- ... I'll meet you 'round the bend my friend, where hearts
can heal and souls can mend...
-
-
- And so Eid Al Fittur has come and gone once again. This
year was, of course, different from every year. It was more quiet and solemn
than usual. The first day we spent at home, welcoming relatives and neighbors
who came to say "Eid Mubarek", and have some tea and kilaycha.
-
- On the second day, we went to visit a couple of family
friends and a relative who are in mourning. It seems like so many people
are in mourning this Eid. When you visit someone during the holidays who
is in mourning, you can't say "Eid Mubarek" to them because it,
in a way, is an insult to wish them joy during their difficult time. Instead,
we say "Akhir il ahzan" which basically means, "May this
be the last of your sorrows·" The person will often simply
nod their head, fight back the tears and attempt to be civil. I hate making
these visits because it really seems like a terrible intrusion.
-
- One of our Eid visits was to a close friend of my mother
who lives in Al-A'adhamiya. In April, she lost her husband, son and young
daughter when a tank fired at their car as they were trying to evacuate
their house. We went to visit her on the second day of Eid. I was dreading
the visit because the last time I had seen her, she was only this fragment
of a person. It was like she was only a whole person with her husband and
kids and now she is only 1/4 of a whole. For the first month after their
death, she couldn't eat, sleep or speak. When we saw her in May, she couldn't
or wouldn't recognize us.
-
- We went to see her at her sister's house in the same
area. She doesn't live in her old house anymore- she can't stand how suddenly
empty it is. She was speaking and moving around this time, but she isn't
the same person- not even close to the same person. She speaks politely
and tries to follow with the conversation but you can tell that her mind
is somewhere else and it's a huge effort to stay focused on what is being
said or done.
-
- A part of me knew that being there, sharing Eid with
her, was the right thing to do- the proper thing to do. Another part of
me felt like we were committing some sort of terrible sin and that it was
just unforgivable to be sitting there, talking about rain and explosions
when this woman's life had fallen apart on a black day in April. I couldn't
decide which was worse- to see the agonized look in her eyes during moments
of remembrance, or to see the vague, void look of indifference she'd sometimes
wear when she disappeared inside of herself.
-
- As we were leaving, I leaned down and hugged her, whispering
"Akhir il ahzan·" and as I pulled away, she simply looked
at me, shook her head and said, "Of course it'll be the last of my
sorrows- there's nothing else to mourn because nothing else matters·"
-
- And then there was the last day of Eid·
-
- Bush was in Iraq on the 27th. He made a fleeting visit
to Baghdad International Airport. Don't let the name fool you- Baghdad
Airport is about 20 minutes outside of Baghdad. It's in this empty, desert-like
area that no one is allowed to go near. No one knew about it until he was
gone and then we were all saying, "Huh? What was that about?!"
-
- Everyone here sees it for what it is- just a lame attempt
to try to look good. We actually expected him in Iraq during his Asia tour-
he was bound to stop by for a good gloat. I just think the whole thing
could have been a little bit less transparent (and I expected it would
occur closer to elections).
-
- Seeing him on tv was amusing- so why did he have to sneak
into and out of Iraq with such secrecy? Why didn't he walk the streets
of the country he helped 'liberate'? Why didn't he at least *hover* above
the country he 'liberated'? He constantly claims the situation is much
better now than pre-war, so why isn't he taking advantage of our excellent
security situation?! We all sat there, watching him garble out the usual
stream of words and shook our heads· he's just as much of an ass
in Baghdad as he is in Washington.
-
- I am curious about how the troops felt about his presence
though· I'm sure the hand-picked group in the airport were elated,
but I can't help but wonder about the troops stuck in Tikrit, Najaf, Falloojeh
or Mosul· I imagine they'd much rather be at home.
-
- The most amusing thing about his visit was watching Chalabi
and Talabani jumping up and down at the airport, cheering and clapping
as Bush made the rounds. Muwafaq Al-Rubai'i, also a member of the Governing
Council, was just embarrassing- he was standing on tiptoe and clapping
like a 5-year-old watching a circus clown. Later, he gushed about how happy
the Iraqis were and how delighted the whole country was going to be, like
he would know, almost as inaccessible to Iraqis as Bush himself is.
-
- Bush must be proud today- two more 'insurgents' were
shot dead in Ba'aquba: two terrorist sisters, one 12 years old and the
other 15. They were shot by troops while gathering wood from a field·
but nobody bothers to cover that. They are only two Iraqi girls in their
teens who were brutally killed by occupation troops- so what? Bush's covert
two-hour visit to Baghdad International Airport is infinitely more important·
-
- Note: To all of you who sent me Eid greetings- thank
you. The number of emails was unbelievable. I'll try to respond soon- be
patient- the electrical situation has been a nightmare.
-
- - posted by river @ <http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/2003_11_01_riverbendblog
_archive.html#107007171773887353>5:08 AM
|
