2003-2008, Iraq... Where to ? Part 1

Hi. Next Thrusday will mark 5 years since the Coalition forces have invaded my Iraq and overthrown Saddam's regime. May be it's worth stressing on one particular point : Getting rid of Saddam was a good thing. He was an evil dictator and brutal criminal and thank God that we got rid of him. But then what ?! Everything simply just went wrong, and everyone has let Iraq down, including Iraqis themselves. A majority of ordinary Iraqis really wanted Saddam to leave NO MATTER OF WHAT THE ALTERNATIVE IS. But we were wrong. We should've cared so much about what that AlTERNATIVE would be. Iraqis have fallen in the trap of SECTARIAN DEMOCRACY where one gets elected only because he/she belongs to a particular sect. We convinced ourselves that democracy in Iraq can be applied on sectarian bases, and we went to the polls and elected our MPs in 2005 also on sectarian bases. But in fact we were committing the most evil crime against ourselves and our Iraq. And as a result our country was torn apart. The 1st victem was the IRAQI NATIONAL IDENTITY. Iraqis have lost the sense of belonging to their Iraq. God, how cruel we were towards our precious country when we accepted that our fate would be decided in the White House ! With my love. Yours forever, Lubna.

Happy Birthday Iain

Hi. My Precious friend Iain from the BBC's WHYS is celebrating his birthday today. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY precious Iain, and many many many many happy returns Inshallah. To me, Precious Iain is one of the kindest, loveliest, most noble, and most amazing humans that you can ever meet. Also I'd like to say a very big THANK YOU to all my good and precious friends around the world, and a very special THANK YOU to the WHYS's most marvellous team and most amazing listeners. I really don't know what to do without you guys. With my love. Yours forever, Lubna.

Cheating Death, TWICE

Hi. Today I was supposed to have my big obstetrics exam. The majority of the main roads in Baghdad are blocked since yesterday because of the visit of Mr Nijad to Baghdad. Early in the morning today at about 6:45 Am my driver came to my house to pick me up to college, my two girlfriends were in the car (It's extremely unsafe for Baghdadi girls to use the public transport to move around in Baghdad, so I and 3 of my best girlfriends have hired a private driver inorder to pick us to college). As we got closer to the district in which my college lies, a roadside bomb has exploded at a close distance ahead of us. So we all decided to go back home. On our way back home, another roadside bomb has exploded also at a close distance behind us. I saw the other car flying in the air. So in the end we got back home. And We missed our obsestrics exam. And that's a very ordinary day of our ordinary daily Baghdadi life. Our Iraqi government and the International community are asking us to go on with our daily lives in a way which is as close to normal as possible inspite of the hidden death in every street of Baghdad, and this is not acceptable at all. All Iraqis must go on a continueous peaceful generalised strike until all our political leaders, the US occupation forces, and the whole International community get together and do something to end this tragedy. Do you think that Iraqis are alive ?! No my good friends, Iraqis are experiencing SLOW DEATH on daily bases. And this has to stop. Enough is Enough. With my love. Yours forever, Lubna.

A Letter From Alan Johnston To Shihab Al Tamimi

Alan Johnston, the former BBC's Gaza correspondent who has been kidnapped by a militant group in Gaza and stayed in captivity from March the 12th 2007 till July the 4th 2007, has sent me those words for our Precious martyr, the peer of Iraqi journalists Shihab Al Tamimi : " Every death in Iraq is an utter waste- a tragedy for those who loved the victim and a loss to the nation as a whole. But as a journalist I can't help but be particularly aware of the number of my Iraqi colleagues who have been among the casualities. Among those to die most recently was Shihab Al Tamimi. I was not familiar with his work, but I am reliably informed that he was a much respected figure who will be badly missed by his devoted readers. And I have no doubt that he was a man of real courage. Given the appalling number of deaths among his colleagues, he must have been extremely dedicated to going through about his work. One day Iraq will emerge from the horrors through which it is passing at the moment. But its recovery and eventual transformation into a something better will surely be hampered by the loss of Mr Al Tamimi and so many other fine, brave journalists. " . Those are the words of a very brave Scottish man to a very brave Iraqi man. May Allah bless your soul Shihab Al Tamimi. And Alan Johnston, my great Scottish hero, THANKS A MILLON from me and from my Iraq. With my love. Yours forever, Lubna.

