It is something else!!

Monday, December 4th, 2007

Peace be upon you…

I spent last week with a delegation of the American Organization: "Global Exchange", as they came for a tour in Jordan and Syria which they call: A Reality Tour; meaning- to see things in reality concerning the Palestinian and Iraqi refugees. The program was crowded; meetings with organizations offering services to the refugees, then meetings with some families to observe things in reality, and to see their sufferings….
We met with organizations like UNHCR, UNRWA, Caritas, and Save the children. We listened to the representative of each organization as they explained the role their respective organizations played in soothing the suffering of the refugees, whether Iraqis or Palestinians…
But they were all angry at the bad behaviors of the politicians; waging wars, displacing people from their countries, putting them under cruel, difficult circumstances, and at the same time there is a somewhat slow response to fulfilling people's needs, people who live under the strain of displacement, asylum, and the shortage of financing these organizations to help them perform their humanitarian duties…
By God it is a saddening thing; the world's money being misused because of the corrupt politicians; as they exploit these moneys for wars, shedding the blood of the innocent, displacing people from their countries, and increasing people's suffering because of hunger, poverty, the shortages of medications, water supplies, electricity, fuels, and job opportunities… and at the same time, there aren't enough budgets to help the victims of those stupid, silly wars…
Where is justice? And why do we, the Earth's people, stand aside like dumb, helpless, negative creatures and watch a bunch of criminals who hold the political decision in their hands, watch them while they destroy this earth and whoever lives on it, and we haven't yet found a way to confront this destruction and ruin, or at least stop it at certain limits?
Isn't this a shame upon us?

*******************************
Then we went to Syria, and that was the first time I met with Iraqi families there…
The conditions of the Iraqis in Syria are indescribable…
The international organization's work there is limited and restricted, compared to the wide space they have in Jordan, in spite of some families' complaints because of the slowness and injustice of the given aid, but at least here there are some doors which the poor Iraqi family can knock upon in the hope that one of these doors might open to them…but in Syria, all doors are almost closed….
All my life I have never seen poverty like I saw among the Iraqis in Syria… widows or women who lost their sons because of criminal gangs and militias that entered Iraq after the occupation, and killed all Iraqis alike… whenever I met a woman who told her story while crying, I cried with her, at her situation, at the conditions of the sad Iraq, and at what happened to it; the destruction, the shredding. And when the women all gathered and we heard their stories with a member of the American delegation, I had my friend with me; Selma; a Turkish-American, a Muslim… I asked the women, with sorrow- but I had to ask the silly question: Are you Sunnies? Shia'ats?
It turned out they were a mixture of both sides…
This woman was a Sunnie; they threatened her and killed her son…and this is a Shia'at; threatened, and her husband was killed…
There is no difference; the Sunnies and the Shia'ats were displaced from Iraq to live side by side in exile, waiting for that who would pity them, give them a charity of food rations, a blanket, or a heater because winter is near, await some humanitarian organization to take care of their disabled children, or afflicted with cancer as a result of the depleted Uranium, with which the Iraqi environment is contaminated, since the Kuwait war in 1991, then the occupation war in 2003.
And…all is in God's will…..
*****************************
And there in Syria, the story spread about the Iraqi government's request for the Iraqis to return home, as the government would pay their return fees by bus to Iraq. I wondered at a government which abandoned its displaced people, not recognizing them, nor sending them food or medical aid for years, and now volunteers a free home- journey for the citizens, so the propaganda would spread that conditions are stable in Iraq, and this is an excellent, successful government….
I went to a bus terminal, and saw busses leaving with about 650 people. We asked some people- why did these people leave for Iraq; did they really believe the story of the returning stability, calm, and security to Iraq?
They answered; we don't know, but people got tired of poverty, the scant revenues, and waiting without effect, they would go back; they might live, or might die; only God knows, but perhaps this is better than staying here in exile without a result…
Others were talking in front of satellite-channels cameras, saying- we are Ba'athies, we ran from Iraq after being threatened to be killed, here we live through difficult conditions, but cannot go back for we will surely face certain death…
I stood aside watching the scene…. Exiled Iraqis, scattered around earth, poor, miserable, and sick. The reasons are many, but they are all deprived of aid, suffering from neglect, forgetfulness, and denial…
I don't know whether to be sad, or angry?
And what shall sadness or anger change?
******************************
And there is another sad phenomenon among the Iraqis in Syria, especially the women… the phenomenon of prostitution because of poverty…
I mean- here in Amman we hear about Iraqi women working in night clubs, more perhaps because they are professionals than being poor women driven by poverty into this path… but in Syria, when I met the women at the Sayeda Zainab area; the widows or the young women with children and a crippled, disabled husband; who shall stop those from drifting into the road of depravity if the doors of honest living were closed into their faces?
One women said- I work as a maid in a house, they give me (6,000) Syrian Liras a month, and my apartment rent is (7,000) S.L. a month. Another has a 15 years old son who works at a café, for a daily wage of (250) S.L.…(= 5 $)
We were staying in a hotel at Al-Marja Sq. in Damascus. I went to have a cup of fruit juice at the restaurant next door; I asked him what he thought about the Iraqis here. He said- their numbers are high, perhaps two millions, they caused a rise in rents in the country and a shortage of housing. "They also say, and please, Madame, don't be cross", he said, "that anyone who goes to Al- Sayeda Zainab area can get an Iraqi woman for 250 S.L…."… ( =5 $ )
I remained silent, and smiled….
This is the new Iraq that Bush and the villains who came with him, built for us….. This is the liberation of the Iraqi women that we got…. The free women became prostitutes….
Well, well, well….
And where are the leaders of Islam, and the Arab Nation? Are they a sleep or ignorant about what is happening to the Iraqi men, and women? Or are they Bush's partners in the "Liberation of Iraq"?
I don't know….
Each person should look for the answer….
My heart is sad, my soul is tired….but I am a faithful believer, and this is trial by God, The Lord of all creatures, hoping we will be among the enduring… not among the spoiling…
Hoping we will be among those who construct the land and what's on it… among those who aid the weak, the poor, and the deprived, and reproach the unjust until they stop their injustice…

