Good Morning from Baghdad, A City of Peace

September 25^, 2013, Baghdad, Iraq

We were received by one of the young Iraqi volunteers, who took us to the hotel. As soon as we went out on Baghdad’s streets, I felt a sense of familiarity. We drove to the hotel on the morning’s rush hour. We were exhausted, but extremely happy to be in Baghdad. We hadn’t slept much, as our flight was in the middle of the night. Baghdad had the air of any other of the Arab capitals, Amman, Beirut, and Cairo; except for all the checkpoints and military cars.

Once we got to the hotel, all our colleagues were already waiting; they were really happy to see us. It was very emotional, a meeting of old and new friends, that can’t believe they are reunited despite difficult conditions. We joined part of the last day training on advocacy for Iraqi activists, some of our colleagues from Spain had organized the training to strengthen the skills of activists that are organizing campaigns for human rights in Iraq, teaching them communication skills, listening, team work, and how to build strategies, organize resources and identify needs.

The day was slow, with many of the international activists arriving at different times. I stayed in the training listening to my colleagues from the Save the Tigris campaign, and how they identified resources and needs, set goals, and timelines, and then developed strategies to achieve the desired goal.

Then, I went to take a nap, and then joined the group once more. The young volunteers were ready and eager to help, if they saw that I was listening, they will come close to me and started to translate what had being said in Arabic.

If I try to describe these young Iraqis, they are not different to other youth around the world. Well, the only difference might be that they have a different appreciation about life. The sense that they are here today, but they don’t know if they will be here tomorrow. They are children of the war, the latest war; some of them were so young, that they might not remember how things were before the war. Yet, this experience has transformed them into what they are and what they believe, that Iraq can be a place of freedom and peace. You only have to sit with them to feel their positive vibrations. Some days ago, when I opened my Facebook, one of my Iraqi friends post read: Good Morning from Baghdad of peace- Sabah al khair min Baghdad al Salaam. I just smiled and I thought: this is why I have to go to Baghdad.

I’m not saying there are no risks; there are risks in every decision you make. When I went to Palestine, when I participated in a peaceful demonstration in Beit Ommar that was teargased by Israeli soldiers, when I went to south Iraq, Basra, Babel, Nasriya, Najaf, all these times there were risks, but I was with locals and I felt protected by them. There is no sense of security that a convoy, a tank, or armed guards can give you; on the contrary, they make you a target. I felt safer wearing a hijab, or an abayah (a traditional black women dress) and following the locals’ advice. Three months ago, I was in Babel, and saw the Babilonian Lion, the Ishtar Gate (the replica, the original is at a German museum), went to Ur, sat by the Euphrates and the Tigris River, navigated on the Mesopotamian marshes, and felt completely safe, trusting my colleagues and knowing they will put me in any danger.

In the next few days I hope to see another Baghdad, a Baghdad full of energy and hope, of dreams of peace and unity. That might not be the Baghdad portrayed in the media, because what they mostly show is blood and killings. I think the mainstream media will not show news of the Iraqi Social Forum, but I will try to convey this other Baghdad through my experience, my thoughts and feelings as I take part in this historic event with the slogan “Another Iraq is Possible.”

The anxiety of the trip has gone, and now I am happy to be in Baghdad, to show solidarity with Iraqis, to support their work and to bring a message from abroad that Iraqis are not forgotten, the work of justice is not easy, but that they are not alone. There are people out there doing the same in their own countries, because the work of building a country relies on the citizens of that country. Democracy comes, not with occupation by a foreign country, but when its citizens work actively to build a strong civil society that can support democratic institutions. How do you build democracy in a country destroyed by war, that is using religion as an instrument of division? You have to stop supporting the propaganda that uses terror and sectarianism and support that part of society that believes in the values of inclusiveness, social justice, freedom of expression, workers rights, and the protection of the environment. These are the principles that the Iraqi Social Forum promotes. These are the values that Iraqi activists have been working hard to shape, using sports, art and culture to unite Iraqis. These are the things I believe that will hold Iraq together and that is why I came to Baghdad, because I believe that if we support these principles, a peaceful Iraq can be a reality.

