Announcement

Dear readers how are you all, hope you are fine and enjoying your times, I jest wont you to know that my blog will be moved to the new web site www.roadofanation.com it will be working I hope in a few days, and you will see a lot of new staffs, I will be abele to show you movies and interviews live from Iraq, to all those who won’t to express there points of view ,and also some events which are taken place here, also I will publish articles for some peoples who they wish to express there opinion ,and there are many people here are racing to be the first one’s who won’t to appears to the world ,jest wont you to know that there is so many great and good friends helping me to do all that work ,and I jest wont to Thank them for there hard and faithful and kind help ,Thank you Norm, Thank you Mike ,Thank you Janet, Thank you Tom ,Thank you all out there ,Thank you all how read and support Iraqis blog ,we will never forget you ,and we promises you to keep our way .
I love you all .

One year old

One year later on the war.
It seems like yesterday,
Can we list together what was good and bad in this decision?
I mean the decision of war,

No one likes wars, and no one suffered as we did, from wars,

I will speak the part which is related with Iraq as an Iraqi, and you
can speak on behalf of yourself,

Let me start with me, one year ago: an Iraqi person.
Life :(yes, I am a life:)
a body walking. Don't think. Don't feel. Don't see. Don't hear.
Just living. Live until my expiration day,

Who am I? Where am I? Why me?
Many questions, but no answers,
The same dark tone,

Then, "48 hours"--- the time offered for saddam and his two sons to
leave Iraq. This was the first shock to our live bodies and dead minds,
but it wasn't enough to bring us life, The whole world hoped that
saddam will take the right decision, That's what the world hoped, but
who knows? This man knows how much he loves war and fighting. It was
his favorite hobby.

The operation starts,
Can this operation bring us life?
This war was the fastest war in history. Also the cleanest war: 21
days, and the marines are in Baghdad.

Now, one believes.
Look at how all these armies just collapsed.

We look about us, and think "Where did they go? Where is the nightmare
which we used to see all the time? Where are our jailers? Where are our
life-stealers?"

It's the 9th of April, It's a historical moment when we see the statue
of saddam falling down: the statue of fear and anger, and punishment,
is falling down!
I am alive now! I can feel!
I cried when I saw those historical moments,
I can see, I see all that fear collapsing,
I can hear, I hear the voice of joy and happiness,
I am back to life!

One year has passed,
What did this war offer to us?
For the first time, war offered something good. This war, which is, to
me, as to many Iraqis (and not all) is a liberation. It's a victory of
good over evil,

I will be exaggerating if I say the whole issue was related with, or
because of, just one person,
That means that we didn't understand any of what was happening,
Yes, saddam was responsible for a large part of what was happening,
but
there were also people who assisted him and were helping him, Also,
there was the perfect environment and circumstances for him to do so,
from one side.

From the other side, there was the part which was related to us, the
people of Iraq.
We didn't do anything to help ourselves, We were only thinking of
ourselves , concerned for "only me"...
But, to be HONEST with you, I was always blaming the regime and his
wrong way of dealing with things , and we are getting the results, of
all those years of the wrong way of living ,and it will take a long
time before we can understand and realize the meaning, of many things.
Words, and feelings, and much else.

"Democracy is a behavior."
We can't sell it or export it. We must learn it and live with it and
feel it, I lived all my life away from something called democracy, and
I may be one of many people who didn't feel this gift. I lived a life
that was full of pain and suffering and fear, A world full of wars and
violence. I didn't know peace, and I learned that wars never bring
peace, Violence never brings anything but being only more violent, Hate
brings hate.

To me, this war has good sides, but it also has side effects.
Let me begin with good things, The 9th of April is my birthday, or
like rising from a grave, back to life, I can't describe it. It's a mix of
feelings, as it is to many other people (...and not all.)
I was born, and I am one year old, I am learning as a child is
learning, discovering a new, different world, I try to walk, I am
armed with "hope." A very interesting feeling! I have hope, I am looking
forward, I've got my dignity. I can say yes; I can say no, and the
important issue is, I am "free".
Maybe all these words are just a madman's dreams, kept inside him, and
it came out as a reaction,
But these wishes and dreams could be our solid, basic future,
These were some of good achievements, to me, and others, of example,

But there are also bad things. My land is now the place for terrorists
to fight the coalition, since here they are able to attack their number
one enemy,

Trying hard to make their own space, many people are now without jobs--
and they've got families, They want them to live with at least a
minimum of earning a living , and more people are asking "when will
the operation of rebuilding Iraq start? The 9th of April is in the
past, It was a year ago! what have we got for the future? Why is this
process delaying?"

