An Iraqi view of Fahrenheit 9/11
I'm a great admirer of Faiza Jarrar's wonderful weblog, A Family in Baghdad Of all the Iraqi weblogs, her's has evolved into a powerful, emotional statement of the reality of today's Iraq. She posts in Arabic, and a few days later it gets translated. So if you are confronted with a page of Arabic, just scroll down to see the latest translated post. In a recent entry she gives her "review" of Fahrenheit 9/11:
We bought a DVD of Michael Moore's Documentary film (Fahrenheit 9/11). I hardly got a copy with difficulty, every day I went to the shop and asked, the salesman would tell me that all available copies were finished. I was amazed because I thought the Iraqis haven't heard about it yet…I felt glad that they are buying and watching it, a healthy sign. I love for Iraqis to open their eyes upon every thing a new…to see, hear, and understand what goes on in the near-far world... enough for them were the years of darkness and ignorance they lived in during the Saddam era. Now they are subjected to a serious overcasting in vision. There are those who want to attract their attention to a certain direction, and distract their attention from others, and I pray to God that the eyes, ears, and hearts of the Iraqis would remain alert, and open to understand what goes on around them, and wouldn’t go back to the prior condition of slumber. Perhaps some of those who want to re-make the new Iraq want to use the same methods of Saddam Hussein in intimidating and terrorizing us, so they could pass up and implement what is best for their interests…without respect to the people's interest, future, or national independence.
For me, the (Fahrenheit) film didn't come up with a new viewpoint, for through this site, I get hundreds of letters monthly, and read the different viewpoints of American citizens, and this film came to prove that the American society today is divided among itself: between a supporter of the war and the Bush policy, and an opponent to both… and the letters say what the film didn't…the letters say that they would choose Kerry not because he is better than Bush, for he didn't represent a clear, convincing program, but because they got tired of Bush and his aggressive tide of dealing in the foreign policy, for he hits, bombs, and destroys, thinking he is protecting America and its people, and in truth he is creating new enemies for America, who wish for a chance to hit back with the same aggression and cruelty. This means spreading the spirit of revenge among humans and nations as a dialogue language, instead of the language of peace and respect, which is a language that creates friends, and keeps the balance of the state from collapsing, reducing the psychological pressures on people, the constant feelings of fear and terror, the continual departure of their sons and daughters to join in wars that do not end…Afghanistan, then Iraq, then Iran on the way, then perhaps Korea….and, to what end???? The road of wars, hostility, and hatred has no end……and the American people see that they are paying the price of this clumsy policy, the results are not always fascinating, as the Bush government is trying to convince them. Iraq did not live happy days during the war or afterwards, did not reap beautiful fruits from this war, and even its causes became a subject of suspicion and discussion… it did not give happiness to the Iraqi people, nor to the Americans, nothing but destruction, killings, and lies, and more lies to cover up the previous lies, and so on….months and years go by, and here we are, waiting for signs of well-being, and see nothing but bombings, violence, and score-settling, and endless excuses to clarify the delay of the process of re-building Iraq? The Fallujah file isn't closed yet, the violence is still the dialogue language, and here's another file opened, that of the fighting against Al-Sader and his supporters… If I were a prime Minister, and loved my people, I would have said to all factions: please be seated to a dialogue table…we want what is good to Iraq and the Iraqis, we want to build Iraq all over again…lets hear what you have to say, let us try and talk together… but the on-coming American thinks in an aggressive way, in Bush's way, strike your foe and do not talk to him….How are we to build a free, democratic country, while we hit the opponents and destroy them, instead of listening to them??? Is it wise to accuse them of being enemies and criminals before talking with them, and listening to their political speech?? Even an accused has the right to defend himself in front of the judge… but the Iraqi Resistance's image was distorted, and many acts of destruction and violence were attached to it, in order to give a reason for eliminating it. And the people…where are the people?? Aren't they supposed to decide their destiny?? Aren't they who decide whom they want, and whom they don’t want??What is happening now in Iraq is a very painful thing; the people are far away from the decision, America, unaccompanied, is putting the government under pressure, to carry on some program, that serves the interests of some factions, inside and out. Then, after the end of the blood, killings, and destruction series, they will wash their hands, open the doors, and tell the Iraqi people, smiling: Please come in, its time now for the democracy game, the field is clean, as WE want it to be........... So…this is how things happen, that who watches and understands, would almost be killed by grief, but he should hold on to patience, and the belief in GOD…for all goes by HIS will, not that of Mr. Bush's.
