Update from Iraq
I just got off chat line with my friend in Iraq this morning and when I asked her about elections she got very testy and said "F the elections" and even asked me not to talk about it anymore.
She says no one understands what it is like over there and she thinks everyone in the world thinks this election will be magic.
She says all she wants to do is to be able to go outside, to take a hot bath(no hot water today) get online (could only stay online for a few minutes at a time due to electricity), to live a normal life for a 26 year old, not have a mean and vicious landlord, have enough money for necessities, etc.........
She has spent the last week staying home and inside for all the reasons we know and mostly sleeping for lack of anything else to do.
I have to say that all the muted joy I felt over the election has been somewhat dissipated after hearing from her this morning and as usual I felt at a loss to say anything to comfort her, since progress with the elections, etc. does not seem in her view to help her at all. I wonder if the frustration level is as high for other Iraqi's.
I am finding with her that due to her life history and perhaps life history in general there, that she does not see this situation in the same way we would if we were there. That is from the point of being an American and our past history.
She does not see the power of the people to change things, and as many Iraqi's has a fatalistic view of life.
Whenever I make the suggestion to her that these progressions should or hopefully will result in making life better for her there she just slaps that away and doesn't appear to believe it.
She is pro American which surprised me very much, and anti Iraq. Although she does not excuse the US for the mistakes she is glad we at least got rid of Sadaam.
I guess the bottom line to her is make her life livable there, allow her to have some small bit of happiness and most of all get her out of that country. She would be very happy to leave there and never see the place again. That would be her greatest joy and as she has said "fullfill her life long dream of leaving Iraq and becoming an American."
She also has said "they could make this place heaven on earth and I still would not want to live here."
She says no one understands what it is like over there and she thinks everyone in the world thinks this election will be magic.
She says all she wants to do is to be able to go outside, to take a hot bath(no hot water today) get online (could only stay online for a few minutes at a time due to electricity), to live a normal life for a 26 year old, not have a mean and vicious landlord, have enough money for necessities, etc.........
She has spent the last week staying home and inside for all the reasons we know and mostly sleeping for lack of anything else to do.
I have to say that all the muted joy I felt over the election has been somewhat dissipated after hearing from her this morning and as usual I felt at a loss to say anything to comfort her, since progress with the elections, etc. does not seem in her view to help her at all. I wonder if the frustration level is as high for other Iraqi's.
I am finding with her that due to her life history and perhaps life history in general there, that she does not see this situation in the same way we would if we were there. That is from the point of being an American and our past history.
She does not see the power of the people to change things, and as many Iraqi's has a fatalistic view of life.
Whenever I make the suggestion to her that these progressions should or hopefully will result in making life better for her there she just slaps that away and doesn't appear to believe it.
She is pro American which surprised me very much, and anti Iraq. Although she does not excuse the US for the mistakes she is glad we at least got rid of Sadaam.
I guess the bottom line to her is make her life livable there, allow her to have some small bit of happiness and most of all get her out of that country. She would be very happy to leave there and never see the place again. That would be her greatest joy and as she has said "fullfill her life long dream of leaving Iraq and becoming an American."
She also has said "they could make this place heaven on earth and I still would not want to live here."
posted by Diane101 at Sunday, January 30, 2005
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