Iraqi bloggers at the end of 2006

What are Iraqi bloggers are saying at the end of the year 2006? Mostly, they are talking about the execution of Saddam. I posted this at Daily Kos, thought I should put it here too.

Aunt Najma, a teenager in Mosul, titled her piece Eid Mubarak. She blogs about the effects of the execution of Saddam.

At about 6 AM, I got an SMS from the US telling me that "Saddam has just been executed", I was very sleepy, could barely think, read it once, then twice, then WHAT!!?

Why now? Why first day of Eid? Why so early? Why no notice? I rushed downstairs, mom was praying the Morning prayer, the electricity was off, there was no way to confirm the news (except the radio, but no one thought of that). We were so angry, not for the fact that he was executed, but for how and when he was executed. I managed to sleep for few hours before waking up again for breakfast, I logged online to the BBC and Al Jazeera and knew the details. You see when asked why the execution was done on the first day of Eid, a member of the court said that Eid starts on Sunday in Iraq as I read on Al-Jazeera. This made me even angrier. Thanks to the new freedom, Eid starts on Saturday for Sunnis, and on Sunday for some of the Shiites, Monday for the others. Sunnis are Iraqis, and Eid DOES start on Saturday in Iraq.

Ishtar wrote his last piece before Saddam’s execution. He claims that the USA can restore some of it’s credibility by stopping the execution. Well, sorry Ishtar, they did not take your advice. At the top of his blog there is this quote: “Standing on the debirs of his house in Ramadi bombed by US forces a man was shouting on T.V.: “ Is this US democracy, I do not want democracy, I want to live, leave me alone.”

But, I think now, there is a golden chance in the hand of the US administration and forces In Iraq to improve its position among the Iraqis and the Arab world and prevent a disaster to take place which is to allow the execution of Saddam Hussein after this farce trail. If the Americans can behave in a wise way this time, they will gain alot among the Iraqi and Arab street but if they listen again to the same people who begged America to come and save them from Saddam regime and how they drag the US army to inbalanced battle, every month no less than 100 US soldier killed while these Iraqi officials either hiding in the green zone or in London or New York, the US will never recover from this fatal mistake. All the Iraqis now are expecting something very bad with the execution of Saddam Hussein even shiite because they know that this issue would kill the last hope they have in reconciliation and living together peacefully again.

Iraqi Konfused Kid is an Iraqi blogger that now lives in Amman, Jordon. He had mixed emotions from the execution of Saddam, and in a post yesterday he did a year review of his life. He is 21 years old and left Iraq because of the violence. Here’s the first post.

I woke up at 9, mumbled Happy-eids to parents, then headed straight to the TV...and I recieved the images...the first thing that struck me was how unbelievable this was...Saddam was a part of my everyday patterns as a human being, I woke up, ate, drank, shat, slept, and Saddam is the undefeatable tyrant that never dies. It was hard, hard, hard to know that Saddam is no more, he was arrested, humilitaed and sentenced to death and I didn't feel much - but to know that he is gone is very strange - He was a given fact of life! and now he's dead...This doesn't happen in the world that I normally inhibit...

I also must say that from all the people that ruled Iraq at any given time, I do not hate any of them as much as I hate Saddam Hussein - through his stubborn Great Leader complex he has made us suffer so much, and pretty much a lot of the blame for the distingeration of Iraq as a fabric can be laid squarely on his shoulders, but while I was seeing these images, I had to keep reminding myself how much I hated Saddam Hussein, because they were flat-out disgusting. The problem of our politicians is that they always have to ruin the good stuff with the bad stuff, Mowafaq al-Rubay'ie, the national security advisor, said that Saddam looked very weak and pathetic while he was taking his final steps, but in the images I watched he looked just as brave, magnificent and charismatic as ever, despite his great evils, I must say that Saddam Hussein is the bravest guy that ever ruled Iraq. The problem is that Saddam is an extremely charismatic figure, he can drive many people to inspiration and is simply the most bravest man of all his opponents, Muwafaq, al-Maliki, al-Jaafari and al-Hakim wouldn't stand for two seconds alone with this guy, they all ran weeping to Americans...It's just, unfair, that they should be sing-songing like this while not only are they as cruel as he, but they are nowhere as brave or influential as him.

And here is part of the post where he reviews the last year of his life, which included graduation and the tragic loss of four friends to violence.