A Journey to the First Iraqi Social Forum: Another Iraq is Possible

For the next 4 days I will be in Baghdad, and I would like you to see a different city through my eyes. Not a city of daily terror attacks, and sectarian violence, but a Baghdad that is working for peace, justice and human rights, a Baghdad that is not shown in mainstream media, a Baghdad, that I like to trust and believe will be the new Baghdad. If you are willing to wash away your stereotypes and open your eyes and heart, you might see a more realistic Baghdad. Join me in my journey to the first Iraqi Social Forum: Another Iraq is possible.

Day One: Arriving in Baghdad, motives, fears and hopes

For the first few hours since we landed in Baghdad International Airport, I couldn’t stop thinking: I’m finally in Baghdad, wow, I really am in Baghdad. It was the first time that I set foot in Baghdad in my 3 years living and working in Iraq. Actually, it felt more exciting than scary. Exciting, because I always had this picture of a majestuous Baghdad its old history as being the capital of the Muslim World during the Abbasid Empire, with the Tigris River at its centre, and much more because I would get to hear from young people about their idea to build a new Iraq and get to share my own ideas with them. Scary, because of the high risks I knew I was taking by being here, but I couldn’t turn my back on Iraqis when they most needed me. The work of peace and justice is neither safe nor easy, but that is exactly why Iraqis need global solidarity, and people to stand by them, to hold their hand as they work to build a strong civil society. As a team, we decided that the reasons to go were stronger than the reasons to stay in our own countries. The initial delegation was of around 50 people, but in the end, 15 people were ready to go.

Even though I was influenced by media reports of increased violence, I was feeling very strongly about coming to Baghdad. In fact, I always wanted to come, but because of visa issues, it was not possible. After all, 10 million of Iraqis live in Baghdad, and I was convinced that Baghdad was something more than terrorist attacks, and bombs. I wanted to show my solidarity with Iraqis, which live every day and work for human rights, under very difficult conditions. The few weeks before the forum there had been intense bombings all over the country, yet the preparations and solidarity for the Iraqi Social Forum were always there. Both internationals and Iraqis were busy with risk assessments, lots of logistics, and after all this, we were finally here in Baghdad, it was a little bit surreal.

It was amazing to see that what we had been working for more than 6 months was becoming a reality. A group of young volunteers had been trained on translation, and will become for the next couple of days, our voice, and our way to convey solidarity to Iraqi civil society. When you meet these young people you realize that another Iraq is in front of your eyes. To see the leadership and the incredible hard work transforms any preconceived views that you could have of Iraq. Young, smart, with impeccable English skills and demonstrating their leadership and capacity, just if you give them a chance.

The Social Forum Process

For those of you who are not familiar with the social forum process, it started in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2001, with the first World Social Forum, as an alternative space for individuals, groups, organizations and those who believe in the principles of social justice and human rights including political, civil, social, economic, and cultural rights. The social forum platform is a space to promote  alternative answers to world economic problems in opposition to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The Iraqi Social Forum is one of the regional forums that are organized in different regions and countries and is supported by international solidarity activists. It comes in the context of global economic crisis, the Arab Spring, together with the political crisis and the confusion in the identity of the Iraqi state, which is dominated by disputes for power. There is no attention to dialogue, or to building partnerships, and fostering cooperation. Iraqis continue to suffer from increasing poverty and unemployment, unequal access to opportunities, poor infrastructure, and a lack of provision of social services such as electricity, medical care and education. The Iraqi budget increases and with that, financial and administrative corruption without establishing concrete achievements for Iraqi citizens, support for real development, due to the political crisis and the struggle for power and money, as well as sectarianism. Overlapping legal authorities and the questionable independence of the judiciary. Weakness in enforcing the rule of law, as well as international conventions, treaties, and agreements, and continuing violations of human rights, especially freedom of the press and freedom of expression.

In the forum there will be more than 140 self-organized events in Iraq and solidarity activities organized all around the world. The Extended Iraqi Social Forum started with events in Bangladesh and Pakistan on the 17th of September. Many international organizations will connect with activists at the Iraqi Social Forum through Skype (contact: isf.extensionteam) and watch several sessions on streaming (check the streaming window on http://iraqsf.org/).

Read the Forum’s Statement here.

