February 06, 2012

Big Day in My Neighborhood

Last Saturday was a big day in our street because it witnessed one of the important changes in the life of all the families in the street. Mohammed, the owner of the private generator had to move his generator to another location after he got a warning from the owner of the land where he used to put his generator. The landlady told him that he can’t any more use her land.

The work started since 8 a.m. Members of the families who subscribe came to the location and started detaching their cables. It’s not easy to detach a cable that passes over many houses and electricity poles. The length of some cables is over 100 meters belong to families live in other streets.  After more than four hours of hard work, so many people took their cables while others gave up and left the mission to the owner of the generator. To make things worse, the owner of the generator told us that he needs two more days to re install the generator in the new location. All the men in the place were shouting and complaining because two days without electricity means extra expenses for all the families because they must use their small private generators. The only man who was happy that day is our neighbor who sells gasoline. Many families sent their kids to buy 5 liters of gasoline for the home generator.  Shouting and screaming ended with cursing the government which failed even after eight years to provide electricity in spite of the billions of dollars spent during more than eight years. In my neighborhood, having the national electricity power for ten hours a day is not more than a dream.  In the best circumstances, we have it for Seven hours a day makes life very difficult especially in winter. For example, waking up early morning and planning to have an early bath is not always a doable dream especially for those who live with big families like me.

One of the angry people shouted “why does the government pay budget for the ministry of electricity?  Why does it pay salaries for unproductive employees?” and finally he asked simply “why don’t they give us the money to manage our electricity problem instead of wasting money?” The last question was the most important one for me. It reflects clearly the disappointment of Iraqis. Obviously, we don’t trust our government and our politicians in general because after even after eight years of collapsing Saddam’s regime, our politicians failed in everything. They failed in providing services, they failed in forming a real national government, they failed in protecting Iraq and they failed in saving Iraqis lives. They succeeded only in one thing. They perfectly succeeded in dividing Iraqis.

January 14, 2012

Blood River Continues

One more bloody day in Iraq and this time in Basra province south Iraq. Medical sources said that at least 53 people including kids, women and security forces were killed and about 140 others were wounded in a suicide attack. The attack took place on Saturday morning while Shiite pilgrims were walking towards a mosque in west Basra province. Security sources confirmed that the suicide bomber could pass the checkpoints with a faked police ID and when he reached a crowded check point, he blew himself up among the crowds. The attack is the second big attack within less than ten days. The first attack was in Nasiryah province in south Iraq where a suicide bomber killed 38 people and wounded over 70 others.

When I saw the pictures of the explosion on TV, when I saw the weeping mothers, the crying children and the people who were running everywhere looking for their relatives, I couldn’t stand the scene and I changed the channel. When my wife tried to ask me about the explosion, I interrupted her and asked her never to ask me about anything. It looks that eight years of work with press and going to dozens of explosions scenes had filled my heart with pain and sorrow and there is no more place for any news pains.  

The attacks come during a very critical and strained political situation. The crisis between the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki and his political competitors is increasing. The political parties failed until now in holding a meeting they were talking about for weeks. The shadow of the civil war is growing bigger and the victim will be always Iraqis. Iraqi blood is always the cheapest fuel for this political fight and our politicians proved with no doubt that we are not even on the list of their concerns. their main concerns are power and personal interests. The only thing they do in such incidents in expressing their deep sorrow and condemnation which can't bring back the innocent victims to life or heal the deeps wounds of the hearts of their families.

January 10, 2012

The Universal Imam Hussein

                In the history of humanity, there are some events changed the life of nations and societies. The battle of Taf where Imam Hussein was killed with his family and supporters more than 1300 years ago is one historical event that so many people including western intellectuals who studied the Islamic history appreciate and consider one of the biggest event in man history because Imam Hussein with only 72 loyal followers faced over 30000 soldiers and they were killed defending human rights and justice.