And going back to the (Fahrenheit) film… It has asked some questions about the mysterious relation between the Taliban, Saudi Arabia, and the Bush administrations, senior and junior. About the oil and construction companies, and the September blasting, the removal of Bin-Laden's relatives to Saudi Arabia safely, and secretly. The events that didn't contain one single Iraqi defendant, how did it turn against the miserable Iraqis, and led to a war against them, making them pay for a crime committed by another….where is the justice in all this? How did they convince the Americans that their enemies are these unjustly-treated, and sanctioned people, deprived of their rights for tens of years? Toppling the regime didn't take long…but the daily torture of the Iraqis isn't finished yet, since the downfall of Baghdad, till now…Where is the aspect of success in this war?? Yes, I cried for the scenes of Iraqis wailing and crying in the days of air raids in Iraq, and no one showed them any mercy and stopped the torture…as if the whole world colluded against us, either supporting Bush, or fearing him…then the pictures of Iraqis, at night in their houses, and the occupation forces raiding houses, the son lying on the floor, hands bound, the mother sitting on the stairs, crying in the dark, asking: what did my son do? Shame on you, he is a third-year collage student….How many beautiful things were broken, ripped apart by this war??? Our lives, relations, our whole outlook to the world has collapsed, but the happiness with which Bush promised us didn't come, the happiness by which he justified the war, so he could bring freedom and welfare to the Iraqis…Is he really concerned with us?? Did he ever read the diaries of our pains and torture? Did he apologize for what he brought of chaos and destruction into our lives?…. I don't think so… he didn't , and he never will….he gives adulations only to the American who pays taxes, then sends his children to join in killing us, and destroying our lives…under the slogan of (A Beautiful, Free Iraq)….It is we who live like this every day…and the American here protects himself in every possible way, so he could get back home safely, healthy, and happy, meeting the press, TV Networks and Internet, speaking about his sacrifices here for the Iraqis. Yes…thank you…we see the other side of the picture…away from the media and publicity…the true face of which we write in our diaries…At the end of the film there was some mention of the contracts signed with American Companies, in fantastic numbers, to implement projects in Iraq…then sub-contracting them to Iraqi contractors with humble fees… The film didn't come up with any made-up story, all that he mentioned here was true…we thank Michael Moore and his truthful, transparent spirit, with which he dealt with the film's atmosphere, from beginning to end. I thank him, and thank the beautiful face of America, which supported Moore in bringing this film to light. It had humanity and fairness in dealing with the Iraqi human-being. Not only the American is worthy of being mourned by mother and friends, the Iraqi also deserves to find someone to cry upon him, for he is a human, with a past, memories, a father and a mother, a family, relatives and friends…. Who grieve for the news of his death…cry for him, and feel angry at those who started this accursed war.
We bought a DVD of Michael Moore's Documentary film (Fahrenheit 9/11). I hardly got a copy with difficulty, every day I went to the shop and asked, the salesman would tell me that all available copies were finished. I was amazed because I thought the Iraqis haven't heard about it yet…I felt glad that they are buying and watching it, a healthy sign. I love for Iraqis to open their eyes upon every thing a new…to see, hear, and understand what goes on in the near-far world... enough for them were the years of darkness and ignorance they lived in during the Saddam era. Now they are subjected to a serious overcasting in vision. There are those who want to attract their attention to a certain direction, and distract their attention from others, and I pray to God that the eyes, ears, and hearts of the Iraqis would remain alert, and open to understand what goes on around them, and wouldn’t go back to the prior condition of slumber. Perhaps some of those who want to re-make the new Iraq want to use the same methods of Saddam Hussein in intimidating and terrorizing us, so they could pass up and implement what is best for their interests…without respect to the people's interest, future, or national independence.
