Democracy in Iraq

One of the earliest Iraqi blogs I discovered when I first began blogging, was Democracy in Iraq (Is Here!).  Husayn, like most bloggers, started out regularly, became inconsistent, and then eventually faded away.  Hopefully, he is doing well and simply lost the energy for blogging.  I thought I’d reprint one of my favorite posts of his.  I’m thankful that his posts have survived the dust, and the spambots have not hijacked his blog address.

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Responses to the 2 Year Anniversary

Thank you all for the messages you have sent me in response to my reflections on the two year anniversary. I did not realize that they would reach so many people, and I am honored to have touched some of you. While the vast majority of the responses I received were positive there were some negative ones. I must frankly say I have a hard time understanding these people who attack me. For what for expressing my opinion? The vast majority were from countries outside of the Arab world. I must say that one thing I am learning through the work I am doing on my blog is that there are some people even outside of Iraq and the Middle East who seem to content to want to live under dictators, in an environment where expression is crushed. I will share some letters below in italics and my response:

Dear Hussein:

What the hell is wrong with you, you don’t mind having your country blown up by others but you mind people not understanding you. This is a pure crock, and you sir are either mentally unstable or working for the United States.

Oliver Jordan

Because you dont say what you want to hear I am a liar? This is a great insult to me, this is something that gives me anger. You sit in your box and tell me what is happening in my nation?

Husayn, you are an idiot, I think you are really American. No, I know you are American, no Iraqi feels like you do you lying scumbag. How much is the CIA paying you to spread lies about the occupation of Iraq? I hope you get yours.

Nameless

This is a very common thing I hear from people, they say I work for the USA or the CIA! I do not work for either, although I am sure if I did my family would be better off. I am a simple Iraqi young man who is scratching a living for his family. I tell things how I see them, and I am giving you what I see in Iraq so that our message, our voice is not extinguished. Interesting how the nameless have the most bravery in slinging insults!

Sir I was linked to your blog by another website. What I found is quite interesting. Despite what everyone else in the world says, you are saying that things in Iraq are good. Ignorng the fact that everyday bombs are blown up, you are happy. Despite the fact that Americans are wasting money in Iraq, you thank them. May I ask you, are you blind or just stupid?

Richard Jones – UK

All these things happen in Iraq, but they are not things I focus on or Iraqis focus on. They ahve become part of our life, but we look to the future, and do not want to dwell on evil. That would be self-defeating, and that would be stupid, not what I type.

Mr. Husayn-

Your website would be more enjoyable if you gave us accurate news rather than just telling us about hope and other abstract things. Sure you have hope, but do your countrymen? Do those who died for imperialism have hope? How does it feel to get robbed for oil by the worlds strongest nation? Talk about these things, and then I might start reading your blog. BTW – I found it by accident

Charlene Spector
Boston

Hope is worth more than oil, money or anything else that dictates your life.

This is a sample of what I have received, it is in a way a rude awakening to me of the attitudes that some people in the West hold. Perhaps I was a big naive in the past, I thought these were fringe ideas, but I see that you in the West have people similar to the self-defeating terrorists who infest our nation. If the US or Europe were in a similar situation that Iraq is in, then these people would surely be the ones blowing up innocents so that your nation would be stopped from progress.

And on that note, let me remind my friends, and these enemies of mine that progress is being made, slowly, but surely in Iraq. Yesterday we learned that the terrorists have lost more men this month than in any other month. That is not progress? The more of them that die, the closer we come to absolute freedom. They are like roaches that must be stepped on, and the more that we step on the less there are to eat at us later, and the less there are to breed more!

Long Live a Free Iraq
Long Live Freedom
Long Live the Free World