 Next Saturday will be the Arba’inya visit when Shiite Muslims go to Imam Hussein’s shrine.  Arba’inya means the forty. According to the Islamic historical calendar, the heads of Imam Hussein and his followers were taken to the Amawi Caliph Yazeed in Damascus which was the capital of Islamic nation during that time. After forty days, the heads were brought back and buried with the bodies in Karbala

For generations, Muslims used to commemorate the anniversary of the Arba’inya by walking from everywhere in Iraq and Arab land to the holy shrine in Karbala in spite of many kinds of danger basically death.  Many rulers tried to prevent people from going to Karbala by many ways.  During the Abbasian era which lasted for over a century, the caliphs imposed taxes to prevent people from going to but people paid happily. When they found out that money is not enough to stop people, they ordered to cut one hand from every pilgrim but again, they failed because people gave their hands. At the end the authorities ordered to kill one from every ten pilgrims and one more time, they failed because sacrificed their souls. During the modern history, things didn’t change a lot. In Saddam’s era, Arba’inya visit meant certain death. Even after 2003, the situation stayed the same. The pilgrims are still a target but this time not for the authorities in Iraq but for the Islamic extremists. The only change was the method. Instead of cutting the hand of pilgrims or killing one of ten, the insurgents chose to kill the biggest number of pilgrims by car bombs, suicide bombers and even poisoned food and drinks. Thousands of men, women and even kids were killed by brutal attacks in all the Shiite cities just because they love Imam Hussein. In fact, the attacks targeted even the Shiite people in others countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan.  But did the extremists succeed? One more time, the answer is no.

Two nights ago and while I was watching one of the Shiite channels, I saw pilgrims from all over the world walking to Karbala challenging explosions and death.  The reporter talked to some of them and I found out that there are pilgrims from Kenya, India, Canada, Spain, Germany, Afghanistan, Pakistan, U.S.A and many other foreign countries in addition to others from many Arabic countries especially Gulf countries.  One of the pilgrims said he is an American citizen came from Washington DC. He was carrying a banner on which a portrait of Imam Hussein was drawn with a sentence saying (Labbayk Ya Hussein= At your service Imam Hussein). He said he doesn’t care about death because he learnt what sacrifice means from Imam Hussein. Another pilgrim from Bahrain said dying while walking to Imam Hussein is an honor he wishes to gain. Local officials in Karbala province expect the total number of pilgrims to pass 17 millions. People who live on the way to Karbala province provide all kind of services to pilgrims like food, drinks, places to sleep and even medicine and massage for the pilgrims who come from far distances.

Imam Hussein anniversary is not any more an Iraqi anniversary. It became a universal issue because as so many intellectuals say Imam Hussein sacrificed for humanity all over the world.

LABBAYK YA HUSSEIN

January 05, 2012

The Fuel of the Political War

    One more bloody day in Iraq. One more day of wailing and tears. More kids joined the very long list of orphans. More families lost their sponsors and joined the world of poverty. 

    Over sixty innocent people were killed by successive explosions by car bombs and suicide bombers in Baghdad and Nasiriyha a province in south Iraq Thursday morning. The explosions didn't target the (occupation forces) as those who used to claim they fight to liberate Iraq because these forces left the country. Moreover, the explosions didn't target any kind of security forces. They purely targeted civilians. In Baghdad, the explosions targeted daily laborer in Kathemiyah neighborhood in northwest Baghdad and Sadr city in the eastern side of the capital while the suicide bomber in Nasiriyah province targeted Shiite pilgrims who were commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein. The only fault of the killed and wounded people was being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

    The explosions are clear reflection of the strained political situation and the continuous fight between the political parties over power which is ongoing for over eight years and doesn't seem to end soon.

    As an Iraqi citizen, I wouldn't really care about our politicians and their fight because I never felt for a moment that any of them represents me or any regular people but the only thing that pushes me to care is the fuel of this fight. Since the political fight ignited between the Iraqi politicians, poor Iraqis were always the fuel that inflames it.  Hundreds of thousands were killed or missed since 2003 and God knows when the bath of blood would stop in my bleeding country. Prayers of mothers, fathers and sons couldn't stop the blood shedding because their political brothers always pray for more blood for political gains since fuel is always available and cheap as they believe.

January 02, 2012

He IS NOT from MY PEOPLE

    It is very well known in any democratic country adopts the parliamentary system that a lawmaker is a representative of all people not only those who voted for him but it looks that this principle is not applied in Iraq and it might need to be approved by our lawmakers first .

    The story began when I went to the parliament with my colleagues Roy and Sahar to interview some lawmakers. An hour later, we met in the office of the committee of security and defense because Sahar and Roy wanted to interview a member of the committee. When the man came, he took my colleagues to his office for the interview while I stayed in the reception of the committee waiting for them.

