One of the places that I would like to visit is Baghdad. At least, the Baghdad that was once one of the world's largest capital of knowledge. That was a story which happened a long time ago, during the time when muslim caliphs had great influence and power over other nations. But that is in the past. There's no point looking in the past when you're living in the present. I feel like I sound a bit insane just now.."living in the present"..of course we are living in the present! Why would we call it the present if we're not living in the present? Haha..I sound more insane than ever..
But if I'm insane..then what's my life compared to the citizens of Baghdad? Sometimes I'm amazed that they haven't gone crazy yet. Why? Well, for starters they endure monthly bombings, and that's the very least. Recently, just last week, the bombings have escalated to almost daily occurences. And the worst part, is that the bombers usually target public places such as the wet market, where people always go. Imagine, going out of your house to the market, thinking what foods you will buy, when fate has decided that you wouldn't even be going home after that? That your fate is to die in a suicide bombing at the market, today. And that was just what happened throughout last week.
That's nothing compared to my last week. My last week was filled with sleeping, eating and then more napping. Can we compare our lives with theirs? I don't even want to. Because it would just make me feel bad, that here I am, with plentiful time, bountiful food and everlasting peace..I make no use of it. Unless you call napping all day long and filling your belly with home cooked food are useful. (sigh)
The media says that the most probable reason for the rising number of bombings last week, was because the US troops are slowly pulling out and going home. On June 30 2009, US troops are slowly pulling out of Iraq in accordance to a US-Iraqi pact to withdrew the US troops fully by Dec 31, 2011. Some US troops will remain to train Iraq security forces. Bear in mind that June 30 is just the beginning of their wtihdrawal. Complete withdrawal is scheduled by the end of 2011. Until that historic date, US troops will move out of Baghdad by batches, which means that quite a huge number of US soldiers will still be in Iraq. In fact, according to news reports, some US troops only went out of the city, but they are stationed nearby, in case of emergencies.
I'm not sure if this calls for a celebration, because I think it will only make the bombers bolder. Perhaps Iraqis might rejoice for the fact that finally, after all these years, those hateful Americans are finally moving out of their country. After all the intrusion and havoc that the US have brought upon Iraq, a celebration might not be such a bad thing. However, the troubles aren't quite over. Whoever is responsible for those bombings which claimed dozens of civilian lives, will sure be encouraged to escalate their operations. Let's hope the Iraq government are prepared to face the situation.
Given the present situation, I can't help wondering what Baghdad and the whole of Iraq's future will be. Will they even have a future? Will Baghdad once again become the world's capital of knowledge? That is something only time will tell.
Note : Baghdad reported bombings as of the last week of June 2009 :
1. June 22, Monday: 73 killed, 163 injured
2. June 23, Tuesday: 11 killed, 63 injured
3. June 25, Thursday: 55 killed, 116 injured
4. June 27, Saturday: 19 killed, 50 injured
According to the New Straits Times report on Tuesday, June 30, 2009, the total number of people killed due to the spike in bombings during the last week of June 2009 was more than 250.
Source: The New Straits Times
Baghdad bombing on April 2o, 2007
p/s: just to give a picture on the aftermath of a bombing, any bombings would just look the same, if not worse.
Posted at 3:38pm / Last updated July 3, 2009 at 10:32pm
p/s: just to give a picture on the aftermath of a bombing, any bombings would just look the same, if not worse.
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