We talk about the economic losses we might incur as a result of George Bush’s war.
We are worried about insurance premiums shooting up, foreign investors shunning the Gulf region, airlines suffering huge losses, concerts and festivals canceled and cinemas and theaters closing, clouds of black smoke showering our cars and dirtying our clothes, rice prices hiking, our livestock getting leaner for lack of fodder, summer vacations hanging in the balance if war drags on, wedding parties being put off — in short, recession hitting everywhere.
We talk about our losses and the pleasures and luxuries we are going to miss out on in this crisis. And amid all this we forget one basic thing — the suffering of ordinary Iraqi people. No one seems concerned about the emotions and fears of ordinary Iraqis. No one cares about a small child listening to his parents talking about war, unaware of the fate that awaits the family.
No one seems to care about a young woman who has lost all hope of getting married and starting a family. No one seems to care about old men and women waiting for the closure of a life that has seen nothing but wars and destruction.
No one seems to care about a youth forced to chose between two evils: Side with his present executioners, who never stop praising Arab nationalism and past glories or with his new executioners, who promise him freedom, democracy and peace, which will only come long after he is dead.
The poor Iraqi finds himself trapped between the “mother of all bombs” and the ruins left behind by the “mother of all battles.” The ordinary Iraqi is the only subject absent from our discussions, writings, meetings and symposiums, all discussing the effects of the war on the region.
This poor Iraqi has been shedding tears for two decades now. He fought when asked to, in the late forties, to liberate Jerusalem. What he expects from us, the Arabs, is more than statements and sound bites by politicians trying to decide between joining those who want to kill him and approving and handing over the murder weapon to the killer.
The Iraqi is expecting his Muslim brothers not to worry about the business contracts they signed with a United Nations that joined the blockade against him.
He expects them not to focus their concern on how to avoid the storm blowing from Texas to uproot the palm trees of Basra and redraw the political map of the region.
The Iraqi expects to see the Arab nation rise above individual interests, end the feuds and enmity among brothers that is fast spreading to other parts of the body. He expects the nation to stop underestimating its potential, be proud of itself and stand united in the face of challenges.
All that we have offered the poor Iraqis is a promise to contribute to the reconstruction of their country, of whose symbols of civilization nothing will be left standing. They are being destroyed by the barbarity of the so-called civilized people who claim international legitimacy to justify their acts.
Arab News From the Local Press 22 March 2003