    While I was waiting, I saw an officer who came to complain about sending him to retirement. He was talking about his achievements in the fight against the insurgents group and how he refused a $ 5 million bribe to release Qaida members. He was asking about the reasons of sending him to retirement although he is not old. While the man was talking, a female lawmaker came carrying some two requests. She asked the secretary of the committee to check them. It was so easy to tell that she is from one of the Northern provinces from her accent. The man told her that he can help her only with one of the requests because there are some certain rules and instructions he can't break. He showed the lawmaker the orders issued by both the committee and the ministry of defense. At the end of their conversation, the lawmaker said "any way, I don’t really care. he is not even from My People. He is from your People". She made her comment and left. We were about six men in the room and we all couldn't believe what we heard. The secretary of the committee said " Do you believe this is the way a lawmaker talks! She should represent all Iraqis and defense their rights."

    Even after eight years of what so called FREEDOM and even after three elections, Iraqis are still loyal to sect and race more than being loyal to Iraq and it seems that we will need more time to change the sick mentality of race and sect and move to the mentality of the country.

December 31, 2011

SMS from the Iraqi Prime Minister

"We are all for Iraq. Glory and honor to people. I congratulate you and our proud Iraqi people for this historical day. With my love and respect to you and your family. Your brother Nouri al-Maliki"

    This is the full transcript of the SMS I received from Zen Mobile Company which sent it to all its subscribers. The SMS is a congratulation SMS sent by the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Kamil al-Maliki to the Iraqi people for what is called (the Day of Iraq) referring to the 31 of December which represents the official end of the US forces withdrawal from Iraq according to the agreement signed by the Iraqi government and American administration in 2008.

    I don't know why Mr. Maliki sent this SMS and whether he really believes that this day deserves to be named (the Day of Iraq). For the first moment, the SMS gives the impression that the withdrawal of the American forces is the key to solve all the problems that appeared after the U.S invasion in 2003. But is that impression right? Is the American presence is the only problem of Iraq????? Do the Iraqi political blocs really care about Iraqis?

    During the eight years of the American military existence in Iraq, the American administration and military committed many mistakes. One of the biggest mistakes was the idea of partnership government. This kind of ruling system brought nothing to Iraq but sectarian parties that look only for the interests of their members. It also created a very weak parliament with lawmakers who vote for the interests of their parties regardless the interests of Iraqis.

   But, if the system is not suitable for a country like Iraq that embraces many races and sects, why the parties don't work to create or adopta different ruling system that guarantees the rights of Iraqis and improve their life? The only reasonable answer for this question is unfortunately is because the Iraqi political parties never tried to find a substitute. The best evidence is the complete negligence of approving a law of the political parties. The other clear evidence is the failure of the parties that form the current government to agree about the ministers of the security minister.

    As a result for this simple conclusion, I believe that the Day of Iraq is not the day of the American forces departure. It's the day when the Iraqi parties think about Iraq and Iraqis regardless their sects and races.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE  

December 30, 2011

Farewell Baghdad Bureau

    Today, Friday the 30 of December 2011 was one harder days in my life. With the end of the farewell party of NPR's, our partner in the building, McClatchy's bureau presence in Iraq officially ended after almost nine years since the US invasion in 2003. Our smiles, jokes and laughs hided our pains and sorrow for the breaking down of McClatchy family in Iraq.

    Today witnessed the end of years of hard work which was the only kind of work we learned to do in McClatchy because we were always looking for the truth to give it to our readers. I don't know how to describe my feelings and I have to admit this is the most difficult blog I ever wrote. During the period I worked with McClatchy, I used to spend time with my colleagues more than I do with my family and even in my days off, I used to keep in touch with them. We faced dangers together, We shared happiness and sadness, pains and joy.While life was so difficult in 2005, 2006 and 2007 because of the sectarian violence, we refused to be part of the fight and insisted to be only Iraqis regardless any other names.  One of the most difficult things to talk about is the people whom I worked with. I can't forget my Iraqi brothers and sisters who supported me during my first days and our American colleagues whom I wish to meat again.Nancy Yousif, the first bureau chief I worked with and her big support and help when wrote my first story about the houses swapping during the sectarian violence in 2005 and 2006, Buck my great teacher who taught me how to tell political stories by writing about daily life issues, Leila Fadil, our former bureau chief and my daily discussions with her, Hannah Allam, my dear sister who is always close to help and so many other reporters whom I need long time to talk about all the great things they did.

At the end of my very short blog, I want to thank all McClatchy reporters who helped us in telling the story of life in the new Iraq.