My First Day in Suleymania: A visit to Qalawa Refugee Camp, Suleymania, Kurdistan--062911

It was noon and the driver arrived to pick me up. I had accepted a new job and was moving once again, this time to Sulaymaniyah, after 4 months living in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi-Kurdistan. The modern city of Sulaymaniyah was founded on 14 November 1784 by the Kurdish prince Ibrahim Pasha Baban who named it after his father Sulaiman Pasha. Because it was founded as the capital of a powerful Kurdish principality, Sulaymaniyah has developed into a large city with a population of about 1million people. It is the cultural center of the Sorani-speaking Kurds and an important economic center for Iraqi Kurdistan.

A view from the Dukan Lake, Suleymania

I had a mixture of happiness and nostalgia, leaving Erbil, which I already considered home, even though it was very different from my home; language, culture, women’s place in society, but I had learned to accept it and love it, I had friends and had established many relationships. I was happy and ready to try Suli’s way; everyone I had talked to said it was better than Erbil, in terms of customs and traditions, they kept stressing the fact that people in Sulimania were more open and that I would feel better here.

Om Suli, I was invited to attend a puppet show in the Qalawa refugee camp and of course I was in, since I love anything that has to do with children. We arrived to the camp and were greeted in the entrance by a man. There was an empty, rocky and dusty lot and my first reaction was one of shock. I had only seen the Palestinian refugee camps which looked more like neighborhoods, with cements houses, being established more than 50 years ago. Blue tents served as roofs, held by big tires. I didn’t go inside the camp, since the children were practicing and anything could distract them; I perfectly new this from my experience working in a summer camp in Palestine. Instead, few girls came out to receive us and I greeted them in Arabic: Shlonish, How are you? Then I used a more colloquial expression: Shaku Maku, more like what’s up, and they replied; Kulshi Maku, Nothing’s up! This is a normal Iraqi response. We were all laughing!

Qalawa Camp was formed in June 2006 by a group of IDPs on an empty piece of open land southeast of Sulaymaniyah center. It is located in Sharwani area, near the Rizgari fuel station. We were told there are around 59 families living here. I approached two women that were near and asked them how long they were living in the camp, one of them said that she was from Baghdad and was living there since 2009. She said that there were no jobs and that they had problems with electricity.

According to a 2008 report from the International Organization of Migration (IOM), camp residents face poor conditions, as they have no sanitation, loose garbage around the tents, no electricity and no toilets. In addition, there have been cases of typhoid reported. IDPs have access to a mobile medical unit and water is being trucked in. The camp was formed when a large number of families fled sectarian violence in Baghdad and Diyala. During our visit we were told that the children from the camp do not attend school. According to a report from the Danish Immigration service from their visit to the camp in 2010, there were 27 children of school age in the camp in 2009. They were not enrolled in school, particularly if engaged in begging and lacking alternative sources of livelihood, declined UNHCR supported transportation to schools in the neighborhood. Only few of the camp’s children can read.

The children’s messy, untidy hair reminded me of their reality as refugees, but their smiles and beautiful eyes lifted me up. I started to ask their names, and they all took turns to tell me their names. One of them clung into my arm and kissed it, my heart wanted to melt but I smiled and kissed her head back. It was very hot and dusty, and we were trying to set up the stage for the puppet show. It was just a colored banner in Arabic and English welcoming everyone, but it was meant to serve as an interface between the public and the actors. We laid some blankets in the dusty ground for the audience to sit overlooking the mountains.

After some running around and playing, we were able to gather the children in a circle, to get ready to start the show. Then one of the AUI professors, who have been working on the camp arrived and our circle was destroyed. They all gathered around him to welcome him. The roles were reviewed by the volunteers and the children took their puppets and gathered behind the improvised stage. The show started and the puppets as well as the children’s heads were coming up and down. The narrators, a boy and a girl, who were able to read, took turns in telling the story and the children came on stage often times delayed, but we laughed and clapped and enjoyed the performance. The children were happy and full of energy despite the burning sun. It was the first time that they had the opportunity to show their abilities in public. The event was very simple, and yet empowering. It was a symbol of what can be achieved if we can give time, love, solidarity and hard work.

I can’t wait to go back to Qalawa, it reminds me how blessed I am and why I am here; to share what I have with others and to make these children hope for a better future. It reminds me that I CAN do something to change the world by changing peoples’ lives, one at a time.

“To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget.” A. Roy