Security, they told me.
There is no place secure in this world!
The example is Madrid.

And after all, north and south Iraq are some kind of secure,
Why, then?

Maybe it is us, who are very much in a hurry to do everything we lost,
To be fair, on the other side, the soldiers also are in a difficult
situation, They are in a new spot of the world, with a completely
different environment. Everything's different, and they've got to
learn many things so they can communicate with the NATIVES.
It's hard work,
And the Iraqis themselves can't accept this ,which makes a glass wall
between the two sides,
And as I saw, many of those solders want to get back home ,to their
families, to home sweet home ,and they wouldn't do all this, and go
through such a horrible time, if they didn't believe and love their
country.

I hope that gives you some idea about how we feel, after one year.
And can we, as Iraqis, know how you feel?

On another subject:
We have also our temporary constitution,
I am very proud with how it came out,
There is a lot of bright sides in it, although the items in it are not
the problem, but the application of these items correctly.

I was in college when they told me that we were having demonstrations,
I asked them "about what?" They told me 'about our new constitution.'
There was about 50 students demonstrating,
I have had the chance to talk with some of them ,and I will show you
the view as it is:

I asked them, "why you are demonstrating?"
They said ,"the new constitution."

I said, "what about it?"
They say, "It's not good."

I said, "How many of you read it?"
They told me, "We all read it,"

I said, "Which part didn't you like about it?"
They say, "The whole constitution."

I realized then, that many, if not all of them, didn't read it,
This was obvious when I asked them "What was the first item in the
constitution?"

This move shows that people didn't change in between night and day.
They told me that the "mrjaya the spiritual leader" didn't agree on
the constitution.

I told them "what about your self and your character?"
They told me "that he knows more than us and they can take the right
decision."

I asked them "Can't you decide what's good or bad for yourself?"
They couldn't answer.

I am aware that the regional, religionist side is taken over ,I am not
afraid of that issue if there is law and a good constitution, which
shows the right way.
I mean, simply, that if I elected someone to be president or prime
Minister or what ever, if I didn't see him enact the reasons which
moved me to elect him, I won't do it next time.
Therefore, we must have a powerful constitution,
but I am afraid that someone will take over again, and steal all our
wishes and dreams--
and your hard work in helping us will be lost...
. . .

Maybe the whole war issue *was* wrong-- but you start anyway, You cant
stop now, free Democracy in Iraq , is better for all.

Sarmad

From Baghdad to Madrid

Our condolences to all who were affected. Another tragedy to the world, the ugly face of terrorists actions. What I see in the face of the Iraqis, they were angry and sad for all those who have been killed in this tragedy of Madrid explosions. And believe me we know how they are feeling, we pray to God to help them.

Iraqi person.

Could our dreams be true?

We were only dreaming, That's what we could do, and you must not share
your dream with any one ,because you don't know... maybe they won't
like
your dream ,and you will be punished for your dream.

Believe me-- that's was what happening here.
A lot of changes happened here. Good ones. We can dream freely now.
It's a good thing, and beautiful that you can share your dream with any
one.
But just dreaming is not enough to move life. All of us wants his own
dream be true-- and we wish all dreams to be true, if it is possible.
I'm going to talk about the Iraqis' dreams. Many dreams came out after
they had been kept for a long time, and these dreams show how they
think
and feel ,
The shared dream for all Iraqis was to be released from Sadaam's
regime... and many of them even said "I will accept any one who will
help us, even if he was the devil himself!" That was because of what
we
suffered ,and you might feel for us, but you could not imagine our
situation. Three destroying wars ,thirteen years of sanctions ,two
million killed , four million left the country ,and the rest despaired
in their ignorance ,

But what happened on the 9th of April made many Iraqis feel like they
were reborn, and brought others to life after they had been dead. They
began to think and respond to changes after they could not speak or
think, (even with your self!) You can now think, and dream, and share
your dream, and let any one know what you are thinking. This is one
good step forward, and the rest will come.

