I discover blogs by Iraqis.

I’ve been reading  blogs by Iraqis trying to survive in Baghdad.  These are personal thoughts and diaries of fairly well off working middle class people who think deeply about their country, what has happened to it, and to their lives.  Much of their predicament can be laid at the door of a careless, callous and selfish American government.

Here are excerpts from a mother’s writing.  I am not giving her name because I’m afraid of causing her and/or her family trouble, but you can read for yourself here.  They live in Baghdad.  We in America need to educate ourselves about what happens when a self-righteous, stubborn Administration goes off on a disastrous tangent.

“The general situation here is frustrating. No new projects giving work to the jobless, nor a visible reconstruction movement encouraging people to contribute and giving them hope after all the pain and sorrow they have seen during and after the war…  December 23.2003”

“I was born in Baghdad and lived in it for a long time. I left this city and came back to it after 15 years. I left her in 1976 after I graduated from college and got married and came back to her after the first Gulf war with my husband and three kids…
When I returned to Baghdad I found that the people, young, old, men and women have become Baathists, willingly or against their will…
“I saw people wrong each other, the strong eating the weak.
“Even the weak don’t stop from abusing his situation to get something out of someone who is weaker than their self or is a good hearted fool…

” I am confused, have these people been corrupted by saddam or were they like this always and there is no way to deal with them?
I am depressed and have a headache. December 12, 2003″