The Baghdad Reunion

When it comes to vacations, I never say no. It has been six months since the last time I had a vacation with friends. I might have been lucky that I was able to do that when I was in Iraq last June by the time many other people were hardly leaving their houses to school or work.

The last trip I adventured was with my friends Ahmed and Safaa in Iraq. We went to Iraq’s Northern Kurdistan region where we had some of the best times in our lives. Mostly, it was a farewell trip. I decided to take the risk and have fun with my friends as I might not see them in my entire life again.

All that time, I was thinking about how my life was going to be in the US. Different thoughts came into my mind. The first one was how I am going to be a stranger in a new world that has a huge sensitivity against Arabs and Muslims.

When I left Iraq, I cried a lot. Not only for Iraq, but for myself. Everything around me started to change. No family, no friends, and no homeland to see. All faces become different since the airplane landed in Jordan. What eased the pain was Omar’s presence in Amman. We spent a great time together to overcome the sadness inside our hearts.

Shortly after I settled in Philadelphia, Jon, my American friend, came in Philly for a wedding of one of his friends. We met the next day of the wedding. At that day, he invited Omar and I to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with him and his family in Vermont. I didn’t know what Thanksgiving meant at the time but I knew it’s a holiday in which people serve turkey as a tradition.

Omar and I encircled November 23^rd in our calendars to make sure we don’t have other plans on that day. We made plans for the trip. Jon and I were in touch to make sure everything goes perfect.

Since this holiday is one of the biggest in the U.S., Jon advised me to buy the ticket earlier. So I bought it few weeks before the holiday to make sure I find a seat on the train. Since then, I started preparing for it. I didn’t know what to do. I was so excited, not only about having a vacation but about seeing my friends. Although I have a wonderful group of friends now in Philly but my Baghdad friends lie in a special part in my heart. They are not only friends. They are part of my life in Iraq. The part that is engraved in my mind.

I’ve been in touch a lot with my friend Jill since I came to the U.S. Hearing her voice makes me feel hopeful, strong, and willing to go on with everything that makes me succeed. She is so much like my sister in Iraq whom I terribly miss. Jill was invited by Jon as well as my former bureau chief in Baghdad.

On Tuesday November 21^st, I took my bags and went to the train station. I was very excited. The moment I entered the station, I received a text message from Omar saying his friend’s father was kidnapped. I was shocked! I thought it’s not the right time to hear bad news. I just needed to have fun, for God’s sake. As I read the message, million thoughts came into my mind starting from my neighbor who was kidnapped and then found tortured and dead. I called Omar. He was miserable. I tried to calm him down but in vain. It wasn’t only his friend’s father kidnapping but his brother who called him that day crying and pleading for help as well.

The train station was incredibly crowded. Neither I nor the people traveling with me found seats on the train. It’s the crazy holiday, one old woman complained as she was standing next to a young man in his seat looking at her and turning his face in dislike!

As I was making my way to find a seat after a 20-minutes standing, Omar called me. People started staring at me in daze as I spoke with Omar in Arabic. I stared as well and was about to say, “Why are you looking? I didn’t invade your country and abused your people!”. Oh well. I decided not to. I just wanted to have fun and ignore all those who looked at me as if I were an alien coming from another planet. I wonder when the Americans will get out of the bubble they live in.

I took the train to New Haven, CT where Jon lives. The plan was to travel to Boston to meet up with Omar, Jill and our friend and bureau chief. On the next day, we had lunch in a restaurant called “Louis’ Lunch”, a restaurant in New Haven famous for its hamburgers, which opened in 1895. The proprietors claim that Louis' Lunch was, in 1900, the first place in the United States to serve hamburgers as they are known today. Louis' Lunch refuses to sell a hamburger with ketchup or mustard. It's either cheese, tomato, or onion, or not at all. The Louis' Lunch hamburger is served on toast, not buns. As we were eating, one of the sign drew my attention. It read, “This is not Burger King. You don’t get it your way. You take it my way or you don’t get the damn thing.” It reminded me with a sign I saw in New York City last year when I was with Mad Canuck. The sign read, “Don’t even think of parking here.”!!

After that, we drove to Boston. On the way, two friends of Jon came with us. The trip took about two hours. During that time, I closed my eyes in the car to take a nap after a long day I had with Jon and his other friend exploring New Haven. As I closed my eyes, I thought about my family and other Iraqis. How many Iraqis were closing their eyes with tears falling on their pillows at that moment, I asked myself. I found no answer.