Before, we got only one-sided media: the regime's media, and we must
watch what they want us to watch. It was "copy and paste media." We
were drudges. We couldn't feel any thing... and even if we felt
anything, we couldn't understand it.

Now, look at what we have! More than 200 daily newspapers! In Baghdad,
more than 6 TV channels! Yes! Every one is showing their way, from
their
own point of view--but that's good thing, to have more than one
opinion. At [least] [last] we can see how all or the majority are
thinking. And disagreeing is a healthy thing, if it is done peacefully.

And as to one dream-- but it's an important one--
saddam no longer exists.

There is no doubt, that the capture of sadaam changed a lot of things
on
the ground. There are people who loved sadaam. They say that he did
what he did to save Iraq from being torn apart ,and they insist that
one
united Iraq was worth all this blood and the mass graves.
Many other Iraqis disagree with this opinion, but there are people who
think this way, here.
But as I said, the capture of sadaam shows many things, and it mainly
shows that these people are wrong, And the way he has been captured,
shows how much they were wrong ,

There's been a big change of what they call "resistance". Yes, there
are people resisting, What they are resisting is the new life of
Iraq.
They are resisting the "One, United Iraq" that they have been always
talking about! They still think that violence will solve problems ,
because this is the only way they CAN act. That, and the fact that
they
were told that they are the masters and we are the slaves. Killing is
a hobby to them.

We are sure that our determination of staying free, after we've tasted
the meaning of freedom, will be stronger than their sick dreams,

These days, Iraq is witnessing a great day. It's the Day that we will
go on to see our first constitution , even it is not final and it needs
more time to be done right--- ,but at least we've got one now ,and
there
is going be Law to be respect, We are all equal before The Law, and
no
one is above it . There will be freedom for people to express their
opinions peacefully,
And even if all this is to only hold us for a limited time, so we can
do elections ,we are so happy that they will sign this constitution .
All those who bet on civil war in Iraq , well, their dreams have
crashed on the rock of the new free Iraq . All the killing stuff they
are doing, to "create a situation between the Iraqis" will fail ,

I'm in college, as you know, and the college is like a small example of
Iraq at large. There are students from all over the country here, and
they are together, living peacefully. They are enjoying their time,
and
they have fun. No one says anything about "you are sunni!" or "you are
shiea" or"you are Arabic" or "you are Kurdish!" They would be
ashamed
to talk or look or think this way!! They say, "we are all brothers
and
we are Iraqis."

There are some people claiming that the Kurdish want to separate, and
make their own country , I am Kurdish, even though I have lived in
Baghdad all the time ,and as I told you before, there is no one who
wouldn't like all their dreams to come true ,but there is something
more
important than one's selfish dream,
Yes, the Kurdish want their own independent country, but they know
that there is a lot of trouble in their way ,and they realize that.
I've talked to many of them, asking them "why would you want to
separate?" I talked to students in the college that are new, here in
Baghdad. They weren't allowed to study here for a long time, because
you know that Kurdistan was separated from Iraq, for more than 12
years. But now it's back to being an included part of Iraq, and
those
students don't know Arabic.
You might ask, " how could they study, if they don't know how to speak
Arabic?" Well, that's why I said that I don't fear civil war: those
students are being helped, all the way, by the other students. They are
helping them to understand the Arabic language, They are helping each
other, in a way.
All I can say about it is, it might be a gift from God ,
When I talk to them in the Kurdish language, they are totally
surprised, and ask me "how could you speak Kurdish? Are you Kurdish?"
I tell them "I am Iraqi."
I tell them "If you need anything explained to you, I am ready to do
so." They tell me that their colleagues are doing their best to make
them comfortable.
Then I ask them "Do you prefer to separate from Iraq and make your own
home country?" They hesitate to answer. they tell me "We were the
victims of sadaam, and most of our people were killed in the name of
'Iraq for all' , We never got peace until we got the no- fly zones area
,and our people have been slaves under the Iraq flag ,but we know that
separating is not possible, We want to stay in one united Iraq , if
the new Iraq respects all , it it's the Iraq of Law and it treats us
as
native citizens, equal in everything ,and won't treat us as a second
degree persons ,"
To be honest with you, I am relieved when I hear them , After all is
said and done, we've got the same goals, but in a different way , and
that's good.

