Amazing

I am not a frequent reader of literature but I read two quotes that I really liked and I want to share it with you. The first is for D.H. Lawrence
“I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself”
The first thing I remembered as I read this was my cousin’s funeral, he was killed in Fallujah with his 7 friends (I don’t remember the final number but some of the injured died later) as they were preparing to play soccer and a road side bomb exploded killing them all. His father and the other families turned their funeral to a wedding. Candies and chocolates were distributed and they never felt self-pity. Every one was sad for the great loss and the sight of all these teenagers’ funerals leaving their homes in one street but no self-pity, I admire their bravery. They hate Al Qaeda, the occupation and militias and for me this is the attitude of true patriot Iraqis.
The second is of Virgil
“Come what may, all bad fortune is to be conquered by endurance”
The first face I remembered as I read this quote was of my father’s friend. His house was bombed by mistake (as the Americans apologized later to him) and killed his wife, his four sons and their wives and children (three of them were married and were killed along with their families).
He gave all the people an example of endurance and patience. I saw him once, six months after the incident and he was telling me and my friend to be patient and he was advising us to be more wise in facing life troubles… he astonished me for his greatness.
Looking at them and to the mothers who lost their sons and husbands and yet they are the ones who teach their society a lesson of how great people they are. Isn’t it amazing?

The misunderstanding… not solved but got deeper

I think in order to fully understand someone’s behavior and attitude we have to ask him about his childhood, school and the version of history that he knew (or have been told). Yes there are different versions of history and YES people attitudes are changed due to the version they know when it comes to history.
In Iraq wehave now three generations, the first is the one before the Iraqi-Iranian war (1980-1988). The second is the generation of war (those who actually fought and effected by the war directly) and the third is the after sanctions generation, after Saddam invasion for Kuwait (1990 and after). These generations have no separating lines, many people lived all the three and many remember only the sanctions and after.
The young men and women who only can remember the sanctions and after (1991 and after) have no idea of how normal life look like.
They have been raised in circumstance that many of you might know about… my point the majority of gunmen I hear about whether they were detained, killed or still acting are from that age.
We knew that time why we were suffering; Saddam, The U.S. administration and few other reasons.
That generatin were raised and told that the
Enemy=America
After 2003 we woke up on a new equation
America=Friend
By substitution
Enemy = Friend
It made the biggest confusion among people, for my self I was lucky to meet good men in the army and journalists and before all of that a father who kept telling his family never think the people are the same of politicians and he used Saddam as an example, I mean we are not like Saddam.
Instead of clearing the confusion that many inherited they made it deeper.
I hope one day it will be solved and things will be clearer for both sides. I only hope…