I’m ashamed to say that I did not know that my first blogging friend from Baghdad, Zeyad, who had stopped posting, is blogging again, but this time for NY Times Select — which means, sadly, that it is behind a pay wall and that’s one reason I didn’t see it. But there is wonderful writing from Zeyad and from four other Iraqi bloggers: Najma, from A Star from Mosul; her father, A Citizen of Mosul; An Average Iraqi; and Konfused Kid. Here is Zeyad on the scene shopping before Eid:
The drone of generators scattered on the pavement and loud Lebanese pop music from a nearby CD store filled the air. Youngsters were checking out the girls, and a couple of National Guardsmen were munching pistachios and chatting at a nearby nut stand. The soldier seated behind the machine gun on an army pickup briefly eyed my shopping bag as I was passing by. He frowned as I gave him a quick smirk in response to his suspicious glance.All of a sudden there was a rocking explosion, which left a sharp buzz in my ears. Some people froze in their tracks; those with children disappeared down side streets. Some drivers started turning their cars in the wrong direction, while others went quickly into reverse. Store owners immediately took out their locks, switched off their generators and started closing, an automatic chore in our area by now. Amazingly, some customers were still bargaining in a few stores….
It turned out to be a roadside bomb, planted in front of an ice cream vendor on our street, that went off when a police patrol went by. The patrol continued at high speed down the street toward my location, shooting randomly at nearby houses and in the air. I stood behind a pole as the patrol passed me, sirens blazing and AK-47’s sticking out the windows, pointed at pedestrians.
“Bloody fools,†I heard an old man close to me say. “They’re out of their wits with fright. And the morons hiding in the Green Zone think they’re going to run a country with people like that. By Allah, they will be hunted down to the last man.†…
And Zeyad on New Year’s Eve:
Baghdad on New Year’s Eve reflected the general mood in town: dark, gloomy, cold, and apprehensive. Just the short cruise to my friend’s house and the image of the ghostly street was enough to send a chill up my spine.Although it would be an exaggeration to say that we used to receive the New Year in better spirits or with more optimism and hope, there is no doubt that it was never as disheartening as it is now. I recall that we used to lament the fact that we had nothing exciting to do on such occasions except driving around busy streets at 1 a.m., throwing lame pickup lines at girls, having a late dinner at a restaurant and then passing out drunk at a friend’s house.
It’s ironic that we can’t even have that now, except perhaps for the last part, since I ended up wrapped in blankets and drunk on my friend’s living room couch.
I told Zeyad long ago that he is born to be a journalist and I wish I could entice him to CUNY.
Man, it must be really depressing to read Times Select. I think the only optimistic thinker in there is David Brooks, but I could be wrong.
Anyway, I started reading Zeyad’s blog from around when he first posted. I enjoyed the fact that he had that perfect mix of educated skepticism with genuine optimism in the face of Iraq’s challenges.
I think the shitty thing that happened to his cousin sort of was the last straw for him. His posting turned suddenly more gloomy, moody and dark in its content. Posting was more sporadic. Finally, it all ended with a simple “I voted No” regarding the Constitution.
Fortunately, his little brother is not so down in the dumps.
http://nabilsblog.blogspot.com/
I used to read these blogs until it finally dawned on me that these were ex-baathists in Mosul, city of the elite. Damn right they’re gloomey because they are no longer in charge and other people are getting part of the spoils. Read Iraq the Model and find out what is really going on.
Yeah, Iraq the Model is always my first stop. Then I go from there when I want to fill in the gaps.
Jeff: Sorry for the multiple posts. I made several attempts to post the comment from Opera (my main browser). All apparently failed (a blank page followed the click on Post, and the post did not appear). I switched to Firefox, but it too responded with a blank page when I clicked on Post. Finally, I tried MS Internet Explorer, which has apparently worked — and reveals that my attempt from Firefox had succeeded (post awaiting moderation).
Please use the most recent attempt. I corrected a few minor errors in the earlier (aborted?) posts.
Thanks — db
[...] BLOGGING from Baghdad …. (buzzmachine) [...]
I agree, Zeyad is an engaging writer. It’s a shame that Times Select has walled him off behind a for-pay-only scheme. They’ve come up with a ghetto for bloggers that is the worst of both worlds: proprietary writing that you have to pay for, combined with none of the archiving that you get for conventional news. If I want to look up a NEWS STORY from the New York Times from a few years ago, I can use their search engine to find the date, author, title and lead paragraph, and often that gives me enough information that I can Google and find a copy of the full story online for free. (If not, I happen to have access to the NEXIS news database.)
None of this is true for the Times Select blog postings. You can’t find them with a Google search OR a NEXIS search. It’s almost as if the Times is TRYING to come up with a version of blogging that will fail. The reality, of course, is that they’re trying to make a few bucks off of this internet thingy, but their approach is limiting the audience for the bloggers they have “privileged” by hiding their work behind a curtain. I just hope their bloggers are getting paid well enough to make it worth their while.
I heard the Iraqi bloggers are only being paid $500 a month. Iraqi NY Times reporters are paid at least double. NY Times suck.
As if being a journalist were a higher and more important calling than being a dentist. This is why Zeyad is such a good blogger, he hasn’t been tainted by “professional” journalism.
Bloggers, Be assured that your work is not in vain. The daily account of events everyplace has changed the world. Nothing looks the same anymore. I go back to World War II and even then as a child I always had to know what was going on. Now it is truly incomprehensible. Anyplace in the world is accessible to all of us. The pity of it is that so many people show so little interest . Anyone who is uninformed has made their choice. It’s unfortunate and they chose to ignore events at their own peril. Everyone gets to be heard and we don’t all have to agree. But we should all know what’s happening. This is truly as good as it gets and let’s hope it stays that way. Stay safe. Regards from USA. ANNA