‘I weep at the thought of the suffering with which we Iraqis are living’

http://www.sundayherald.com/54461


By Arkan Hamed Retired Iraqi Army officer


I write this at 12.30am on Saturday morning and gunfire from clashes has been ongoing for two hours now. Thousands of bullets have been fired in this short time, reminding me of the big battles in which I took part as an Iraqi soldier during the Iraq/Iran war in the 1980s.

Yesterday, here in Baghdad, the Shia Badr militia from nearby Kadhamiyah were trying to attack our Sunni Abu Hanifa mosque.

Young people of our neighbourhood near the mosque were very alert and fought back against the Badr, killing four of them, according to what my sister heard from neighbours.

I got this news from her by the landline, as our cell phones are shut down, and also because we can’t step over the doorway, we are stuck at home by the orders of Prime Minister Jaffari.

I stayed awake all night yesterday, alert and waiting for them to appear in my street, but thank God they did not. This is my life now – fearing if we will be attacked even when hiding in our own homes. This is our new freedom and democracy.

"This is apparently what we can expect from the Shia Badr militia from nearby Kadhamiyah" would sound like a more appropriate conclusion.

As George Bush lifts his champagne glass and celebrates some new victories, other peoples' lives have gotten worse. As the champagne goes down his throat, it turns to vinegar at the destruction he has caused.

And strangely enough, Bush's fate will be tied with these people whose lives he has destroyed. He will not escape.. At some point, we will be held accountable for the damage we've done around the world.

I just can not fathom living under these conditions. I'm ashamed of my country, I'm ashamed of B#$h. :cry: