Hi:
Finally, the phone is fixed.
I missed ya!
Did you notice the new improvements? The links and all? Well, thanks to Raed, he does the HTML work for the family :)
Today, I went to salat iljom'a, don’t panic, this only means the Friday prayer, which is, for those who don’t know it, a weekly prayer in the mosque, that men and sometimes women attend every Friday noon, it consists of a speech that the Imam makes, then a prayer.
Few weeks ago, after the prayer was over, I took as soon as I left the mosque, and went to a supermarket to buy few things, I entered market and left the cab waiting for me outside, I found that I want lots of stuff that coasts more money than I have, so I just went out, and asked the driver to lend me some (it works in Iraq), I took 10 000 Iraqi Dinars = 8$, which is a lot of money for him, maybe equals what he makes in a whole day of working.
I bought the stuffs I wanted, and went back home with him, I went in to bring him money, normally, after a journey like the one I did, you would pay the driver about 1500 or 2000 Iraqi Dinars, but I was grateful to him, so I gave him 10,000+5000 ID.
He took the money without counting it (it's an Iraqi habit), said thank you and left.
Two or three weeks later, I met him again in the same place, outside the mosque, and I automatically got in the car with him, and he took me home, without any need to show him directions, isn't that nice? Well, wait for the best, as I was about to get of the car, he stopped me, and he sounded serious, he said: "remember last time when we went together to the market?"
I said: well, yes.
He said: "well, I counted the money"
I said: so?
He said: "why did you give me that much of money? It's too much, that’s more than what you were supposed to give me" he seemed almost angry.
I said (defending myself!): "well, you did me a favor, and I was grateful, I wanted to express how thankful I was."
That didn’t make him any happier!
He said: "look, I will take the money but under one condition, and I won't take no for an answer, starting today, I will get you home every Friday after prayer for free, case closed."
Nothing I said made him change his mind, and he kept his promise ever since.
Do you know that this kind of stories isn't really strange in Iraq? These things happen in Iraq, you see it in daily life.
If you enter a market for the first time, and while you are paying you find that you don’t have enough money, its very common that owner will tell to bring the rest of money whenever you come to the neighborhood next time, and he wouldn’t forget to add "and if you didn’t bring it, you are forgiven!" another very common Iraqi habit.
Iraqi people are nice, warm and very friendly, and they become really over friendly in the small cities, and in the tribes, where they must kill one of their sheep for you if you are a guest, and while you eat, one of them must stay with you just helping you cut the meet, while he doesn’t eat.
That’s how Iraqi people really are, kind, generous, even the poor ones.
If it happened that you had a car accident, where it is your fault, and you offered to give him money, he would say "aren’t you ashamed of yourself? This was fate, its not your fault. How would I take money from you?"
If you moved to a new place, the traditions are that neighbors, who you didn’t meet yet, must make you food for three days, so you can settle yourself and not worry about cocking.
Yes, that’s another Iraqi habit.
In the summer, the hot Iraqi summer, people put cold water in big jars in front of their houses, with a glass, so you can drink if you passed in front of their houses, without taking permission of course.
Ya, another Iraqi habit.
I can go no in this for ever, but I'd rather stop here, I believe I made my point.
Know what?
People in Falluja, the small beloved city, are that kind of people, a typical Fallujian man, is a man that you want to be with in the hard times, a man who would sacrifice anything to help you, very simple people, and religious mostly, very simple, really simple.
Those people are the ones that are being killed, their houses are being destroyed, their women and children are being killed, those particular people.
For them, defending your land, your family, is not only a duty; it’s a great honor too.
A soft drink factory in Falluja, have been changed to be a big present and torturing centre, to torture those same people, the people of Falluja, the sad city.
And what the coalition is killing to, is their beautiful picture, they are trying to convince the words that those are the "bad guys", "the baathists" and the "enemy".
For Falluja, to die while fighting, defending your country, your family, is a great honor that nothing is even close to it.
They will fight until the very last man, until the very last bullet.
Are American soldiers bad people?
Not at all!
They all inside the uniforms, are humans, normal humans, who love, and have people who care about them, they have families, mothers, sometimes wives or girl friends, most of them probably play basketball, watch movies, and they have their personal life, their dreams, and their ambitious.
I believe that lots of them, if not most of them, want to be out of here as much as we want them to.
But after all, if they refuse to come, they would be put in jail, they will probably face some charges that have big terrifying names, "supporting terrorism" or something, and lots of their rights would be taken away of them and their families too.
I think of the American families that sent one of their children to Iraq, where they probably had to check the map to know where it is, where killing their children, is considered to be an honor.
I don’t want to be in their place.
And they hear the news every day, 6 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq today, and pray that their son is not one of them, that’s horrible.
An American friend told me few days ago, in Iraq during SH time, you couldn’t make a revolution, you didn’t have the choice to do what you want to, and that’s why we came, to give you that right.
Do YOU American people have the right to do what you want? Does your government do what you want? Is it your choice to kill people in Falluja, and in Iraq? Is that what you chose? If NOT, what are you going to do about it?
If YES, I am afraid that this is the answer that gives Bin Ladin the right to do what he did, and no one would blame him for that.
I am asking you in the name of God, for the sake of humanity, our and your children are dying, are suffering, our and your wives are being widows, mothers are losing their sons,…help them, with all you can, don’t send your sons here, protest, try to know what the army is doing really here…try to know the truth, violence leads only to violence, and history will save all what is happening and you will be responsible of it in front of your grand children, and in front of God…do something, don’t let this happen under your names, don’t hold that responsibility.