A strike or a disaster

The word democracy is normally used to express the people’s ruling or role, but in Iraq this word is losing its meaning.

For the last five years, many mistakes and bad actions had been done by Iraqi officials and Americans’ by the name of Democracy. One of those things what happened on Monday afternoon, Sadrists called for a strike in our neighborhood as a kind of protest against what they call the non-stop arrests of Sadrists by the security forces.

Till now, the matter is normal and they have the right to do it, but when they order people to do it without their willing is the wrong thing. The strike started on Monday with closing all kinds of shops, but the bakery ones. On Tuesday, the matter became bigger and more serious when the Sadrists ordered the schools to close their doors for students, prevented employees to go for their offices, asked the mini bus drivers (Kia minibus) to transport people and closed the main green grocer market which supply south and west Baghdad with vegetables and fruit.

I suffered with my family for the last two days as many people did .I was out of Baghdad forgetting the miserable life that Baghdadi people do for two days only. I was about to have one week away of Baghdad, but I got a phone call from my dad telling me that the oculist we found last week notified him that he would make the operation for my mother on Tuesday morning instead of May (5) the date which was on schedule.

I was happy to hear that news and I cut my holiday coming back to Baghdad! As soon as I entered my neighborhood I witnessed the tension on people’s faces seeing the shops closed .When I asked my brother told the whole matter and he said that some Sadrists member asked him to close his shop for three days and my father couldn’t make a diabetes test for my Mom in the clinic which is needed before having the operation as the clinic is closed, too

.

We decided to take mother to the hospital two hours before the operation’s time which was at nine on Tuesday morning to have the test in Karrada neighborhood where the hospital is. Sadrists members stopped us three times and prevented us to be out, but the fourth route we took had some people who understood the case and let us go for hospital!

Luckily, we had the test and the operation done on time though it took us five hours to have mother be out of the operation room.

We thanked God that the operation was done after long suffering to have an oculist in this country having some people who were about to prevent my mother having it for a strike which may cost people’s lives and was about to cost mother’s sight.

I just wanted to ask the people who did the strike of the bad and good points of such a strike, but I didn’t. The matter is obvious as hospitals, schools, offices, food stuff and transportations are not available.

At that time, my mind brought back to Saddam’s regime when Baathists were doing the same thing ordering people to close shops and ask for money from people without their willing with different excuses.

Comments

[Deditha M. Rosalejos]

I am saddened to what has long happened in your country, Iraq , too. I wish and pray that war in your country will end soonest. What your country needs is democracy in the real since of the word and Christ like love and forgiveness and healing like the most Christian countries enjoy and have these days with prosperity love and peace abiding in their abodes.

It is not your war only, it is a war to every peace loving people living on earth
in any country of the world represented by the Allied Forces in every country in Europe , America and Asia that are now protecting you and your countrymen together with your military police forces.

Because , we love the peace loving people in Iraq, we tried to help your war, the war on terrorism. A barbaric kind of war, because even the innocents , harmless and not even their enemy died and maimed and shock not only the more than 4,000 patriots and the heroes of the USA and Allied forces , who willingly bleed and died in your country so that others may live peacefully even not their relatives and not their countrymen and not even a peace loving Christian like them and their relatives and countrymen . A Christ love, caring and healing example that the war like Muslims should learn to live with.

This warlike Muslims should never think that they alone are worthy to live in this part of the world, God has given us a beautiful world to live by , peacefully, lovingly without prejudice whether of race or religion. The earth suffer also, because of destruction ,ruins and pollution in land and seas
brought to the firearms and deadly ammunitions and bombs used by these evil men and people dead and shock and maimed.

They should abandon their firearms and ammunitions and mass killing instruments and learn to make friends and love their enemy who did not even knew them, and mind them, unless they harm other people for they never have the rights
to kill human beings, God , even Jehova or Allah has never approved this unneeded sufferings for his people of all race because of tyranny of others who has the position of deadly weapons and of no importance to their life and others and were never authorized to do so. For only Government soldiers police enforcement officers are authorized to hold firearms for good and justice not for terrorism and abused .

MY PRAYERS FOR PEACE IN YOUR COUNTRY TO COME SOONEST!

I am also sorry for the most womens in Iraq and other Muslim countrys whose freedom are restricted to decide for themselves unlike Christian women who were empowered by thier men and family to live and exist with equal freedom to the husbands and sons and brothers, to be educated and practice their professions, kept and save their own income or salary for them to enjoy their fruits of labor, to travel without restrictions and transact business with other counter parts , to vote
as long as they are within the bounds of moality and right action.

Sincerly,

deditha, from the Philippines

[Dwight D. Leister:Chair]

Get a grip , this is a WAR ZONE!

[aric]

Looking at news sources here (America) the strikes are being portrayed not a something that is being forced upon the Iraq people by Sadrists (like you say and I believe) but as mass demonstrations that the Shiite population are voluntarily participating in. What the hell did my government think would happen when we propped up thousands of Sunni fighters for the surge? The Sadrists seeing their power being challenged are going to break the cease-fire....sometimes it seems the actions of my government are designed to further divide the Iraqi people and keep all of you beat down.

My mom suffers from Multiple sclerosis and all our family members help out making sure she makes medical appointments, pharmacy trips, etc...I can't even imagine what it must be like to care for a sick love one in war zone.