This year contains the best day of my life: The Graduation Day, I have never felt such an exaltness and looseness in my entire life, I danced like crazy until i got too tired to stand up - maybe it's also because i felt very cool that day - Our costume was a Mexican Mariaachi, I was the only one with the long hair wig and the fake big moustaches, I was the talk of the town! I also wrote a song for the march and had the guys sing it, I felt very happy that day.
That day was June 5, 2006, six days later was the worst day of my entire life, my four friends were killed - for most people, graduation is a big thing, for me it didn't register much, because its joy was swiftly encompassed by the great sorrow that swallowed it - this event has changed my incredibly - I became very pessimistic towards Iraq's future and have now entirely different thoughts about my identity, before this year I used to think of myself as an:

1. Iraqi first, and most importantly
2. Arab second.
3. Muslim thirdly, not as important as the first two.

But today, I am:

1. Muslim first.
2. Arab second.
and I don't want to be an Iraqi, I didn't ask for being one in the first place.

…(snip) ……Let me detach myself and look at what I just wrote, you see how I have changed upside down, this is a moderate, kinda rational kid becoming more observant of his religion because of the violence, imagine what it does to those who have no education and mostly follow their emotions, and there are many channels by which extremism abounds....

Iraqi Konfused Kid did an outstanding video tribute to his four friends who were killed in a car bombing in Iraq. It is a look back on their lives and shows their youth, their exuberance, their creativity, their joy at graduation, and outright silliness. It is the kind of video that makes this middle-aged women say “aaahhh, youth!” and then be overwhelmed that their young lives were snuffed out so senselessly. It is heartbreaking. His four friends included Sunni, Shi’a and a Christian. It is totally a lie to say that the “Shi’a and Sunni have been fighting forever in Iraq” as I just heard on C-Span from John Edwards. He doesn’t know what he is talking about. In the urban areas, the various sects are very intermixed and intermarried. Furthermore, about 40% of Saddam’s former cabinet was Shi’a, and he had one Christian in a prominent ministry. This inter-sectarian fighting and violence is something that came about since the US/UK occupation of the country.

Truth-about-Iraqis also spoke of the execution and the possible aftereffects. He is decidedly anti-American and anti-occupation on his blog. He also feels that Sadr’s group and Hakim’s group are targeting all Sunnis, seculars and non-Muslims.

Saddam is dead. And Iraq is likely to die with him. He said Iraq is nothing without him and proving him right are all the sectarians routinely killing the country for the sake of foreign powers. In any case, Zeyad (Healing Iraq) gives us a picture of the future of Iraq even though he may not have intended to be a soothsayer:

>>"It utterly disgusts me that Sadr's supporters have infiltrated every level of the state, and that the witnesses, including Iraqi government officials, have made this look like a sectarian issue. They were doomed to repeat Iraqi history by hanging their former oppressor and labeling it as justice. In a perfect situation, Saddam's execution would have united Iraqis, but thanks to the actions of the new Iraqi rulers, it will only serve to divide further. I doubt any of them will prevail as much as Saddam did, though."

Like I said yesterday, this is the new Iraq? It is far, far worse than during Saddam's time. And this is just the beginning, I cannot stress that enough. It will simply get worse. Saddam's execution will be a footnote in the history of Iraq which has executed itself.

Zappy lives in Baghdad and he titled his blog entry “Zatti? Or the Idiots Guide of how not to execute a tyrant”. The word “Zatti” came from the BBC calling him Zatti instead of Zappy.

The best way to destroy a nation is per (divide and conquer) or in this case (divide and lets watch how many people kill each other, hehehehe).

No reasonable Iraqi could argue that Mr. Saddam was other than a complete Self centered Butcher, he represented no other than himself and who ruined Iraq with the help of the Hippocrates and henchmen. Now lets talk about ourselves, we Iraqi’s, are we innocent? I don’t assume that any Iraqi would say he wasn’t a victim, including the current democratic Iraqi government. Now, lets think a bit, shouldn’t we be better than our henchman? Did we learn anything from this very clear picture of History in the making?

Now lets look at the whole picture: He was executed on dawn of “Eid” that’s 30th of December 2006, all Muslims celebrated Eid with the EXCEPTION of the Iraqi government they celebrated NEXT DAY! So the First day of Eid Officially in Iraq was today. Clearly announcing that the government of Iraq does not represent Iraqi’s but only Shia Iraqi’s and I tell you Shia’s Iraqis are not represented by these butchers. Why was that? Simply because our democratic government was clarifying how biased they are, how sectarian they are, and finally how clearly they want to divide this country. This biased country has done what Saddam used to do. What they also want to do is simply stick Saddam to Sunnisim. This you hear by the BBC correspondent in Baghdad today on “have your say”. The Rope around Saddam is going to go around the Hippocrates, you’ll see. one by one. Oh and by the way they created a Martyr out of him.

Treasure of Baghdad has also left Iraq and now is in the USA studying. He titles his latest blog entry “Guilt” because of his feelings of guilt for being in a place where he can enjoy life and do normal activities – while his friends in Iraq are facing grave danger.

“What happened?”

“There were clashes in my neighborhood since the morning,” she said.