Finally, the reunion happened. We united again after a long time of nostalgia. I was very happy. I even forgot all the sad things at that moment. I felt I was in Baghdad, not in Boston. It was so weird to see them here.

Altogether, we went to Vermont where Jon’s family lives. Jon was driving while all of us chatted all the way to his family’s house remembering the old days in Baghdad with their sweetness and bitterness.

It was about 10:30 p.m. when I we arrived. We took our bags out of the trunk and marched towards the family house. As we stepped in, I noticed something familiar, the smell. It was like the smell in my house. With a big smile, Jon’s family welcomed us in their beautiful house. Dinner was served. We joined them eating a variety of delicious food.

The trip was long but I never felt tired. I was happy and excited. It was the very first thing that made me happy since I arrived in the States. After dinner, Jon directed us to our rooms. The room which Omar and I shared was his brothers’. A blue-colored square room decorated with pictures of him and his brothers playing hockey. A group of prizes were lined up on the bookcases and dresser marking the brothers’ achievements in sports.

Before we slept, Omar and I went to Jon’s room. It was his room since he was born. A nice small room that almost looks like his brothers’. I asked him to show us old pictures of him. He grabbed some photo albums. The three of us sat on the bed and saw the pictures of young and teenage Jon. We laughed as if we have never laughed before. Then Jon pulled a flute that looks like my father’s. He started playing. Silence followed. He played the Iraqi National Anthem. Omar and I looked at each other in happiness. “How did you do that?” I asked Jon happily. He smiled and didn’t answer. I couldn’t believe that this was not a dream. I couldn’t even imagine that three of us who used to laugh, joke, and sometimes fight in Baghdad were together again. It was such a nice feeling. I think I wouldn’t be able to be fair in describing it.

We went to sleep. I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep at first. I closed my eyes and a flashback of memories of my life with my friends at the office came into my mind.

The next day, I didn’t wake up early. I heard the sound of the anthem again. I immediately knew it was Jon. He was playing it at the door to wake us up. It was such a great start that made my day. I took a shower after Omar did and went down to have breakfast with the whole family. We had breakfast and then we started chatting to get to know each other.

Jon has such great parents. His father is exactly my father, an educated, calm man whom you like from the first word he speaks. His mother is so lovely. She reminded me with my mother, a smiling happy woman whom everybody loves. Jon’s sister, a public school teacher, is so friendly and his brother, a painter, looks like him a lot.

The weather was great. It was chilly but sunny. Jon, Omar, and our bureau chief and I decided to have a walk in the meadows that encircle the whole house. Jill was still asleep by that time. We put on our coats and went out enjoying the wonderful nature that almost looks like the nature in northern Iraq.

Unlike its overdeveloped neighbors to the south, east, and west, Vermont was a state of nature. The meadows were green despite the cold weather. The trees were lined up next to each other like a comb. The air was fresh and mixed with the smell of the grass and the leaves on the trees. I was walking joyfully. I wanted to dance, to jump and be crazy. I imagined my family and friends in Iraq with me. I wanted them there enjoying this beautiful piece of heaven. I loved everything there, even the green and black mail boxes that reminded me with the American cartoons we used to watch when we were kids. We returned back and saw Jill awake. So we decided to have another tour. This time, it was by car. We went to the downtown. We joked, laughed, and took pictures to record these wonderful times.

At lunch time, the house was amazingly crowded by friends and relatives. They were all lovely and friendly. When I was among them, I never felt I don’t know them. They were like my family. As we were having lunch, Jon’s father turned on the CD player and put an audio CD of Iraqi songs and music. Naseer Shamma playing his wonderful lute pieces and Kadhum al-Sahir singing happy songs. I found out later that he burned them on a CD from the internet specifically for us, Omar and me. “No, don’t sigh,” al-Sahir sang. “Laughter will be back in a while and the fire in your chest will quell.”

The song came at the right time. I felt a little bid sad as I heard the news of the car bombing in Sadr City and the tension that happened afterwards. I didn’t know about until a produce from the BBC radio called me and told me about it. I was so worried about my family. Jon’s father handed me the phone to call them and make sure they are OK. When I called them, they tried to hide their fears and asked me to enjoy my time and never think about what is happening there. It was impossible, of course. However, I felt relieved to hear their voices. I needed to know they were still alive and nothing bad happened to them.