****************************************
That reality tour wasn't only for the American organization and the delegation members, but was for me also; it opened my eyes more, and showed me more facts…
And I always say: the first step open your eyes; the second step put a plan of action to change the painful reality. And if you keep silent after what you learned, you are an accomplice in the crime….
You are an accomplice in what is happening to the Iraqis; the calamities, the disasters, the hunger, the poverty, the displacement, and the depravation….
And- peace be upon you, with God's mercy, and His blessings……

Peace be upon you…
The holy month of Ramada is finished, and Al-Fiter Feast is here; we exchanged congratulations with each other; in person, or by mobile phone messages and phone calls. We prayed to God that the next Ramadan and Feast would come and we are in Iraq, and Iraq would be well, basking in peace and security, without a hateful occupation…
But we all realize that wishes cannot be achieved by prayers alone; action is very necessary to achieve wishes, and God will help his followers who work, try hard, and seek, but wouldn't help the lazy who sleeps while hoping God would grant him his wishes…
And we all know our wishes are very difficult to achieve, for after four and a half years it is becoming clear what is the goal of invading Iraq and occupying it; not just the oil and monopolizing its exploitation to American companies in the first degree, but there is also the spite against something called Iraq, the civilization of Iraq, the history of Iraq, and the unity of Iraq… and everything was shredded to pieces since the occupation entered into the Iraqi land, and they are still there…
The Iraqi Museum was bombarded and plundered since the first week, and thousands of valuable ancient pieces disappeared; pieces telling the story of the Mesopotamian civilization, one of the oldest civilizations on earth…
Then the National Library was burned down, which used to house thousands of historical documents of various Iraqi times…
Then, an ugly distorted constitution was composed under the supervision of Paul Bremer, the American civil governor after the invasion. He put down a constitution comprising the foundation to create a torn ethnic, sectarian state, which they called- Federalisms; meaning- giving it any name as long as it covers up their vicious intentions, trying to show that the principle of Federalism is democracy and freedom for the regions, while in truth it means tearing apart the country's unity, placing the heads of ethnics and sects to govern each region, and those will control the wealth of each region as they please. The wealth of Iraq will be crumbled in a suspicious rather than a just way, and the occupier will establish special relations and special interests with the leaders of each region, and bye-bye to Iraq… meaning- the entity called "Iraq" will be no more… just like they did as a first step when they divided us into Sunnies, Shia'ats, Arabs and Kurds, so that when we meet someone abroad they confront us with the stupid question: are you Sunnies or Shia'ats? Arabs or Kurds?
And after the division of Iraq, the question will become: are you from Kurdistan, Shia'atstan, or Sunniestan?
Just like they dissolved the word- Islam in Iraq after the war, and people came to be categorized into Sunnies and Shia'ats, now the name of Iraq will be dissolved and lost, after it will be divided into regions, or federalisms, or any other mishap, and people abroad will ask us their stupid question: from which federalism are you? From which region? Just like what happened to Yugoslavia, for example, when it's name disappeared from the map, and turned into regions like- Croatia, the Serb, Montenegro, and so on…
**********************************************
Every time it gets more gloomy in Iraq we say: soon things will be better…. But it seems such a notion will not take place, as long as there is an occupier residing with his military power on the land of Iraq. Why? Because the American administration is using the military power to carry out its political intentions….
Two days ago, the former American troops general commander in Iraq, Sanchez, said that the war in Iraq is an endless nightmare, that the American politicians are using the army to achieve their own interests…
By God this is something sad; the armies are the power of any country, and that power consumes up the country's budget to become highly ready with weapons, equipments, and trained personnel. That money spent to develop the army is taken out of the country's budget and out of people's pockets; I mean- from the tax money cut out of their salaries and earnings. And as a result, the ordinary American people are the financers of this war against Iraq, and the majority of American people, according to public opinion polls from time to time, are against the war in Iraq, or the continuing presence of the armies there. Who can believe that this is happening in America, and not in a country of those whom they call- a third world country, that doesn't respect democracy and human rights? Who can believe that in America there is a tyrant, corrupt minority that controls a weak, overwhelmed majority?
Perhaps America is like this for a long time now, but the people were busy with their own daily lives, and the war on Iraq changed a lot of things. People are no longer negligent as they used to be…
