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I haven’t been
writing these last few days because I simply haven’t felt inspired. I haven’t been writing these last few days because I simply haven’t felt inspired. There’s so much happening on a country-wide scale and so little happening personally. Everything feels chaotic. Seeing what we're supposed to be living on television, differs drastically from actually living it. The moment you hear about something terrible happening somewhere, you let it sink in, then 'take stock' and try to figure out who you have living there and how you can contact them. Three days ago there was a huge explosion in Arbil (one of the northern Kurdish areas). They say it was a suicide bomber in a car in front of the American intelligence headquarters. The number of casualties varied from news network to news network, but one thing is sure- a child in a house across from the headquarters was killed. Horrible. There was also an attack on Mosul Hotel in central Mosul where American troops are staying. This was yesterday and no one is giving the number of casualties. There were attacks on troops in Ramadi and Falloojeh yesterday. In fact, in Khaldiah (an area between Ramadi and Falloojeh) they say there was actual fighting and gunfire lasted over an hour and a half. In Falloojeh, the police were shot at by American troops this morning. I’m not sure how many died but the whole ‘accident’ was atrocious. They say up to 7 Iraqi policemen were killed in some ‘mistake’ made by the troops. This is going to be horrible for Falloojeh- there’s already so much bitterness against the Americans there because of the shooting incidents in April and May. There’s still some fighting in Kirkuk (the Turkomen dominated area). The reason is because the Bayshmarga (Kurdish militia) have been assigned to that area. There has always been a sort of hostility between Turkomen and Kurds and having the Bayshmarga running the show isn’t making things any better. Turkey wants to send in ‘peace-keeping’ troops to help secure Kirkuk, but the Kurds are refusing adamantly. And then there’s Baghdad. What is there to say about Baghdad? Baghdad is a mess. In Zayunah, an elegant area in east Baghdad, there was gang fighting yesterday. People were being shot in the streets, caught between gang crossfire. The scene was frightening and terrible. We see Iraqi police every once in a while, but their numbers are ridiculous compared to the situation. They wear light blue shirts, dark pants and these black arm badges with IP written on them and the flag. They get to carry around these little 7 mm Berettas that look tiny in their hands. And the guns are always drawn- they try to guide traffic waving a gun, try to stop cars waving a gun, try to stop fights waving a gun- it’s the best means of communication these days- a tank works even better (but you can’t wave it around). In another area, a 12-year-old boy was shot in his garden while playing. The Americans say he was caught in the crossfire between them and someone else. His mother was almost tearing her hair out and his father was beating the ground and moaning. He looked ready to kill. People talk about the future and how five years from now, ten years from now, fifty years from now things are going to be better. Some people no longer have a ‘future’. The parents of that boy no longer care about the future of Iraq or the future of America or anything else. They buried their ‘future’ last night. I’m sure the future means as much to them as it does to the parents of the soldiers dying in Iraq on a daily basis. When Bush 'brought the war to the terrorists', he failed to mention he wouldn't be fighting it in some distant mountains or barren deserts: the frontline is our homes... the 'collateral damage' are our friends and families. - posted
by river @ 6:16 PM I'm glad he's going to be able to go home, safely. |