It was the Thanksgiving night. Food was made joyfully by most of the family members during the whole day. Jon’s mother made the turkey. Before dinner, Omar lit the candles in the chandelier in the big room, which was built in the late 1700s. After that he brought his computer and made Jon’s entire family enjoy watching a slideshow of Jon’s photos with us in our Baghdad Bureau. As they sat lined up at the sofa and the floor, they stared and laughed out loud at the funny pictures that Jon and we took in the Baghdad Bureau. They were historical pictures of a group of friends going through happy and sad times.

At 5 p.m., we gathered in the big room. Jon’s father installed his high-tech camera and put it on a timer. We took our seats and the camera shot three photos of all of us. Before we dug in, Jon’s father gave a toast. He welcomed all the attendees-family and friends- and invited all of us to visit his wonderful house and family again.

After dinner, we enjoyed deserts while chatting and talking about different topics. Then, we went to the living room to watch TV. One of the channels was showing “Live from Baghdad”, a movie about how CNN crew covered the 1991 Gulf war in Iraq. Personally, I didn’t like the movie as there were so many untrue details in it like the information minister sipping tea with the CNN reporter who appeared smoking in Saddam’s palace before interviewing him, not to mention the painters drawing Saddam’s visage in the middle of the street. All these never happened because Saddam was very strict about such things.

The next day, we spent the whole day touring in the city. At night, we were divided into two groups. We went to the movies. Jill, two of Jon’s best friends and I watched “Babel” while Jon, Omar and our bureau chief watched “The Queen”. Tow days later, Jon, his sister and I drove back to New Haven while the others returned back to their homes by train, bus, and airplane.

It was such a wonderful trip. It was nice not only because of the place but because of the warmth and loveliness of all the people I met there. I will never forget it in my entire life.

baghdadtreasure@gmail.com

Not yet?!

It strikes me to see how the world has not realized yet that Iraq is already going through a civil war. Amidst all the bloodshed, politicians and officials show up on TV and say Iraq is NOT yet going through a civil war.

Kofi Annan has said publicly Iraq is teetering on "the brink of civil war". Most U.S. officials say that the violence in Iraq is called a sectarian strife and not a civil war. Only Iraqis themselves realized that what is happening now is no longer strife and the long-term unity they enjoyed before has no place among them anymore.

I don’t know how the U.S. national security adviser Stephen Hadley spoke on behalf of Iraqis few days ago. He said, "The Iraqis don't talk of it as civil war." Where did he get that from? He never asked me! He’d never been to Iraq. He represents his country’s views, not ours. So how come he speaks on our behalf?!

The uproar taken place in the Middle East became the center of attention these days. Maliki and Bush are going to meet up in Jordan. Talabani is in Iran discussing the same issue. But the solution for the real problem, which seems no one realized yet, is not by talking to neighbors. It is solved by talking to ourselves.

Iran and Syria are the first words Bush always says after the word “terrorism” when he shows up on TV with his useless remarks. Yes, these two countries are part of the problem but they are not the main problem. Let’s try to concentrate on what are the mean reason behind this civil war and try to solve them. Foreign fighters coming from Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iran are not the main reasons now. Have you read lately a foreign fighter blew himself up? No, you hear and Iraqi [Shiite or Sunni] blew up himself or shot someone dead.

I really don’t know why the U.S. administration does not want to focus on the real crisis instead of talking continuously about “terrorism”. It’s either they know the problem and don’t want to admit it [as they would look like losers] or they are trying to fool the American people by these slogans to ensure them that they are fighting “terrorism” by the time they increased it.

Now what is that internal problem? It is the Iraqi government. Yes, it is! You are going to say but it is elected. Yes, it IS elected. But have you asked the Iraqi people’s opinion of that government now? Did you hear how Maliki’s motorcade was attacked in Sadr City by people throwing stones? Who did that? Weren’t they the people whom he was elected by? Why don’t they like him now? Did you ask yourself why? They believe in their clerics militias now more than Maliki, his government and the parliament. Simply because Sadr and his militia are more powerful than Maliki. People always look for the powerful to be protected.

The government let the people down. Maliki is only a puppet and a mouthpiece of Bush. His government is only a face of fake democracy Bush claims he brought to Iraq. It is corrupt from head to toe. Militiamen are members of the security forces. They kill whoever they like and however they like, mostly by torturing the hostage first. They are not loyal to Iraq. Their loyalty is addicted to their clerics like Abdul Aziz al-Hakim and Muqtada al-Sadr.

