Yesterday Norwegian radio reported that the Iraqi people were dancing in the streets upon hearing Saddam Hussains death sentence.
Did they really?
I had to check this contention with Riverbends blog. I only started reading it a few weeks ago – at the beginning, and since I don´t have that much time to sit in front of the computer reading, I´m still reading the 2003 posts – but I very much wanted her account on this. It was a bit more nuanced (posted yesterday):
“Iraq saw demonstrations against and for the verdict. The pro-Saddam demonstrators were attacked by the Iraqi army. This is how free our media is today: the channels that were showing the pro-Saddam demonstrations have been shut down. Iraqi security forces promptly raided them. Welcome to the new Iraq.”
She also writes that
“Iraq has not been this bad in decades. The occupation is a failure. The various pro-American, pro-Iranian Iraqi governments are failures. The new Iraqi army is a deadly joke. Is it really time to turn Saddam into a martyr?”
Obviously, it is.
I must admit that I had more or less forgotten about the Iraq situation, until Riverbend reminded me. I had forgotten because there was nothing I could do. I participated in the world wide demonstration against the invasion in 2003, I didn’t buy American products for a very long period, I spread my views to everyone who cared to listen, and listen to the views and stories of those who cared to tell. Needless to say; nothing of this had much effect. So I retreated to my own life and my own problems, and refused to relate to the whole ting.
The occupation of Iraq scares me so much, because it has made me realize that there is no hope for humanity; there has always been, and will always be, so many individuals amongst us that are ready to kill each other for nothing, and I don´t think it will ever stop. I will try and explain why in another post.
The only hope lies in the strength and will demonstrated by those who is able to tell the story. Riverbend is a storyteller. An artist who brings the conflict down to an individual level, were I, as another individual, can relate. I´m very grateful to her for sharing her experiences in this way.
Link to Riverbends blog can be found under “Links”.