I want to see one united Iraq: powerful, one in everything,

Yesterday, I was speaking on the phone. I'd been called by my brother
,to tell me to look on the TV ; there was report about the Iraqi
Olympic
soccer team ,
I love soccer, as do many Iraqis, and when I watch football, I forget
about anything else ,
I think in the USA there is a "Superbowl event" and there is American
football, and baseball is more popular than soccer, Sport is a
language to communicate between different worlds,
Anyway, it was a regular report. Our teams are training. They won their
first match against Oman, 4 –0 . We were very happy. Our next match is
against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The amazing thing in this report was when Mr. Bremer appeared in the
field, playing with the players, and supporting them!!

Pretty different view from yesterday, when our team would be preparing
to go a match, and they were threatened to be punished, if they didn't
win... Even if they couldn't give more than they had...

Thank you, Mr. Bremer, for your time.
What a great person. And he is an example to many of the Iraqis,
I, myself, if he is nominated to be the president of Iraq, I will vote
to elect him, as many of us will do ,
God bless you-- to your country, and to Iraq ,

I called Hameed on Sunday. He was so kind to me. I tried to call him
from my mobile phone. (It's a new invention to Iraqis-- we weren't
allowed to use mobile phones or the internet during sadaam's time. We
couldn't write or express ourselves as I am doing now. I would have
been accused then of being a spy for America.)
Anyway, I've got to get up on the roof of my house to make the calls,
because the mobile net is not strong enough, and they need some more
time to complete it,
Hameed welcomed me ,and he told me to hang up the phone, so he could
call me back on his charge-- and he told the sweetest words I've ever
heard.
He told me "it seems that people like your writing." These words let me
fly to the sky. With all of what I suffered in my life, and all of what
I've seen , these kind of words-- or your comments-- or e-mail-- make
me
feel that life is beautiful, and it is worth every minute we live in it
,

Thank you all, there, for letting me know that I am not alone in this
life,

The other surprise from Hameed was when he told me that I can continue
my study in the UK, or the USA, and he will help me to get a
scholarship.

That is more than a dream coming true, to me , I am eager to learn and
study , and he told me something so beautiful:
He said, "Sarmad, we learn that after every darkness, there is
light."


Thank you, Hameed ,

He also advised me to keep away from bad guys, as you all advise me,
too.

Believe me. in the past, it was my thought, when I'd see something
wrong, to not say any thing and keep going on my way ,
Something changed after the 9th of April. I can no longer accept the
wrong ways, and I am more than ever realizing what is happening, and I
see things so clearly,
I know that I've got to right things, I might be killed dead,
anytime, for it, but there are many, who are ready to keep on if there
is no Sarmad , There is Zaid, and Wesam, and many, many more ,

I don't work only for my time. I work for the future , the future of
the
next generation , a generation who will learn how to plant a Rose and
draw one ,not live carrying a weapon ,

I love you Iraq ,
I owe you, USA, thank you .


There are people asking why I put the cost of the war in Iraq in my
blog
,
I wanted people to see that the USA are serious in what they are
doing.
They pay a lot of money to make the world a better place to live. I
want
you to see how your money is really used, here in Iraq, to rebuild a
new country
and I wanted to show my people that there is a lot of money being spent
on Iraq and we are not alone .

Many people are asking me "What's your opinion on Iraq having
relations
with Israel?"
As I told you before, we welcome any one who wants to be our friend,
and wants to help us.
We are human and they are too, and I will welcome any Israeli who
wants
to be a friend ,
When we first got the internet, after the liberation, I used to go to
chat rooms on yahoo messenger. I was always going to the Jewish room,
and when I was telling them that I am from Iraq ,they were asking me if
I am an American soldier. when I was telling them, no, I am an Iraqi
,they welcomed me and congratulated me that we get rid of sadaam, and
asked me "how you are feeling?" and "you are speaking to Israeli
people"
That was very kind, and nice of them ,We had been told that those
people
hated us, always. Now we are friends.
and then, when I was going to Arabic rooms, telling them I am an Iraqi
,they told me "You are traitors and you don't deserve living" and
others were telling me "you must fight, to get back your dignity ,

so we are ready to have any friendship, relation with anyone, who wants
to be our friend.

And I wont to send special Thank to "janet"she is doing agreat job ,she is my guide.

Thank you all You are my inspiration.