What about the parliament? It is even worse than the government itself. Sunni politicians who were involved with insurgency-whether Iraqi or foreign- are no better than the Shiites who always defend their militias like the Mahdi Army and the Badr Troops. Well-known parliament members are known of their loyalty to these insurgents. The Iraqi Islamic Party, Adnan al-Dulaimi [who was behind Jill’s kidnapping], Salih al-Mutlaq, Mishaan al-Jubouri [whose banned channel broadcast footage of insurgency fighting in Iraq and songs of the former regime] and of course, Tariq al-Hashimi who is now the Vice President of the country.

What a blend of thieves, thugs and criminals running Iraq!

What about the secular politicians? Where are they? Probably enjoying the chilly weather in Britain or the U.S. using their second nationality. I used to like Allawi as he seemed to be a good leader. But where is he now? Why did he disappear? Where is Chalabi? Oh I forgot! He stole millions of dollars and went to enjoy them in his second country.

I exclude some secular members who really want to solve the problems but they are powerless among the hundreds of Shiite and Sunni fighting and hateful members. I’ve seen them arguing and exchanging insults when I covered some of their sessions in Baghdad. You may think this is democracy. If this democracy divides my country and kills my people, I don’t want it. Take it back and bring me back my life and my unified Iraq.

I do hope from the bottom of my heart that we revolt against this new, oppressive regime and restore our Iraq back. I know this would never happen because those who think like me are either killed by these militias and insurgents or had to leave the country after receiving death threats.

baghdadtreasure@gmail.com

Killing Laughter

This morning, I heard the news of the assassination of one of the funniest Iraqi comedians. It seems there is no place for laughter anymore, even when people are locked up inside their houses watching TV.

Here are the details:

BAGHDAD, Nov 20 (Reuters) - One of Iraq's best known satirists and broadcasters was gunned down on his way to work on Monday, his colleagues and the police said.

Waleed Hassan's "Caricature" sketch show was an unmissable part of weekend Fridays for Iraqis seeking a release in laughter from the blood and chaos around them. Hassan poked fun at sectarian violence, bickering politicians, power blackouts and all aspects of the turmoil that is daily life in Iraq.

He was found in west Baghdad with three bullet wounds to the head, said the Sharkiya channel. Hassan was a director of the station and also produced a political interview show for it.

As with other media, several journalists and employees of Sharkiya have been killed. Owned by a London-based Iraqi businessman it takes an independent editorial line, though many viewers see it as leaning toward minority Sunni Arab viewpoints.

"We feel we're all at risk," a senior journalist at Sharkiya told Reuters. "We all think of quitting the station."

Around the World

Last Thursday, I joined my friends from different countries in one of the most popular festivals in the university. As a member of the international group that sponsored the festival, I participated by representing Iraq.

International students who are members in the group represented their countries by presenting pictures, souvenirs and traditional food their countries famous of.

The festival was sponsored by students from Japan, Austria, Nigeria, Mexico, Bolivia, India, Australia, Poland, China, Hong Kong, The Philippines, Kenya, The Dominican Republic, and Iraq.

Student and faculty staff allover the university enjoyed the food, music, pictures and the information they learned from the international students.

Enjoy the photos.

Al-Qaeda Ally Wanted

Last Sunday, I read a transcript of an interview by al-Arabiya channel with Harith al-Dhari, an Iraqi Sunni cleric. Dhari, who heads the Muslim Scholars Association, one of the associations suspected of supporting terrorism, considered what al-Qaeda in Iraq is doing “resistance”. I stopped here and thought to myself what kind of a person considers al-Qaeda’s operations as such?

Asked if he considers what al-Qaeda is doing in Iraq is “resistance”, Dhari said, “yes, absolutely. [Al-Qaeda] and the other groups are doing the resistance operations in Anbar, Mosul, Salahuldeen, Kirkuk, Diyala, and Baghdad.”

In the same interview, Dhari attacked the Anbar tribes that are fighting al-Qaeda now calling them “road gangs who don’t like the resistance which defeated their crimes.” He also described these tribes as “weak groups”.

Since that Association was formed, I believed that this man and his gangs were behind most of the killings and kidnappings that started shortly after the invasion. The kidnapped western journalists, who some of them showed up at the Association Headquarters, is a fact that made me think twice about the kind of relationship between them and al-Qaeda. I finally discovered that when I was at their headquarters as I was waiting to interview Dhari Jr.

Unfortunately, no one was able arrest this poisonous man previously as there was no clear evidence of his involvement with such groups. But now and Few days after the interview, the Iraqi government happily seized the opportunity and issued an arrest warrant against Dhari who was accused of encouraging sectarian violence and supporting terrorism, represented by al-Qaeda.

Al-Dhari denied the accusations from Jordan, telling Al Jazeera English: "I'm accused of inciting terrorism in Iraq, however the real reasons for my arrest warrant is not this accusation."

