A Girl from Iraq Blogs….

I was referred to a blog yesterday written by a young woman in her 20’s living in Iraq. This girl can WRITE!

She tells about about life in Iraq and shares her opinions as news occurs. For instance, since we’ve been hearing so much about how America has killed Zarqawi, did you know that many Iraqi’s know nothing about him and doubt his actual existance?

“The reactions have been different. There’s a general consensus amongst family and friends that he won’t be missed, whoever he is. There is also doubt- who was he really? Did he even exist? Was he truly the huge terror the Americans made him out to be? When did he actually die? People swear he was dead back in 2003… The timing is extremely suspicious: just when people were getting really fed up with the useless Iraqi government, Zarqawi is killed and Maliki is hailed the victorious leader of the occupied world! (And no- Iraqis aren’t celebrating in the streets- worries over electricity, water, death squads, tests, corpses and extremists in high places prevail right now.)”

She has years of archives from her blog. Excellent reading. These are the stories you don’t hear on our news. I’ve gone back to 2003 to start reading. It’s sad reading how she used to have a job for a computer database/software company. She had a normal life. Then, because she’s a woman, she was not longer allowed out of her house by herself. Before the war, 50% of the workforce was female! Even 50% of the college students were female! Who is feeding us this crap that they were all suppressed, living in tents in dirty cities?

She used to wear whatever she wanted. Now she can’t.

“I am female and Muslim. Before the occupation, I more or less dressed the way I wanted to. I lived in jeans and cotton pants and comfortable shirts. Now, I don’t dare leave the house in pants. A long skirt and loose shirt (preferably with long sleeves) has become necessary. A girl wearing jeans risks being attacked, abducted or insulted by fundamentalists who have been… liberated!”

Check out her blog:
http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/