A Very Sad Day

Hi. Today the peer of Iraqi journalists Shihab Al Tamimi has gone. He was seriously injured on Friday the 23rd of Feb. when 'THEY' shot him in Al Waziriya district in Baghdad. And today he died at the age of 75 years. So this is another victory for 'THEM'. Today 'THEY' have succeeded in shutting up another free Iraqi voice. Mr Al Tamimi isn't the 1st, and won't be the last. 250 Iraqi journalists were murdered since 2003 and till now. I stand and shout outloud : ENOUGH silence ! I'd say to journalists all over the World : Your Iraqi colleagues are being murdered in Iraq. We want your reactions. We want your condemnations. I'm asking from any journalist who receives this message to write a post for my blog about the assassination of the peer of the Iraqi journalists Shihab Al Tamimi. With my love. Yours forever, Lubna.

Al Hussein Bin Ali-A Tear On The Cheek Of Eternity-Part 1

Hi. Millions and millions of Iraqi Muslim Shiites are heading on their feet towards the Iraqi city of Karbala to visit the Holy Shrine of Al Imam Al Hussein Bin Ali. Those millions are acknowledging Al Arbaeen, the end of forty days of mourning for Al Imam Al Hussein martyrdom which took place 1400 years ago. Al Imam Al Hussein is the grandson of the Prophet of Islam Mohammed. 50 years after the Prophet's death, Yazid, the corrupt and shameless man who deviated from the pathway of true Islam, took power by force, and forced all Muslims to submit to his ruling by the power of sword. Al Imam Al Hussein refused to submit to the ruling of Yazid. People of Iraqi city of Kufa sent 20 thousands letters to Al Imam inviting them to come to their city, and Al Imam responded to their invitation positively. So He, together with 73 of his family members, close friends, servants, and devout believers who later joined the holy caravan. All of those people left Al Madina, the holy city of the Prophet Mohammed (in current Saudi Arabia) and headed towards the Iraqi city of Kufa. But Yazid reacted quickly. He changed the ruler of Kufa, and put the brutal and shameless man, Bin Ziyad in that position. Bin Ziyad, the new ruler of Kufa, by the orders of Yazid, directed an army of 30 thousand soldiers to prevent the caravan of Al Imam from reaching Al Kufa. The huge army trapped the caravan in an area in the desert (now the Iraqi city of Karbala) and Al Imam Al Hussein was given two options by Yazid : either surrender and submit to Yazid's power or fight to death. Al Imam refused to surrender. He asked all his companions to leave him alone and run away in the night. But all his family members, close friends, servants, and devout believers refused to leave him, and they all swore to fight with him till death. The holy caravan was so thirsty. Yazid's army deprived them of water. The summer was so hot and the desert was merciless. People of Kufa who sent 20 thousand letters to invite Al Imam to come to their city, eventually let him down. Bin Ziyad threatened them with sword and seduced them with gold. To be continued. With my love. Yours forever, Lubna. PS, Abdelilah, THANKS A MILLON my good friend.

From Rainy Baghdad

Hi from rainy Baghdad. If you ask any Baghdadi "What's your ultimate dream ?!", then he'll reply to you at once without any hesitation "Al Aman". Al Aman means safety in English. One of the most terrible feelings that most Baghdadis are still experiencing till now despite the relative improvement in the security situation is FEAR. Yes my good friends. If you want me to tell you who the Baghdadi is in one word then I'll answer you "The Baghdadi is a SCARED human being !". When you live in Baghdad, then you must get used to experiencing many feelings that are surely considered- by the standards of people who live in safe places- horrific : When you see a loved one of yours, you must keep in your mind that there's a possibility that this may be the last time you see him/her. When one of your family members gets out of the house, then your heart will keep burning till he/she gets back home again. Everytime you wanna get out of your house, then you must ask yourself "Do I have to do this ?! Do I have to get out of my house ?!". Because everytime you get out of your house, there's a possibility that you may get killed. When you're chained with fear, then you won't be able to work properly, you won't be able to go on with your life properly. When fear controls your life, then you'll be a slave. If we stop being afraid, then I can tell you that we'll be ok ! With my love. Yours forever, Lubna. PS, to my love Anita from the US : THANKS A MILLON sweetie.