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Citizens’ media from Iraq

5 comments on Citizens’ media from Iraq

Citizens’ media from Iraq

Zeyad has written some wonderful posts lately.

In one, he gives us his memories of visiting friends in Abu Ghraib prison and then eloquently and calmy explains how U.S. abuses there are, sadly, not a surprise and how it damages the effort to rebuild his nation:

They may be just a few soldiers, it may be an isolated case, but what’s the difference? The effect has been done, and the Hearts and Minds campaign is a joke that isn’t funny any more.

In a later post, he tells us about life in Basrah with a matter-of-factness that makes bombs just part of everyday life:

Not much has been going on in Basrah lately. Traffic and movement has returned to ‘normal’, a few streets where IP stations are located are still blocked. Explosives were found near a primary school which caused some panic among concerned Basrawis, another small bomb was dismantled close to a primary health care clinic which caused me to panic since I work at one. Basrah IP said the bombs were amateurish and wouldn’t cause much damage anyway, so I’m a bit relieved!

There are signs, graffiti, and banners all over town against returning former Ba’athists to governmental institutions. Other signs strongly condemned the appointment of General Jassim Mohammed over the Fallujah brigade. One sign reads “Basrah residents demand a trial for Saddam’s new cowboy in Fallujah”. Another said “The return of Ba’athists is a return of Nazism and mass graves.” …

Electricity hasn’t been very good this week at Basrah, but it still remains significantly better than Baghdad. The old medical aide was cursing his luck yesterday morning at the clinic. He had purchased a new air conditioner and a refrigerator but still did not have a chance to enjoy them because of the unstable electricity. He turned to me with a wicked toothless grin “Ah Dr., but there is an area just about 100 meters from where I live, and it has an alternate power schedule. I’m going to draw a power line from it.” … I like the man, he often comes over to my room and chats about politics. What amuses me is his constant criticism of Iraqis. He says things like “There’s no use in anything. Iraqis are all thieves and murderers.”, or “Iraqis don’t deserve democracy, they only deserve Saddam.”

He was ranting like crazy this morning. Recently, there was a MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) immunisation campaign. Primary health care clinic employees are divided into as much as 10 teams, they start making rounds at primary schools and villages, each clinic in it’s surrounding area, immunising children under 12 years old. The campaign is funded by Save The Children and other humanitarian organisations. Each team member is paid 10 dollars a day for a two weeks period. It is their duty to ensure that every child in their area is immunised. The campaign ended two months ago and they still haven’t been paid, although the funds were paid in advance to the Basrah Health Directorate. Someone told them lately thay they will be only be paid 5 dollars a day, instead of 10. Corruption at the higher levels is still at large it seems….

This is a sense of life in Iraq we get from no reporter.

: River reacts to Abu Ghraib just as expected, with rage:

People are so angry. There

5 responses to “Citizens’ media from Iraq”

  1. Robert S. Avatar
    Robert S.

    In America, I hear people say that if we’re expected to apologize for humiliating Iraqi prisoners then Iraqis should apologize for burning our citizens and hanging them from a bridge.
    Yes, it amazes me how few Americans really live by the mantra they claim to believe: “Do unto others, as you’d have them do unto you.”
    Of course, the Iraqis should apologize, but that does nothing to diminish the fact that we did was wrong or that we should improve our behavior if we really want to be role model for the rest of the world.

  2. Andrea Harris Avatar
    Andrea Harris

    Polish your halo first, Robert. Then lecture everyone else.

  3. Robert S. Avatar
    Robert S.

    That’s not a rebuttal, Andrea. It’s just a cheap flip ad hominem attack.
    Repeat: comparisons are irrelevent; they do nothing to diminish the fact that we did was wrong or that we should improve our behavior if we really want to be role model for the rest of the world. If we truly want to be a good nation, we’ll do the right thing regardless of whether other nations do or not.
    So often we want to have our cake and eat it, too: don’t judge us by our actions, but by our ideals. But when another nation harms us, we judge them by their actions, not their ideals.
    These tactics of comparison – we did something bad, but someone else did something worse – and fingerpointing – they didn’t apologize, so why should we – they’re arguments children resort to. They represent a stunted form of morality. And if your children used these arguments, you’d tell them to grow up and stick to the subject at hand.
    I ain’t perfect either; none of use are. But that doesn’t mean I’m unqualified to criticize. (Clearly, you don’t think you are either. I’ve read your blog.) I’m just calling a spade a spade.

  4. J. Avatar
    J.

    Yes, it amazes me how few Americans really live by the mantra they claim to believe: “Do unto others, as you’d have them do unto you.”
    Robert, If the current furor in which there has been a real and virtually unanimous condemnation of the actions of such a tiny minority of soldiers isn’t enough to convince you that almost as a whole Americans instinctively find this sort of behavior abhorrent and unacceptable then I suggest that perhaps you are not willing to see anything that doesn’t suit your perspective.
    And when you say “Of course, the Iraqis should apologize” do you ACTUALLY mean it? or at least mean it in the sense that you don’t expect it to happen but that it should? or was it just in there for balance? I would like to think that you really do mean it. So many out there seem to believe that scenes like the Fallujah feeding frenzy and what happened in the days of Saddams regime is somehow acceptable because it was middle eastern people who committed the atrocities.

  5. Robert S. Avatar
    Robert S.

    Yes, J, I actually mean it. Though since it wasn’t Iraq’s military which did it, I guess we’ll just have to hope that the individual miscreants who did can be rounded up and punished for their crimes.