There was nothing new about this, but I why she said that. My heart pounded like a drum. I just didn’t want to hear that someone was hurt.

“No one was hurt. I am scared,” she said. “Armed men and interior ministry commandoes fought each other in our neighborhood all day. You can’t imagine how it was. It was hell.”

“Get the hell out of there,” I said.

“I am supposed to go to Jordan tomorrow but the roads are still closed. I don’t know if I am going to be able to get out of the house tomorrow,” she said.

I was speechless again, heartbroken, and unable to think. Here I am! I was having fun with my other friends here in Washington DC when she called me. Is it fair? No, it’s not! I hated myself at that moment. How could I do that while people I love are suffering? Isn’t this selfish? Yes it is.

My friend Ahmed called me few days ago. He was on the roof of the house trying to find a cell phone signal. The cell phones are ones of things that are deteriorating in Iraq although they arrived shortly after the invasion. He could not call me through the internet because he uses the dial-up service which is rarely functioning as most of the landlines are not working. There is no enough fuel anymore for the generators to run the operators and towers. Ahmed took the risk and called me at night as I could here the sound of shootings in the background. I told him I would call him the next day. I didn’t want him to die. He insisted. He was laughing hysterically. “Ahmed! I am not joking. Please go down stairs now. I can call you tomorrow,” I begged him to prevent any stray bullet reach him. “C’mon! It’s not the first time. Don’t you remember these things?!,” he said.

I didn’t say a word! Yes, I remember. Yes, I recall every hard time I went through with him. Is it just now that I feel it is dangerous? Yes, I remember being caught in crossfire. Yes, I remember how I survived car bombs and rockets explosion. His words triggered the past that is still seizing a huge part of my mind and heart. “How is everything,” I asked him then thought what a stupid question I asked. “Thank God! I am still alive,” he said stressing on how staying alive is the only thing people want these days. No other things or aspects of life are needed anymore. They just need to stay alive even if it is with suffering.

Chikitita, a women who blogs from Baghdad, took a different track. She is very much missing her two older siblings this EID. Since she has cut herself off from the world, she may not know about Saddam’s execution.

Some people are born to certain privileges others do not have. Mine were the most precious of the lot. I opened my eyes on two little bodyguards, who were brought to this world few years before me. Mum never recalled any incident of them treating me like an unwanted new comer; on the contrary, their priority was how to provide enough protection for me lest they'd be berated for not keeping their eyes peeled. I was so lucky for having them around, but I'm not sure I was appreciative of their presence; I used to mumble about silly things like why doesn't brother pour the tea himself and I hated sister for asking me to do the dusting. But, by and large, I have been so grateful to God for giving me those two considerate people, who would never have a piece of candy unless the three of us share it.

Yesterday marked the fifth Eid in a row without my brother and second without my sister. My plans for this holiday were clear and simple: turn off the mobile phone, disconnect the landline, not open any e-cards and if I was caught online I'd say it point blank once and for all, "No Eid wishes for me please!" My siblings were the reason behind the festive spirit, now that they're gone, why should I bother. Instead, I keep humming with a song I once heard on a minibus radio:

"Start counting and I will count with you,
who has been through more pain.

Since the age of seven, my heart has been aching.
O they're gone; my loved ones are gone,
They're gone and won't be back."

But I want them both back.

“I Miss Iraq” is a young Iraqi doctor who left Iraq recently, and writes a post in Arabic about Saddam. I cannot translate, so I have copied a comment from his blog:

I feel the same. This new government is insisting on insulting and hurting its people whether they were suni or shai by making a killer look like a Martyr. They just twisted history with their stupidity and made us feel this way. The way they handled the whole thing is so ugly that I don’t want to think of what's coming.

Raghda is a young teenager who has moved out of Iraq with her family because of the violence. Until recently, she lived in Baghdad. She has this to say about the execution of Saddam:

Today is the first day of Eid, the day which used to be the happiest to me for years till the war started and there were almost no Eids any more, but this Eid was the saddest, I waked up at 9 am and was shocked when I knew that Saddam Hussein has been executed at 6 am on the first day of Eid, what is this? Couldn’t they wait for a few days till the Eid ends, I know that Saddam has done some bad things and I even don’t like him that much but he was the president of Iraq for 35 years, the man who could make life in Iraq possible and he shouldn't be treated like this. I left Iraq to keep my self form getting hurt but it seems that it is not working because I am still hurting deep in side... Sorry for the sad post but I had to say some thing about Saddam's execution, but even so I wont forget to say HAPPY EID.

Khalid, an Iraqi blogging living in Amman now, is from a (very common) mixed family of Sunni and Shi’a. He has written about how Saddam needed to be tried for his many other crimes that were clearly not sectarian crimes.