December 29, 2011

Iraq At The Crossroads

It hasn't been two weeks since the American military pulled out of Iraq. But it is clear that Iraq is at the crossroads.

At this point in time Iraq can go either way: towards building a democracy – or the other way, towards a "strong man" government, where decision making predominantly lies with one man – In this case Maliki. And the evidence on the ground- unfortunately – favours the latter.

The situation now: The two most senior Sunni politicians are "in trouble". The first, VP Hashimi, is accused of involvement with "hit squads" according to "confessions" aired on state TV approved by Maliki himself. He has fled to Kurdistan region where he is demanding to stand before a neutral tribunal. And the other, Deputy PM Mutlag, has been relieved of his duties by the PM because he publicly accused Maliki of consolidating personal power and failing to deliver services to the people after more than six years in office. Mutlag's deposition is pending the approval of the parliament. When asked, in a press conference, what would happen if the parliament did not vote to depose Mutlag, Maliki said, "There's no problem – He is on open leave until further notice."

A politician in Maliki's own National Alliance told McClatchy yesterday that Maliki holds "complete" sway over the Supreme Court. It was the Supreme Court's "interpretation" of the constitution that enabled Maliki to retain his position as PM and form a government after the last elections, although Iraqiya bloc had the highest take. It was also through the Supreme Court that Maliki all but stopped the legislative powers of the parliament by its "interpreting" the constitution to say that legislation can only stem from the executive branch (cabinet and presidency) and that the parliament could only make "suggestions".

The PM, last year, made a move to put the independent establishments under his authority, also by exercising influence over the Supreme Court to "interpret" the words of the constitution to say that the "independent" establishments are indeed "independent" in their work – BUT should be "linked to" and "supervised" by the government. These establishments include the High Electoral Commission, The Supreme Audit, The Integrity Commission among others.

Little by little, free thinkers and journalists who, for a little while, were able to speak out and criticize fearlessly are becoming silent – or conformists. And the government is making it very difficult for the foreign media to be present by giving them a really hard time on visas and residency permits. And if the international media should give up and leave – we will have no more neutral witnessess.

Taking a second look at the points above – I am alarmed indeed.   

November 10, 2011

Strategic Strawberries

U.S. EMBASSY BAGHDAD
Office of the Spokesman
_________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                         NOVEMBER 9, 2011
 
More Profits For Iraq’s Strawberry Farmers Thanks To USAID Program
 
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Business is flourishing for some of Iraq’s strawberry farmers thanks to higher-yield varieties and new growing techniques provided by the U.S. government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The success of this program is an example of U.S.-Iraqi cooperation, under the auspices of the Strategic Framework Agreement, to support domestic agricultural production in Iraq.

Since the program’s inception, the two most successful farmers have expanded their strawberry operations and have substantially increased their income.

___________________________

Hurray! No more worries in Iraq!

.... Really!

May 12, 2011

Facing Death

    I don't know how to start this blog. I am still under the effect of the shock that happened to me only less than an hour ago. I was about to lose my life and my lovely son because of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. 

    I used to bring sweets to my family every Thursday from a close bakery on the main street. Today I did the same thing but I went only about half an hour ago. My son Haider insisted to join me so I took him. In my way back home and Just less than ten steps from the sweets bakery, I hear sound of shooting and I thought that some kids are playing with fireworks. I was shocked to know the issue is bigger than my simple mind. I saw by my own eyes two young boys covering their faces with black scarves holding two pistols and shooting a broker inside his office in a very cool blood and walked away.

    At that moment, I was only thinking about my son so I covered him with my body and kept him behind me while I was looking at them walking to the other side calmly. My son was shocked and asked me innocently "what was going on dad" and I told him its only some kids who are playing with fire work. When they left, I found out that the man was injured in his shoulder and I saw him after second ina taxi going to the hospital. 

      I came back home thinking about what I just saw. I couldn't believe my eyes. Dozens of questions came to my mind at one second. What if I were in front of them? Would they shoot me? Would they shoot my son? Why did I bring my beloved son with me? OMG. I don't even want to think about that at all. Among all the questions came a real big one, Why I am still in Iraqi while I can live somewhere else?? At the end and when I couldn't answer any of my questions, I remembered that this is my third facing with death and Thanks God I am still alive. the first one was in 2005 when a car bomb detonated in a place I always pass through and the second time when a mortar shell fell near the bus I was in while coming to work while today is the third one. I don't know when I am going to face it one more time and I don't know if I would survive or not.