For me, the (Fahrenheit) film didn't come up with a new viewpoint, for through this site, I get hundreds of letters monthly, and read the different viewpoints of American citizens, and this film came to prove that the American society today is divided among itself: between a supporter of the war and the Bush policy, and an opponent to both… and the letters say what the film didn't…the letters say that they would choose Kerry not because he is better than Bush, for he didn't represent a clear, convincing program, but because they got tired of Bush and his aggressive tide of dealing in the foreign policy, for he hits, bombs, and destroys, thinking he is protecting America and its people, and in truth he is creating new enemies for America, who wish for a chance to hit back with the same aggression and cruelty. This means spreading the spirit of revenge among humans and nations as a dialogue language, instead of the language of peace and respect, which is a language that creates friends, and keeps the balance of the state from collapsing, reducing the psychological pressures on people, the constant feelings of fear and terror, the continual departure of their sons and daughters to join in wars that do not end…Afghanistan, then Iraq, then Iran on the way, then perhaps Korea….and, to what end???? The road of wars, hostility, and hatred has no end……and the American people see that they are paying the price of this clumsy policy, the results are not always fascinating, as the Bush government is trying to convince them. Iraq did not live happy days during the war or afterwards, did not reap beautiful fruits from this war, and even its causes became a subject of suspicion and discussion… it did not give happiness to the Iraqi people, nor to the Americans, nothing but destruction, killings, and lies, and more lies to cover up the previous lies, and so on….months and years go by, and here we are, waiting for signs of well-being, and see nothing but bombings, violence, and score-settling, and endless excuses to clarify the delay of the process of re-building Iraq? The Fallujah file isn't closed yet, the violence is still the dialogue language, and here's another file opened, that of the fighting against Al-Sader and his supporters… If I were a prime Minister, and loved my people, I would have said to all factions: please be seated to a dialogue table…we want what is good to Iraq and the Iraqis, we want to build Iraq all over again…lets hear what you have to say, let us try and talk together… but the on-coming American thinks in an aggressive way, in Bush's way, strike your foe and do not talk to him….How are we to build a free, democratic country, while we hit the opponents and destroy them, instead of listening to them??? Is it wise to accuse them of being enemies and criminals before talking with them, and listening to their political speech?? Even an accused has the right to defend himself in front of the judge… but the Iraqi Resistance's image was distorted, and many acts of destruction and violence were attached to it, in order to give a reason for eliminating it. And the people…where are the people?? Aren't they supposed to decide their destiny?? Aren't they who decide whom they want, and whom they don’t want??What is happening now in Iraq is a very painful thing; the people are far away from the decision, America, unaccompanied, is putting the government under pressure, to carry on some program, that serves the interests of some factions, inside and out. Then, after the end of the blood, killings, and destruction series, they will wash their hands, open the doors, and tell the Iraqi people, smiling: Please come in, its time now for the democracy game, the field is clean, as WE want it to be........... So…this is how things happen, that who watches and understands, would almost be killed by grief, but he should hold on to patience, and the belief in GOD…for all goes by HIS will, not that of Mr. Bush's.
And going back to the (Fahrenheit) film… It has asked some questions about the mysterious relation between the Taliban, Saudi Arabia, and the Bush administrations, senior and junior. About the oil and construction companies, and the September blasting, the removal of Bin-Laden's relatives to Saudi Arabia safely, and secretly. The events that didn't contain one single Iraqi defendant, how did it turn against the miserable Iraqis, and led to a war against them, making them pay for a crime committed by another….where is the justice in all this? How did they convince the Americans that their enemies are these unjustly-treated, and sanctioned people, deprived of their rights for tens of years? Toppling the regime didn't take long…but the daily torture of the Iraqis isn't finished yet, since the downfall of Baghdad, till now…Where is the aspect of success in this war?? Yes, I cried for the scenes of Iraqis wailing and crying in the days of air raids in Iraq, and no one showed them any mercy and stopped the torture…as if the whole world colluded against us, either supporting Bush, or fearing him…then the pictures of Iraqis, at night in their houses, and the occupation forces raiding houses, the son lying on the floor, hands bound, the mother sitting on the stairs, crying in the dark, asking: what did my son do? Shame on you, he is a third-year collage student….How many beautiful things were broken, ripped apart by this war??? Our lives, relations, our whole outlook to the world has collapsed, but the happiness with which Bush promised us didn't come, the happiness by which he justified the war, so he could bring freedom and welfare to the Iraqis…Is he really concerned with us?? Did he ever read the diaries of our pains and torture? Did he apologize for what he brought of chaos and destruction into our lives?…. I don't think so… he didn't , and he never will….he gives adulations only to the American who pays taxes, then sends his children to join in killing us, and destroying our lives…under the slogan of (A Beautiful, Free Iraq)….It is we who live like this every day…and the American here protects himself in every possible way, so he could get back home safely, healthy, and happy, meeting the press, TV Networks and Internet, speaking about his sacrifices here for the Iraqis. Yes…thank you…we see the other side of the picture…away from the media and publicity…the true face of which we write in our diaries…At the end of the film there was some mention of the contracts signed with American Companies, in fantastic numbers, to implement projects in Iraq…then sub-contracting them to Iraqi contractors with humble fees… The film didn't come up with any made-up story, all that he mentioned here was true…we thank Michael Moore and his truthful, transparent spirit, with which he dealt with the film's atmosphere, from beginning to end. I thank him, and thank the beautiful face of America, which supported Moore in bringing this film to light. It had humanity and fairness in dealing with the Iraqi human-being. Not only the American is worthy of being mourned by mother and friends, the Iraqi also deserves to find someone to cry upon him, for he is a human, with a past, memories, a father and a mother, a family, relatives and friends…. Who grieve for the news of his death…cry for him, and feel angry at those who started this accursed war.
posted by Harold Marshall at 11:52 AM
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