To enter, live and sometimes to leave Fallujah you have to have a Fallujah resident badge issued by U.S. marines.

To drive your car inside Fallujah your car must have a badge that carries the drivers' photo and other details.

The city is divided into cordoned neighborhoods, one entrance and one exit for each neighborhood. Entrances to the city are closed by sunset. To enter the city: Badges, x-ray, cars and individuals to be searched. Entering the Green Zone is easier than entering Fallujah and I am entering both Red and Green Zones, as many call them, for the last four years.

You can not invite your friends to the city and you cannot go to a visit outside the city without making sure you will be back on time or to stay out of the city. To be fair there are things are getting better in Fallujah in certain aspects and in other fields are getting worse.

Few days ago I had to renew my badge that expired on July 4, 2008. As usual I went to one of the entrances and after two hours it's my turn. Three soldiers, three computers, Iraqi interpreter in uniform and two AC units, it was heaven compared to those who live outside.

A man beside me wished he can move his family to this wood made room. No big deal and nothing up normal except as I was looking to my badge expiry date, it is after two years! The badges we used to get were one year long.

It is good I won't have to be waiting in this line for two years to come but what I heard from people about the two years badges was true.

We are to live in this prison for more two years.

If the checkpoints are to be removed, Al Qaeda will be back, the officials and people are afraid. If they are not removed life continue to be a prison.

If I was to give one advice to anyone who has the power to make a change I will remind him/them: Al Qaeda imprisoned people, killed, tortured, oppressed and gave nothing but misery and death. Look to yourself: are you imprisoning people, killing, torturing giving misery and death?

To win peoples' hearts be brave enough and show them your will to be a life maker not death maker. Ease the conditions of entering and living in Fallujah camp and I will not say city any more, and make people's life easier, putting in mind trying to keep them safe, and if Al Qaeda disrupted your efforts people will hate them more and will be on your side.

Al Qaeda is an ideology that cannot be defeated by arsenal of weapons. It is an ideology that promote for death. Defeat that ideology by a better ideology that people might follow not by weapons, an ideology that promotes for life.

Few roads were re-opened inside Fallujah camp, and at least one major checkpoint inside the city was removed. Bridges are being built and other good things but remember no one can live in a golden cage, and Fallujah now is a cage yet not golden.

Why Fallujah? What is the importance?

It is the city where the government and the new "democratic" system can say the ideology of the Baath party was wrong, the ideology of terrorists brought destruction and was wrong.

Not mentioning the destruction because of military operations in 2004.

Instead of taking the whole city residents to prison the military made the city itself as a prison.

Sorry again I used city to describe Fallujah, I should've said prison or camp.

Destruction was brought to the city by everyone and here it is a chance to change all of this. Be brave and give life.

I will tell you about these badges after two years, for hope has become a myth after all the mistakes we have seen.