No difference

We have a proverb in Iraq saying "that who gets married of your mother, you should call him uncle".

The Prime Minister Mr. Nouri Al-Maliki arrived in Iraq today after a week of being in London for medical treatment. The news is still good to have our prime in Iraq with his people to do his responsibility, but the strange thing is to have blocked streets having some people raising the prime minister's pictures in hands and shouting for his long live welcoming his coming back home to show off the people's love of their beloved prime minister while the real Iraqi people were in some other blocked streets which are blocked for security reasons as they heard or to have celebrated people of the coming of their prime minister.

The people in the blocked streets were upset to make them stuck without reaching their destination for no reasonable purpose, but for showing off a celebration or having the prime minister in Iraq. This thing reminds us of the former regime during Saddam's reign when that regime used to have demonstrations and celebrations of such kinds forcing people to be in streets to make the world see them trying to convince them that the government is from the people and for them. I think the Iraqi people are smart enough to know who made this small demonstration and for what reason. Also the Iraqi people fed up with celebrations and speeches having one thing to be achieved which is Iraq for Iraqis no more.

I am not against such kinds of celebrations of ceremonies if they just like the one done in the Baghdad airport by the ministers and officials to receive the prime minister, but the price is too much as all the roads near the BIAP (Baghdad International Air Port) are closed making people in trouble having one excuse in mind that they want to secure the officials convoys from terrorists attacks. Thus, there is no difference of our past than the present time.

Comments

[Robert Whitlock]

Thank you for telling your story, Correspondent Hussein. And from reading other accounts, it sounds like living in Iraq is actually quite worse now, for many, compared to how things were when Saddam was in power.

But I understand what you're saying about the current government doing some of the same exact things that Saddam's regime did.

The government of America is not for Americans. The government of Iraq is not for Iraqis. I see a pattern.