.Five Years on ... Lifetime for Iraqis
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I wasn’t prepared for what I read, couldn’t even believe that I read it correctly and that it could be our fate as well. His words shock, but I found them so real. It was a blow, a reminder, and a desperate call.
While waiting for some friends at the coffee shop this morning, I browsed the internet in search of news, maybe hopeful ones. Yet, one article took me thousands of miles away, to Iraq. The article was about the 33rd anniversary of the start of Lebanon’s civil war. In a televised speech, Lebanese Prime Minister, Fouad al-Sanyoora, said, "Today, after 33 years of wounds, we are still suffering and we haven't recovered from its effects, pains and memories."
I took a sip from my coke and leaned back on the chair and gazed off nowhere in particular. His words took me 17 years back. I was in a taxi cab with my mother, shortly after the 1991 U.S. led war destroyed our country’s infrastructure in response to Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait. My mother was still hopeful that the destroyed buildings we passed by would be rebuilt and Iraq would restore its power and life. The cab driver sounded pessimistic. I was only 11 years-old then and had no idea how cruel life could be. He told my mother, “We could easily rebuild the buildings and the bridges, but how are we going to heal people’s wounds?” Seventeen years passed and his words still ring in my mind.
It was different. My mother was right. Things got better in terms of buildings and the cab driver was right as well. But that was not a civil war and things were not as bad as they were during Lebanon’s civil war. Now it is. Chaos, blood, refugees, occupation, revenge … But it’s been only five years. Would it continue to fifteen more years like how it happened in Lebanon? I think it would. All politicians are caring about is their benefits and loyalty to their religions, ethnicities and sects rather than the country itself."
Treasure of Baghdad
I wasn’t prepared for what I read, couldn’t even believe that I read it correctly and that it could be our fate as well. His words shock, but I found them so real. It was a blow, a reminder, and a desperate call.
While waiting for some friends at the coffee shop this morning, I browsed the internet in search of news, maybe hopeful ones. Yet, one article took me thousands of miles away, to Iraq. The article was about the 33rd anniversary of the start of Lebanon’s civil war. In a televised speech, Lebanese Prime Minister, Fouad al-Sanyoora, said, "Today, after 33 years of wounds, we are still suffering and we haven't recovered from its effects, pains and memories."
I took a sip from my coke and leaned back on the chair and gazed off nowhere in particular. His words took me 17 years back. I was in a taxi cab with my mother, shortly after the 1991 U.S. led war destroyed our country’s infrastructure in response to Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait. My mother was still hopeful that the destroyed buildings we passed by would be rebuilt and Iraq would restore its power and life. The cab driver sounded pessimistic. I was only 11 years-old then and had no idea how cruel life could be. He told my mother, “We could easily rebuild the buildings and the bridges, but how are we going to heal people’s wounds?” Seventeen years passed and his words still ring in my mind.
It was different. My mother was right. Things got better in terms of buildings and the cab driver was right as well. But that was not a civil war and things were not as bad as they were during Lebanon’s civil war. Now it is. Chaos, blood, refugees, occupation, revenge … But it’s been only five years. Would it continue to fifteen more years like how it happened in Lebanon? I think it would. All politicians are caring about is their benefits and loyalty to their religions, ethnicities and sects rather than the country itself."
Treasure of Baghdad
posted by madtom at 10:59 PM
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