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Sun
Rises, Life Goes On In Baghdad
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“Life
goes on” seems to be Iraqis final decision
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By
Imam El-Leithy, IOL Staff
BAGHDAD,
March 15 (IslamOnline.net) - “So long as there is sun, there is
life,” Khadiga, an Iraqi woman, said concluding her talk. By that she
meant “the Americans won’t be able to deprive the Iraqis of life, so
long as the sun still shines”.
When
I left Egypt, on my way to cover the current events in Baghdad, I though
I would find the Iraqi people, either departing or hiding at home,
waiting for “alarm sirens” to hasten to shelters, fleeing U.S.
bombardment.
Once
I touched the Iraqi soil, the idea went into oblivion. I came across
several Iraqi families returning to Baghdad, with only one objective; to
defend their homeland.
“I
can’t live away from my country, while my family is threatened. I
refused my sister’s invitation who resides in the states despite all
her promises. I had to be beside my mother,” said Hend Rashid, an
Iraqi journalist I met during my trip.
Saad
Al-Mosuly interrupted saying, “I don’t think any Iraqi can stay
abroad to follow up events through TV screens, watching his home land
and national pride being violated.”
Khadiga,
nicknamed Umm Al-Baraa, is a housewife, who promised to bring her
children up to “retaliate”.
“I’ll
bring them up to be like the Palestinians. We have women in Iraq who are
ready to revive the Palestinian tale”.
She
told me the story of Dhawiya, a Palestinian poetess, who forced her
husband to struggle against the English occupation, although he was an
elderly man.
Magid,
a taxi driver, gave me a lift from the airport to the hotel. On the way,
he mocked the U.S. and its weaponry saying, “Whatever they do, we
don’t give a damn. We’ll stay in Iraq and resist.”
“If
I die, my brother or son will do the job. A man defends himself, his
dignity or his homeland. We’re waiting for them on the ground.”
Once
I stepped foot on Al-Mutanaby mart on my second day in Iraq, I became
almost certain that “this people could overcome all obstacles they
might face”.
The
street teemed with people, as if they didn’t care about the U.S.
threats, regardless of the economic situation that forced some to sell
their own books to earn their living.
Once
you go into an Iraqi café, you feel as if you are back to 1940s.
Intellectuals meet, a Dervish looks nowhere in contemplation and a young
man smokes his hookah.
A
group of young cinema men draw the plan of their first Iraqi movie that
they attempt to produce since 1990. The name of the movie is
“Non-displayable”. People everywhere are talking about war, life and
the good old days.
Iraqis
say that (River) Degla has bestowed upon living things their names. They
mention some such names like “Bakarat” that means waterwheels,
“Kesra” district at which the river takes a turn,as well as many
others.
Today,
the river grants Iraqis one of the most important means of
entertainment; namely, the continuity, reunion and looking into clear
water.
They
now find nowhere else to go, as families enjoy their time along the
river’s banks. Children play and sing about the ghoul, who beat war
drums.
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