********************************************
Since the beginning of the invasion and the occupation of Iraq, we passed through a lot of hard times and many calamities. And whenever things calmed down a bit and headed towards a national reconciliation or an agreement among the contradicting parties to calm down the situation in Iraq, things somehow would turn back on to crises again. There is someone who kindles the fire so Iraq would keep on being in a state of fighting and conflict, without peace.
In 2006, the Dome of Samara shrine was blown up, right after the Iraqi's happiness with the elections, the beginning of uniting their ranks and putting down a program to get out of the ordeal. But the evil hands moved forth to scatter the Iraqis anew, and the sectarian death gangs spread to kill Iraqis from all sides, to blow up their houses and burn down their mosques… then, the situation became tense again, things kept on deteriorating until the "phenomenon" of displacing the Iraqis from their homes became one of the daily rituals, as if there was someone who put down a division map to every town and city in Iraq and was pushing on into the direction of implementing it on the ground; these are Sunnie towns and these are Shia'at towns, these are Sunnie neighborhoods and those are Shia'at neighborhoods… and in this chaos, millions of Iraqis emigrated to neighboring countries or asked for humanitarian asylum in various European countries…
And, the pressure kept on going in the issues of killings and sectarian displacement every day........ Veiled armed gangs would come from outside the neighborhoods and start writing threats on the walls of the houses, or send threatening messages to the families demanding they should leave the neighborhood… and of course, these mercenary gangs collaborate with the lowly people of that neighborhood; the criminals, jail-birds, and drug addicts, so they can be their eyes to watch the neighborhood and write them reports against the families, and then the houses would be attacked and burned, and its inhabitants would be threatened and forced to leave….
This series has been going on since 2006 until now, ignored by and met with the silence of the occupation forces and the present Iraqi government, but the Iraqis refuse the idea of a sectarian division and see it as the biggest catastrophe that could befall Iraq since it existed on the face of earth…
And in the middle of this daily violence and clashes, there were some parties in the parliament in opposition of the government and the occupation, who wanted to form an alliance to make the government fall and demand new elections, to pull the country out of this crises of violence, chaos and bloodshed… all the Iraqis' eyes were open and their hearts hanging in wait for the positive change on the ground last month, I was one among them, and I wrote the last post in which I said- Iraq is boiling in wait for change… but what happened?
There came the declaration of the American Congress suggesting to divide Iraq, to be a big rock falling over the poor Iraqis' heads, to be the uncovering of the real intentions of the American politicians; neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican have any vision that would satisfy the Iraqis about their future…
The Iraqis remained astonished!
We endured a lot, we were very patient, and sacrificed our souls and money, then, a decision to divide Iraq comes from America itself?
We were awaiting a decision to pull out the troops from Iraq, so we could begin our march of rebuilding our country and going back home.
Who gave them the right to issue decisions about the future of Iraq? Where did the 27 million Iraqis go, or- what is left of them, Where are they? Don't they have the right to decide the fate of their country and future? In all our lives, we never saw such rudeness and such venom directed against Iraq and its people…
But, they revealed their fangs, and it is very obvious now that invading Iraq wasn't only for the oil and monopolizing it, but to tear Iraq and its people apart, to turn them into shreds that cannot stand up one day united and strong enough to drive them out of the country…
Then, some of the Iraqi government people appeared to give justifications, to patch up the disaster that took place after the people rejected the decision. They declared that- the division is a federalism to ease up democracy and freedom…
Poison put into sweet words…
Then they said that the occupation forces will withdraw from Iraq, but will leave some camps and bases, to ensure the ""security of Iraq"", and a long-term treaty with the Iraqi government….
Aren't these the same old-new, repeated, boring stories?
Do they think that people are stupid and naïve?
**************************************
Anyway; let them do what they will…
For this world has a mighty creator who controls it, who is looking down upon all from high up in heaven, smiling; He gives one round to the unjust, then blows up the ground from under their feet, when He so wills…
We ask Him to aid the free, honest Iraqis in their struggle to liberate their country from the occupation and its followers… and to give patience to the poor, weak Iraqis who suffer still, whether they were inside, or those who had to emigrate to different exiles… and to have His mercy upon the martyrs whose blood filled the streets, walkways, and the cities of Iraq…
Amen.........
My conviction will not shake:
Victory is coming… no matter how long it takes…
And the occupation will walk out, defeated, let down, from Iraq…
No matter how long it takes…
………………..
May peace be upon you ......