Saddam was a dictator that would kill whoever opposes him, and would award whoever is loyal to him, he killed both husbands of his two daughters who also happen to be his cousins [two sunnies, his own blood] when they turned against him, and at the same time, you can take a quick look at the 56 cards of the most wanted Iraqi officials that the occupation distributed couple of years ago [remember it?] and you will notice that many of them were Shea! It's only fair that Saddam is questioned about all his crimes against all Iraqis, all Iraqis. Executing him after the Dijel trial only is nothing but a political statement, just so the Media can say: Saddam was punished for killing 148 SHEA, just another cheap shot to confirm the first story of "liberating poor Shea from the oppression of Saddam and Sunna".

Saddam, have killed thousands and thousands of Kurds and of Sonna, of Christians and all other groups living in Iraq, and It's only fair that he is questioned about all those, all the crimes he made against Iraqis.

Back in the nineties, must have been around 1995 or so if I recall right, Saddam executed a number of Baghdad's wealthiest merchants and took over all their possessions because he accused them of being a reason behind some of the economic suffering of Iraqis [by doing certain trade tricks to increase prices maybe? By monopolizing food and goods? Something like that] and left them hanging in the streets of Baghdad. Now I bet you haven't heard of that have you? Why? Because they don't have a label! They are not "poor Shea" or "poor Kurds" they are just Iraqis, and being Iraqi isn't good for the occupation's propaganda, you need to be Shea or Kurdish so that you fit in their propaganda stories of going to Iraq to liberate a certain oppressed sect of Iraqi people.

Raed is Khalid’s brother and he now lives in the United States. His last blog post of the year also covered Saddam’s exectution.

Saddam was given the chance to look like the calm and brave leader who didn’t fear death, and who claimed to love and defend Iraq and the Islamic nation until the last second. At the same time, his executers, hiding their faces, demonstrated themselves as vengeful thugs supported by the occupation and representing only their political party and sects.

It takes a lot of stupidity to lose moral authority to a former dictator with a noose around his neck. It takes a lot of stupidity to turn Saddam's execution to an event dividing Iraqis furthermore instead of uniting them. It takes a lot to turn Saddam from a former dictator to a symbol of resistance and pride.

Faiza is a middle aged women who lives in Amman now. She originally was from Baghdad. She is the mother of both Raed and Khalid, so nearly the whole family blogs. Her latest blog post is in Arabic, so I will present she next-to-last post. She is deeply concerned about the welfare of the Iraqi people, and she is working with NGOs to try and rebuild her country. She has taken classes in peace studies and reconciliation.

These days, the feast are drawing near, but my heart is sad… I am not the same person I was some years ago, my way of thinking changed a lot, and even my heart is not the same…

these days, my heart and mind are busy thinking about helping the Iraqi families which suffer a lot of disasters; there are families who lost their provider, or lost the sons, or lost the whole house and are living in a tent waiting to return home, families who have a wounded or a handicapped person without treatment, for there is no one to pay the costs of treatment. There are families who have nothing to eat, who do not have the bread of their day… There are Iraqis still in prisons and detention centers; men and women, waiting for someone to take care of them, and help release them…

Nabil is recently graduated from a Baghdad high school and is now trying to immigrate to New Zealand. He wrote his latest blog post about the execution, and the one before that was about a car bomb going off on the street where they live. He has pictures of this bombing on his blog.

I think the Iraqi government has taken this day to carry out the vedrict to revenge to themselves and to attack sunni community in an indirect way, because today was only the sunni's Eid, not the shiite's Eid. They were eagred to execute him as soon as they can, to insure their wicked sick minds that the idea of Saddam coming back to power will be terminated, though they know that this won't happen even if he remained alive. Anyway, carrying out the verdict will not solve anything, and will not make the security situation any better, it will only make it worse, and by this bad timing they attacked an important sect of the Iraqi people, and I don't think that this sect will remain harmless to what they've did.

Just how bad is it in Iraq? Well, a great number of Iraqis have taken to having their names and phone numbers tattooed on their bodies to help in identification if they should turn up dead. This is pretty significant because tattoos are against the teachings of the Islamic religion. This is not from an Iraqi blogger, but a report from Voices of Iraq news service:

"There was no word about them and we could not even find their bodies," he said, adding "all male members of the family reacted by having their arms tattooed with their personal data, which was the least we could do." Osama Khalil, a day laborer, said there were bodies that were not decapitated but had their faces disfigured with nitric acid. "The fear conquering our hearts made us think of tattoos to use as a means of identification," said Khalil.

BONUS: Iraqi folk music performed by two Iraqi bloggers. (Sorry, I cannot translate. Great music though! It is done by Iraqi Konfused Kid and Nabil.)

Happy New Years Everyone! Let's hope it is a better year than the last six have been.