"I just can not understand why the insurgents target the civilians. They are not security forces like us. They don't cause any harm to anyone. They just want to live"

        With thes words and with a strong will to control the tears, the policeman who escorted me to the scene of yesterday's explosion started the conversation. I couldn't give him any answer because the same question troubles my mind. The blast killed at least 16 people and wounded some 45. The death toll likely rose today.

        I walked slowly down the street which was, until the explosion a lively street filled with men, women and children. I saw some of them but they were still under the effect of the explosion. Their faces tell the story of ongoing pain and suffering of Iraqis.

        I took many photos of the place. I chose seven of them to tell the story of the ongoing pain.

    Aden Street, one of the main streets in Shaab neighborhood. The car bomb was parked near a small carpet shop. People who were close to the explosion were burned to death.

    This is the biggest piece of the car bomb that exploded. The rest of the car became shrapnel that killed innocent men, women and children. Their crime? They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.  

    Fruit and vegetables covered with the blood of the merchants and customers spread everywhere. the fruit are stained with the blood of innocents. Three different flip flops belonged to three people who are probably dead now. One is clearly for a young lady.

        The policeman told me that the metal gate of this closed store was destroyed by the body of a man that was blown into the corrogated iron by the blast.

     Sorrow and tears can not revive the loved people we lost or even the burnt fabric.

    The push cart which is used to carry fruit and vegetable carried tens of wounded people. Its the most popular ambulance in cases like these. It is handy and can carry more than one person. This cart will carry fruit and vegetable again soon.

    Iraqi blood spilt on the ground has become part of our life. Life goes on normaly

            Dreams are one way for man to improve his or her life. The biggest achievements started with dreams. The happiest moment for us is when our dreams come true.       

           One of my dreams was to see more than one party in Iraq and not to hear about people killed for political reasons as Baath Party used to do for about 35 years.

           Before 1979, Iraq was one of the best Arabic countries, people used to live a very good life. We used to have the best goods, the best factories and the best services but with the coming of Saddam to the presidency chair in 1979, everything changed. The man started his political life with an aimless war with Iran that brought nothing to Iraq but death and destruction. The war lasted eight years and Iraq lost about million men. We also missed the technological progress. After the eight years war, Saddam invaded Kuwait and the result was more death for men and children and a very hard long embargo that lasted until the US invaded Iraq in 2003. During the years of embargo, my dream was like the dream of the majority of my people. to get ride of Saddam who was the main problem of Iraq. With the need to work even when I was a student, I couldn't have any dreams but to live in a country without Saddam or Baath Party. When I left Iraq in 1996 to study my master degree in England, I was rejected by the British embassy in Jordan because I'm Iraqi. Once again, Saddam and his policy prevented me from making one more dream true. I didn't want to come back to Iraq and live again under Saddam's crazy laws. I decided to live abroad. I lived for more than seven years without visiting my family even for one time.

            When the US military started what they called Operation Iraq Freedom, I really felt so happy for one thing. I thought Iraq would be free again and we would have real government with politicians who really care about Iraq future and its people. I had a real big hope that services will be the best again and we would live happily again. I never thought that we would start killing each other for the sake of some strangers or to kidnap each other for money but I was completely wrong. I was sure that the American administration had planned very well for the stage after the war but I was wrong again. Nothing really changed in Iraq after six years. To be honest, we have one big change. Now we have hundreds of political parties that do nothing to Iraq and all they care about is their interests. After six years, the Americans approved that they came without any plan because most Iraqis are still poor and deprived from the simplest human rights. Iraqi governments and the American administration failed completely in putting Iraq once again on the right path. 

            I have to admit that after six years of the invasion, ALL MY DREAMS HAD GONE WITH THE WIND

            I always heard that hard moments are always long but I never imagined these moments would be so long that a short prayer would look like a life long prayer.        

            It was about 7 p.m when I started my prayers. few second later, a big bang shook me like a little bird. I'm so familiar with the sound. Its a sound of an explosion but this time its so strong which means it is so close to my family's house and more than that its so close to the mosque where my father, my uncle and all my neighborhood men pray. At that moment, There was nothing longer than my prayers which I wanted to finish it but it was very long. When I finished the prayers and while I was trying to go out, I heard a second explosion. OMG I'm sure many people died. I run quickly and I saw the smoke of the explosions. I started asking and the men in the street told me that two roadside bombs detonated. My neighbor who is an old women said "Laith, go and check for your brother). Sh wanted me to look for her son who is a real brother for me. I was trying to check weather the bomb was inside the mosque or not. Thanks God, its near the mosque. My other neighbor came out of her house crying and yelling "I lost my son, I lost my son" I tried to talk to her but she didn't listen to me and run towards the place of the explosion. Thanks God again, he was simply injured. I checked everything. I kept asking and I found out that only three or four people were injured. Only one man was seriouslyinjured. The Imam of the mosque used the loudspeakers asking everyone to leave home but again Iraqis never learn easily. The young men kept coming. I started shouting at them pushing them back. My uncle did the same and other men too.  

            It looks that the dream of living in peace in Iraq will not come true at least for the coming few years. The increasing violence during the last few days revealed the truth about the fragile security situation.

            Zen is the name of one of the main cell phone network company in Iraq. The word Zen means good. The name of the company is really attractive and gives a very good impression about the company but reality is completely different. The company which provides the communication services to most of the Iraqi provinces is one of the worst companies in the world. To call a friend, you have to try for more than two or three times and when you get him or her, don't expect to hear the voice because mostly the caller hears noise and strange sounds and all you get is loosing money from your credit.

            The company has a contract with the ministry of finance. One of the main points that had been mentioned in the joint press conference of the company with the ministry, the general director of the company confirmed that the company will provide the best quality of services to Iraqis. It looks that the man meant (the best worse services). People complain always and many TV channels made many reports about the services of the company. The ministry of finance announced it had fined the company and informed it to improve its services but the services got even worse.

             Day after day, Zen company proves it doesn't provide anything really ZEN but the name and the favor is for the very ZEN administrational corruption

            Today was one of the worst days in the life of the western side of Baghdad. An Iranian official who started his visit to Baghdad yesterday decided to visit the holy shrine of Imam Mousa al Kadhim in Kadhemiyah neighborhood. For the sake of the guest, all the roads were blocked and hundreds of different security forces spread everywhere. And for his sake also, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis couldn't go to their schools, offices and stores. For the sake of the guest, the taxi drivers could earn a penny to their families. For the sake of the guest, my uncle who suffers a heart failure and came from another province to go to a hospital in Baghdad had to make a long trip to reach the hospital and I don't know whether he caught his turn or not and for the sake of the guest,I had to pay extra money to the taxi driver to get me to the office because my driver couldn't leave his house.

            I don't know if the authorities and the governments in the world do the same thing when a guest visit their countries. As much as I know, the governments consider the comfort of their people a main job and priority but if the government doesn't care then who should? It would be really unacceptable if people have to stay homes and security forces block the roads for every guest or foreign official visit Iraq.

            I hope that our government's guest never come at day. I would really LOVE them if they visit us at night. I know our work as journalists will be so hard but at least we will be the only people who suffer because the majority of Iraqis will be home watching TV (if they have power)