"Everyone knows that me and the association with all its members call for peace, stability and reconciliation."

In my opinion al-Dhari should have been either arrested or killed immediately after what happened during the funeral of the slain journalist, Atwar Bahjat after the bombing of al-Askari shrine in Sammarra which triggered the civil war in the country. Atwar’s funeral procession through Baghdad was attacked in the area which Dhari and his tribe control. The procession was first attacked by a gunmen and then by a bomber. Three people died, all members of the security forces, compounding the anguish and bewilderment of Atwar’s family and friends at her killing a day earlier.

As a response to the arrest warrant, Tariq al-Hashimi, the country's Sunni Vice-President, condemned the arrest warrant saying "it is destructive to the national reconciliation plan".

In a statement, Al-Hashimi urged the government to cancel the warrant immediately!! Huh! This how our “elected” politicians denounce terrorism!!!

baghdadtreasure@gmail.com

Kadhum al Sahir - Baghdad don't hurt

To my beloved Baghdad...


The children of sad Baghdad are asking
For what reason are they being killed?
They are staggering on top of the ruins of hunger
They share the bread of death, then they die

God is Greater than the war’s destruction, Baghdad
And this unfair world full of hatred
God is Greater than those who start those wars on the innocents
And greater than all those blood traders
Baghdad don’t hurt…
Baghdad you are in my blood
Baghdad … Baghdad…

Shame on this civilized age… what a shame!
Has scaring nations become a slogan for glory and victory?
Has killing innocents become a sign of honor and pride?

God is Greater than the war’s destruction,
Baghdad And this unfair world full of hatred
God is Greater than those who start those wars on the innocents
And greater than all those blood traders
Baghdad don’t hurt…
Baghdad you are in my blood
Baghdad … Baghdad…

You are the path of the lovers, you are my wound
Leave your wounds on my shoulder and hug my small heart
The civilization will never live without a heart and conscience

God is Greater than the war’s destruction,
Baghdad And this unfair world full of hatred
God is Greater than those who start those wars on the innocents
And greater than all those blood traders
Baghdad don’t hurt…
Baghdad you are in my blood
Baghdad … Baghdad… Baghdad…

baghdadtreasure@gmail.com

The Iraqi Killing Fields

When I first watched the Killing Fields last year, I thought to myself if that is going to be our country’s fate. I wasn’t completely pessimistic as I am today but I had my fears.

It is unbelievable how things look exactly the same today. Several scenes in the movie horrified me. One of them was of the young and armed Khmer Rouge taking over the city. But there was a horrible scene which I hoped not to happen in my country. It was about the Khmer Rouge closing schools, forcing people to be illiterate, and killing whoever carries a book or a notebook. The scene starts with the fighters gathering children in new schools they formed. They taught them how to leave education and how to be separated from their families.

Here we are today. EIGHTY policemen, militias or whatever they are named broke into the Higher Education ministry in Baghdad abducting ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY people in 10 minutes.

The new Iraqi Killing Fields started killing education in Iraq.

I am completely shocked. I lost hope forever now. It is now officially the Killing Fields. It is exactly the same thing when the Khmer Rouge killed and destroyed schools and every aspect of education. I feel so miserable and unable to think. It is unbelievable how this country is dying. Education was one of very good things in Iraq. Students from other countries came to study there despite the sanctions that were imposed by the f****en UN. These thugs don't want this. They need to impose their own fanatic teachings.

These crimes aim at killing the ambition of young Iraqis who want to study abroad as well. The gunmen kidnapped employees of Scholarships and Cultural Relations Directorate. The institute is responsible for granting scholarships to Iraqi professors and students wishing to study abroad. It is a plan to kill the hope and ambition of being educated in the heart of every Iraqi.

I am so mad at the Iraqi government. I think the Prime Minister and his interior minister should resign immediately. This was an organized crime in an area where police and army are always present. I have been in that area hundreds of times before as it was near the place where I worked.

I am so desperate. I don’t know what would happen in the coming days. Everything positive has gone. Democracy and freedom killed every positive seed of hope inside our hearts. I hate Bush, I hate Blair, I hate all the American administration. They destroyed my country. They let thugs and thieves rule it.

You American and British people are also to blame for this mess. It is your silence and your support to these two criminals who once supported Saddam. Wake up and move from your chairs and sofas. Do something. Help my country which your countries destroyed. Try to do something before it is too late, if it is not too late.

Alas !!!!

baghdadtreasure@gmail.com