The
Great Wall Of Segregation
By Baghdad Burning
27 April, 2007
Baghdad Burning
…Which
is the wall the current Iraqi government is building (with the support
and guidance of the Americans). It's a wall that is intended to separate
and isolate what is now considered the largest 'Sunni' area in Baghdad-
let no one say the Americans are not building anything. According to
plans the Iraqi puppets and Americans cooked up, it will 'protect' A'adhamiya,
a residential/mercantile area that the current Iraqi government and
their death squads couldn't empty of Sunnis.
The wall, of course, will protect no one. I sometimes wonder if this
is how the concentration camps began in Europe. The Nazi government
probably said, "Oh look- we're just going to protect the Jews with
this little wall here- it will be difficult for people to get into their
special area to hurt them!" And yet, it will also be difficult
to get out.
The Wall is the latest effort to further break Iraqi society apart.
Promoting and supporting civil war isn't enough, apparently- Iraqis
have generally proven to be more tenacious and tolerant than their mullahs,
ayatollahs, and Vichy leaders. It's time for America to physically divide
and conquer- like Berlin before the wall came down or Palestine today.
This way, they can continue chasing Sunnis out of "Shia areas"
and Shia out of "Sunni areas".
I always hear the Iraqi pro-war
crowd interviewed on television from foreign capitals (they can only
appear on television from the safety of foreign capitals because I defy
anyone to be publicly pro-war in Iraq). They refuse to believe that
their religiously inclined, sectarian political parties fueled this
whole Sunni/Shia conflict. They refuse to acknowledge that this situation
is a direct result of the war and occupation. They go on and on about
Iraq's history and how Sunnis and Shia were always in conflict and I
hate that. I hate that a handful of expats who haven't been to the country
in decades pretend to know more about it than people actually living
there.
I remember Baghdad before
the war- one could live anywhere. We didn't know what our neighbors
were- we didn't care. No one asked about religion or sect. No one bothered
with what was considered a trivial topic: are you Sunni or Shia? You
only asked something like that if you were uncouth and backward. Our
lives revolve around it now. Our existence depends on hiding it or highlighting
it- depending on the group of masked men who stop you or raid your home
in the middle of the night.
On a personal note, we've
finally decided to leave. I guess I've known we would be leaving for
a while now. We discussed it as a family dozens of times. At first,
someone would suggest it tentatively because, it was just a preposterous
idea- leaving ones home and extended family- leaving ones country- and
to what? To where?
Since last summer, we had
been discussing it more and more. It was only a matter of time before
what began as a suggestion- a last case scenario- soon took on solidity
and developed into a plan. For the last couple of months, it has only
been a matter of logistics. Plane or car? Jordan or Syria? Will we all
leave together as a family? Or will it be only my brother and I at first?
After Jordan or Syria- where
then? Obviously, either of those countries is going to be a transit
to something else. They are both overflowing with Iraqi refugees, and
every single Iraqi living in either country is complaining of the fact
that work is difficult to come by, and getting a residency is even more
difficult. There is also the little problem of being turned back at
the border. Thousands of Iraqis aren't being let into Syria or Jordan-
and there are no definite criteria for entry, the decision is based
on the whim of the border patrol guard checking your passport.
An airplane isn't necessarily
safer, as the trip to Baghdad International Airport is in itself risky
and travelers are just as likely to be refused permission to enter the
country (Syria and Jordan) if they arrive by airplane. And if you're
wondering why Syria or Jordan, because they are the only two countries
that will let Iraqis in without a visa. Following up visa issues with
the few functioning embassies or consulates in Baghdad is next to impossible.
So we've been busy. Busy
trying to decide what part of our lives to leave behind. Which memories
are dispensable? We, like many Iraqis, are not the classic refugees-
the ones with only the clothes on their backs and no choice. We are
choosing to leave because the other option is simply a continuation
of what has been one long nightmare- stay and wait and try to survive.
On the one hand, I know that
leaving the country and starting a new life somewhere else- as yet unknown-
is such a huge thing that it should dwarf every trivial concern. The
funny thing is that it’s the trivial that seems to occupy our
lives. We discuss whether to take photo albums or leave them behind.
Can I bring along a stuffed animal I've had since the age of four? Is
there room for E.'s guitar? What clothes do we take? Summer clothes?
The winter clothes too? What about my books? What about the CDs, the
baby pictures?
The problem is that we don't
even know if we'll ever see this stuff again. We don't know if whatever
we leave, including the house, will be available when and if we come
back. There are moments when the injustice of having to leave your country,
simply because an imbecile got it into his head to invade it, is overwhelming.
It is unfair that in order to survive and live normally, we have to
leave our home and what remains of family and friends… And to
what?
It's difficult to decide
which is more frightening- car bombs and militias, or having to leave
everything you know and love, to some unspecified place for a future
where nothing is certain.
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