Electronic Iraq : Iraq Diaries

"There is no reason at all to be afraid in this place."

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 06:58:13 CST

"I was riding the bus home from work, staring out the window as we crossed the bustling al-Sinek Bridge in central Baghdad. The bridge runs over the Tigris River, and I noticed that convoys of four-wheel drive vehicles were crossing in the wrong direction. Just then, my mobile phone rang and a number I did not know appeared on the screen."

Life after the "Islamic State"

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 07:08:49 CST

An Iraqi woman whose name has been withheld for security reasons writes from Baghdad about her neighborhood's recent experiences of sectarian violence, her hopes, and her concerns for the future.

"Last week I returned..."

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 07:12:32 CST

"From the moment I left Baghdad, I yearned for my homeland. I was filled with hope that I would one day return to the city of my childhood and all of my memories. Last week, encouraged by my family's reports that the situation was improving, I returned."

Bloggers Without Borders

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 06:48:58 CST

Syria is a beautiful country--at least I think it is. I say 'I think' because while I perceive it to be beautiful, I sometimes wonder if I mistake safety, security and normalcy for 'beauty'. In so many ways, Damascus is like Baghdad before the war--bustling streets, occasional traffic jams, markets seemingly always full of shoppers...And in so many ways it's different. The buildings are higher, the streets are generally narrower and there's a mountain, Qasiyoun, that looms in the distance.

The Prisoner of Three Prisons

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 10:00:30 CST

Electronic Iraq Amman correspondent Noah Baker Merrill profiles an Iraqi man stuck in a Jordanian prison while he waits for the UN to resettle him. 'Iraqis here in Jordan describe Iraq as a prison where hope cannot enter,' writes Merrill. 'They speak of Jordan as another kind of prison where they hope and pray to leave these years of living in limbo behind them. Saad knows the inside of each of these prisons well. And he knows this third kind of prison, Juweideh Prison, even better.'

My mother was killed for not wearing a veil

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 08:53:13 CST

Nissrin Muhammad, 19, an economics student, says she is desperate and does not know what to do with her two-month-old brother, Abdul-Aziz, after her mother was killed a few weeks ago for not wearing a veil.

I was cooking for him but he was already dead...

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 08:21:17 CST

Noor Muhammad, 36, is struggling to raise her children alone after her husband was shot dead in an attack in Baghdad. 'I was cooking for him but he was already dead. When my son screamed my name, crying, I ran to the living room and saw his father lying on the ground with bullets in his body on an Iraqi TV channel. The presenter was saying that he was one of the victims of an exchange of fire between insurgents and Iraqi soldiers.'

I was forced to give up my humanitarian work to save my daughter

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 09:28:00 CST

Hilal Naim, 33, has stopped working with humanitarian agencies in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, after his son was killed and the life of his only daughter threatened by militants. Naim had never had any trouble in his job helping displaced families until militants one day demanded that he give it up.

I have to scrounge around rubbish bins to feed my children

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 09:22:00 CST

Adeela Harith, a 39-year-old widow and mother of three, says she misses the days when her husband was daily bringing them food and when they used to sleep in a safe house in comfort. As a recently-widowed displaced person, she has no support and is now collecting left-overs from rubbish bins to feed her children.

Video Diary: Tickets and Popcorn

Fri, 25 May 2007 10:00:00 CST

"I'm living my life through the TV," Adel says at the start of this Hometown Baghdad episode. Looking for a break, he travels to Syria for a night at the cinema. Hometown Baghdad was shot by an all-Iraqi crew and tells the stories of three young people trying to survive in Baghdad.

Video Diary: Market Boom

Wed, 23 May 2007 09:21:00 CST

In this episode of Hometown Baghdad, Adel goes to a Baghdad market in search of a suitcase for a trip. Before he leaves, he is informed by a friend of a sniper firing at people on the road to the market. Adel picks a different road. At the market, he talks to a luggage seller about his booming business.

Video Diary: Beggar at the Gate

Wed, 16 May 2007 09:37:00 CST

Saif is leaving Baghdad. His family is already in Jordan and it is his job to prepare the family home for a fmaily that will stay their until his own family decides to return. In an small but illuminating moment typical of the Hometown Baghdad series, Saif receives a begger, a woman asking for money. Hometown Baghdad was shot by an all-Iraqi crew and tells the stories of three young people trying to survive in Baghdad.

Video Diary: The Palace Maid

Tue, 15 May 2007 09:36:00 CST

In this episode of Hometown Baghdad, Adel risks his safety to stand in a busy Baghdad intersection with a camera explaining a piece of public art based on the 40 Thieves story. 'I'm glad that I finished this story,' he says at the end, 'because I don't feel safe standing right here. We better go.' Hometown Baghdad was shot by an all-Iraqi crew and tells the stories of three young people trying to survive in Baghdad.

Video Diary: Troops

Mon, 14 May 2007 09:34:00 CST

In this episode of Hometown Baghdad, all three Iraqi contributors reflect on the presence of US troops in Iraq. Saif and Ausama reflect the fears Iraqis have of the troops, while Adel explains why he would like to see more of them. Hometown Baghdad was shot by an all-Iraqi crew and tells the stories of three young people trying to survive in Baghdad.

Video Diary: Iraqi Man

Fri, 11 May 2007 10:08:00 CST

In this epdisode of Hometwon Baghdad, a web documentary project shot by Iraqis in Iraq, Saif prepares to say goodbye to his best friend Ziad, who is preparing to move to Egypt. 'How do you feel leaving Iraq?' Saif asks Zaid. 'I don't like to say goodbye. It's a bad thing.' Ziad replies. In a moment of mitigated levity, the two hug and Zaid jokes: 'We'll meet in hell.'

Video Diary: Sick of This

Thu, 10 May 2007 08:48:00 CST

Robbers, Terrorists, insurgents, militiamen...'call them what you want,' says Adel in this episode of Hometown Baghdad. 'It's like a standard job now, to kill people.' Talking about people you saw or heard were killed today, he adds, is 'something really ordinary.' Iraqis will suffer civil war, says another Hometown Baghdad contributor, Saif, 'Until each side will lose. In civil war, nobody wins.'

Video Diary: My Best Friend Zaid

Wed, 09 May 2007 08:50:00 CST

'I'd like to talk about my best friend Zaid...' begins this episode of Hometown Baghdad, a web-documentary project produced by Iraqis in Iraq. Ziad is the best friend of Hometown Baghdad contributor Saif, and this brief portrait frames friendships in Iraq as a critical respite from the chaos.

Video Diary: Liberated?

Tue, 08 May 2007 09:08:00 CST

Four years after the invasion and occupation of Iraq, Hometown Baghdad's Adel, Ausama and Saif consider claims of liberation. 'Some people ask, do you feel liberated?' Ausama asks. 'How can you even ask me this?'

The Body Reacts

Mon, 07 May 2007 10:04:00 CST

Iraqi blogger 'Still Alive' left Baghdad recently to study in the United States. In this short diary, she captures the wrenching pain of being separated from her home, her friends and her family as her country deteriorates. 'A few days ago I looked at 300 news pictures from Iraq,' she begins. 'The next morning I talked to my family in Baghdad. A few hours later I was sick.'

Video Diary: 'Security'

Mon, 07 May 2007 09:59:00 CST

In this episode of Hometown Baghdad, we return to Ausama's grandmother's home, which has been raided by US forces. We get a tour of the ransacked home. The family pictures scattered everywhere, the bullet holes, the shattered glass. "We are the people they should be protecting," Ausama says, "I will never trust any security forces."