Carnival of the Liberated
Dave Schuler
Welcome to the Carnival of the Liberated, a sampler of some of the best posts from Iraqi and Afghani bloggers. This week we've got April 9th, a Kurdish president, a call girl, and more.
April 9th marked the second anniversary of the fall of Baghdad. It went largely unnoticed but, believe me, the Iraqi bloggers noticed.
Riverbend wasn't happy:
Two years and this is Occupation Day once more. One wonders what has changed in this last year. The same faces of April 2004, but now they have differing positions in April 2005. The chess pieces were moved around and adjusted and every one is getting tired of the game.
Mohammed of Iraq the Model was:
I don't think I need to tell you how close is the 9th of April to my heart. And now, after two years happiness is still the same for me; one person among millions who were freed on that great day.
The 9th of April had turned one of the darkest pages in our history and opened the door wide before the people and their dreams, just as when the idol was knocked down, fear and oppression were knocked down as well.
Dr. Saif of Iraqi Humanity (a medical student) is studying parasitology:
Note: Tomorrow is the 9th of April which is the 2nd year after falling of the parasite(Saddam) statue in Al-firdoos square & I wish that Iraq will pass all his problems & I hope that the new government which is the 1st democratic government lead Iraq in the modern history to solve Iraqis problems & go forward to rebuild Iraq after the destruction(healing process) that happened during war ( by using drug to get rid of one of the most stupid, fool parasite who is certainly Saddam). Sorry but I couldn't find a better example that the medical one :)
Dr. Hanoudi of The Hanoudi Letter wondered when the reconstruction will begin.
neurotic iraqi wife mused about the past, present, and future. Here's part of her thoughts of the future:
Wow what an image, "Firdos" square in its utter beauty. Firdos meaning paradise and sure thing it looks like one. The sun is shining, the skies are clear. Its a public holiday, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the rebirth of Baghdad. Children playing in the fountains.Their jubilant screams fill the air. Their Families gather around watching them proudly. Lovers walking hand in hand. HUBBY and I choose an empty bench. We take a seat. We are tired, we are old. HUBBY places his walking stick aside, and takes my hand in his.
Ali of A Free Iraqi waxed poetic:
Two years now and "they" still wonderI've only quoted snippets from each of these posts. They deserve to be read in their entirety.
And "they" still ask Was it worth it?
Was it right?
Two years and it seems to me Like it was yesterday
Two years and "they" keep trying
To silence the voice inside us
Yet it only grows louder
The other subject much on the mind of Iraqi bloggers is the new, Kurdish president. Kurdo writes:
He also has a great photo-essay on Mr. Talabani.It is of course an important step for a non-Arab to become the president of an Arab State isn't ?! But let's not fool ourselves. Choosing Talabani as the President of Iraq was not a gift given to the Kurds. Nor it does solve the Kurdish issue in Iraq and of course it does not cool down the Kurdish aspiration for independence.
The Kurdish leadership, including Mr. President, when asked about Kurdish independence, they say "Kurds have the right for self-determination but we are working for a democratic federal Iraq". When they are being embarrassed by asking them "But in January %98 of your people voted for independence" they say "Oh yeah every Kurd wants independence in their hearts".
The Kurdish leadership also want independence. But in another form.
Alaa of The Mesopotamian also has some thoughts on the new president:
To change the subject some friends would like to know my thoughts regarding the election of the new presidential team and the recent political developments. Well, I think it is well that the Kurds have insisted on the selection of Jallal Talabani to the post of president. To start with, it is a very good antidote to emotional separatist sentiments amongst the Kurds; although I am convinced that those sentiments are of impulsive rather than serious nature. It has been extremely wise that the Iraqi Alliance insisted on reaching agreement with the Kurdish faction rather than any other. Numerically, it would have been possible to get the required majority by different alignments. Any alliance against the wishes of our Iraqi Kurds would have had disastrous consequences. I suspect the wisdom of Sistani behind this. Besides, Talabani or Mam Talabani (Uncle Talabani) as he is called in Iraqi Kurdistan, is an old veteran politician of high degree of political skill and famous maneuvering ability. And, above all he has his heart absolutely in the right place. Symbolically, it is very valuable. It signals equality between all Iraqis and that any Iraqi can reach the highest office regardless of creed or race. Therefore, overall we are very pleased with this outcome and hoping that the new government (the first democratically elected one in our history) will achieve success.
neurotic iraqi wife has a blogchild: Baghdad's Mistress. And, yes, it is what you think. It's the old, old story:
She's certainly a different Iraqi voice. (hat tip: Iraq Blog Count)Anyways moving on to more about this blog, the idea is not to get clients, being a mistress was part of my life and I like to talk about it. The idea of blogger gave me the chance to stay anonymous and staying safe, I hope. The idea is to get the stories out that are covering my heart like a dark cloud.
And if you are just wondering, I am not an old woman, I am a university graduate with top grades and in my mid twenties. I was not stopping by for cars to pick me up, I was more the private kind, the ones you have to have an appointment. I was not a Baathiest. Let's just say, had a not very happy marriage, divorced, parents died, and thanks to the Yankees embargo on Iraqis, it was a bit hard to make ends meet.
Dave Schuler posts regularly to his own weblog, The Glittering Eye. The Carnival was originally conceived by Ryan Boots.
