Queen.”

The main curved body represents a woman (Treasure's Queen), reclining and supporting the Samarra spiral minaret on her belly. To Annie, the woman is a symbol of the women in Iraq. The entire piece also looks like Aladdin’s magic lamp, something we grew up fond of, as it was part of heritage.

I put the piece next to the window shelf where I have my desk settled so that I look at it all the time along with pictures of my family and friends whom I terribly miss. It’s amazing how one thing, one present and even one simple word can make a difference. It definitely leaves a great impact in beautifying our lives, and tells us that humanity is still alive and that friendship and solidarity know no borders or limits.

Thank you, Annie. My Queen will love it when she sees it.

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After al-Qaeda, Sahwa Imposes New Rules

It is has been known than the Sahwa (Awakening) militia has prevailed in defeating al-Qaeda in many areas in Iraq, especially in the restive provinces like Anbar. But with the power these fighters, who once were part of the insurgency, people’s regular lives have not dramatically changed. They are now subjected to fanatic power after the other extreme fanatic power represented by al-Qaeda has been defeated.

In a heart-wrenching article, Newsweek reporters Silvia Spring and Larry Kaplow reported on how these fighters are ordering people, especially women, to adhere to their strict version of Islamic rules. Even though these rules are considered moderate compared to those of al-Qaeda’s, one cannot but notice the obvious government absence of protecting people from extreme forces.

Some women saw warning signs last year when the movement was young. Suhair Shakir says Al Qaeda never got a foothold in her upscale east Baghdad neighborhood. But Sahwa took over anyway, and it has grown steadily more aggressive. One day last spring, Shakir was flagged down in her car at a Sahwa checkpoint. A young man sidled up to her window and asked why she wasn't wearing a headscarf. He twirled a pistol as he spoke—"like a cowboy, spinning his pistol on his finger," Shakir says. After that, she wore a scarf.

A few months later she had another encounter; this time the checkpoint's head man warned her that women shouldn't drive. At last she convinced him that she needed her car to get to work, only to be told that she could pass the checkpoint only during working hours, and never after 5 p.m. The harassment continued. Sahwa guards at the local gas station began criticizing her for being out unescorted. "These are teenagers with no knowledge and no education," she says. "They get their power and their weapons, and they try to control the life of the people."

To read the entire article, please click Here.

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24 Steps to Liberty is Blocked!

Dear readers,
Today, I spread my platform to our friend, Omar, the Author of 24 Steps to Liberty, to tell us a troubling story. He has requested to use my blog today to communicate with his readers, for reasons you will know when you read below.
Thanks.
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Dear respected readers,
I have tried to post a new entry on my blog, 24 Steps to Liberty, lately, but I was surprised that blogger.com wouldn’t let me post anything. There was a message that said:

“This blog has been locked due to possible Blogger Terms of Service violations. You may not publish new posts until your blog is reviewed and unlocked. This blog will be deleted within 20 days unless you request a review.”

As you know, my blog doesn’t violate any terms of service. Many of you have been following my blog for a long time now and can understand that it is a political blog that is published to inform the readers about the situation in Iraq and the shortcomings of the so called “Iraqi government.”

Mine is the first blog to have a section dedicated to visiting writers, who are encouraged and requested to read my blog’s own Code of Ethics before they send any contribution.

I have no idea what the reason is for not allowing me to write on my own blog. But what I know is that this couldn’t have happened without the intervention of the enemies of freedom of speech, which is one of America’s promises to the world. I am very disappointed with this matter and many ideas have crossed my mind, none of which has teased my brain or dedication with a “quit” advice.

There are people who are dedicated to silence the truth, and they exist everywhere in the world. We all know who they are in the American blogsphere. They do not comprehend the idea of people disagreeing their own thoughts and ideologies.

I’ve filed a request to review my blog. The website promised a review within two business days. That means the problem will be solved by mid next week. I will post my next entry as soon as I can.

If the blockage was not removed, I promise the readers that I will find another way to communicate with them and keep telling the truth as I see it, as long as I am alive. I did not come to The United States to be silenced. I could have stayed in Iraq if I wanted to give up. I have much respect for the idea of freedom of speech and I have enjoyed it so far. This country is the platform for people like me, who want to help the world understand its different cultures and backgrounds. If America denies me this right, then we have a bigger problem, which I will not exclude from my criticism.

I have long thought about a day like this, when my beliefs are challenged and my ideas and analysis of the catastrophe in Iraq has ruffled some feather. But I will not give up.

If you’d like to contact me, you can send me an email at 24stepstoliberty@gmail.com

Thank you for your support in advance.

Discrimination vs. Support

Although discrimination is something still existing in the United States, there are people who are working hard to be against that old disease that once shaped America.

Though I have not been harassed because of my Muslim and Arab identity since I came to the U.S. in 2006, I know I might come across such incidents. Yet after watching the video below, I now know there will be some people who will stand up against discrimination.

This is a bittersweet ABC Primetime video of how Muslims are being discriminated against in the U.S. and how there are other Americans who stand up against those who discriminate.

For more information, read the article posted on abc news website: Witness to Discrimination: What Would You Do?