[lit-ideas] being in Iraq
- From: JulieReneB@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 7 May 2004 10:47:37 EDT
A young Iraqi woman living in Baghdad, used to be a computer programmer. Her
recent take on the prison situation. If you've read any of the other posts
I've sent from her, you know her as Riverbend.
http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/
<<Just Go...
People are seething with anger- the pictures of Abu Ghraib and the Brits in
Basrah are everywhere. Every newspaper you pick up in Baghdad has pictures of
some American or British atrocity or another. It's like a nightmare that has
come to life.
Everyone knew this was happening in Abu Ghraib and other places & seeing the
pictures simply made it all more real and tangible somehow. American and
British politicians have the audacity to come on television with words like,
"True
the people in Abu Ghraib are criminals, butâ?¦" Everyone here in Iraq knows
that
there are thousands of innocent people detained. Some were simply in the
wrong place at the wrong time, while others were detained 'under suspicion'. In
the New Iraq, it's "guilty until proven innocent by some miracle of God".
People are so angry. Thereâ??s no way to explain the reactions- even
pro-occupation Iraqis find themselves silenced by this latest horror. I canâ??t
explain
how people feel- or even how I personally feel. Somehow, pictures of dead
Iraqis
are easier to bear than this grotesque show of American military technique.
People would rather be dead than sexually abused and degraded by the animals
running Abu Ghraib prison.
There was a time when people here felt sorry for the troops. No matter what
one's attitude was towards the occupation, there were moments of pity towards
the troops, regardless of their nationality. We would see them suffering the
Iraqi sun, obviously wishing they were somewhere else and somehow, that
vulnerability made them seem less monstrous and more human. That time has
passed.
People look at troops now and see the pictures of Abu Ghraibâ?¦ and we burn
with
shame and anger and frustration at not being able to do something. Now that the
world knows that the torture has been going on since the very beginning, do
people finally understand what happened in Falloojeh?
I'm avoiding the internet because it feels like the pictures are somehow
available on every site I visit. I'm torn between wishing they weren't there
and
feeling, somehow, that it's important that the whole world sees them. The
thing, I guess, that bothers me most is that the children can see it all. How
do
you explain the face of the American soldier, leering over the faceless, naked
bodies to a child? How do you explain the sick, twisted minds? How do you
explain what is happening to a seven-year-old?
There have been demonstrations in Baghdad and other places. There was a large
demonstration outside of the Abu Ghraib prison itself. The families of some
of the inmates of the prison were out there protesting the detentions and the
atrocitiesâ?¦ faces streaked with tears of rage and brows furrowed with
anxiety.
Each and every one of those people was wondering what their loved ones had
suffered inside the walls of the hell that makes Guantanamo look like a health
spa.
And through all this, Bush gives his repulsive speeches. He makes an
appearance on Arabic tv channels looking sheepish and attempting to look
sincere,
babbling on about how this 'incident' wasn't representative of the American
people
or even the army, regardless of the fact that it's been going on for so long.
He asks Iraqis to not let these pictures reflect on their attitude towards
the American peopleâ?¦ and yet when the bodies were dragged through the streets
of
Falloojeh, the American troops took it upon themselves to punish the whole
city.
He's claiming it's a "stain on our country's honor"... I think not. The stain
on your country's honor, Bush dear, was the one on the infamous blue dress
that made headlines while Clinton was in the White House... this isn't a
'stain'
this is a catastrophe. Your credibility was gone the moment you stepped into
Iraq and couldn't find the WMD... your reputation never existed.
So are the atrocities being committed in Abu Ghraib really not characteristic
of the American army? What about the atrocities committed by Americans in
Guantanamo? And Afghanistan? I won't bother bringing up the sordid past, let's
just focus on the present. It seems that torture and humiliation are common
techniques used in countries blessed with the American presence. The most
pathetic
excuse I heard so far was that the American troops weren't taught the
fundamentals of human rights mentioned in the Geneva Conventionâ?¦ Right-
morals,
values and compassion have to be taught.
All I can think about is the universal outrage when the former government
showed pictures of American POWs on television, looking frightened and unsure
about their fate. I remember the outcries from American citizens, claiming that
Iraqis were animals for showing 'America's finest' fully clothed and unharmed.
So what does this make Americans now?
We heard about it allâ?¦ we heard stories since the very beginning of the
occupation about prisoners being made to sit for several hours on their
kneesâ?¦
being deprived of sleep for days at a time by being splashed with cold water or
kicked or slappedâ?¦ about the infamous 'red rooms' where prisoners are kept
for
prolonged periods of timeâ?¦ about the rape, the degradations, the emotional
and
physical tortureâ?¦ and there were moments when I actually wanted to believe
that what we heard was exaggerated. I realize now that it was only a small
fragment of the truth. There is nothing that is going to make this 'better'.
Nothing.
Through all of this, where is the Governing Council? Under what rock are the
Puppets hiding? Why is no one condemning this? What does Bremer have to say
for himself and for the Americans? Why this unbearable silence?
I don't understand the 'shock' Americans claim to feel at the lurid pictures.
You've seen the troops break down doors and terrify women and childrenâ?¦
curse, scream, push, pull and throw people to the ground with a boot over their
head. You've seen troops shoot civilians in cold blood. You've seen them bomb
cities and towns. You've seen them burn cars and humans using tanks and
helicopters. Is this latest debacle so very shocking or appalling?
The number of killings in the south has also risen. The Americans and British
are saying that they are 'insurgents' and people who are a part of Al-Sadir's
militia, but people from Najaf are claiming that innocent civilians are being
killed on a daily basis. Today the troops entered Najaf and there was
fighting in the streets. This is going to cause a commotion because Najaf is
considered a holy city and is especially valuable to Shi'a all over the world.
The
current situation in the south makes one wonder who, now, is going to implement
a
no-fly zone over areas like Falloojeh and Najaf to 'protect' the people this
time around?
I sometimes get emails asking me to propose solutions or make suggestions.
Fine. Today's lesson: don't rape, don't torture, don't kill and get out while
you can- while it still looks like you have a choice... Chaos? Civil war?
Bloodshed? Weâ??ll take our chances- just take your Puppets, your tanks, your
smart
weapons, your dumb politicians, your lies, your empty promises, your rapists,
your sadistic torturers and go. >>
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