The wall, of course, will protect no one. I
sometimes wonder if this is how the concentration camps began in
Europe. The Nazi government probably said, "Oh look- we're just going
to protect the Jews with this little wall here- it will be difficult
for people to get into their special area to hurt them!" And yet, it
will also be difficult to get out.
The
Wall is the latest effort to further break Iraqi society apart.
Promoting and supporting civil war isn't enough, apparently- Iraqis
have generally proven to be more tenacious and tolerant than their
mullahs, ayatollahs, and Vichy leaders. It's time for America to
physically divide and conquer- like Berlin before the wall came down or
Palestine today. This way, they can continue chasing Sunnis out of
"Shia areas" and Shia out of "Sunni areas".
And, sadly, a familiar Baghdad voice will leave Baghdad:
On a personal note, we've finally decided to leave. I guess I've known
we would be leaving for a while now. We discussed it as a family dozens
of times. At first, someone would suggest it tentatively because, it
was just a preposterous idea- leaving ones home and extended family-
leaving ones country- and to what? To where?
Since last summer,
we had been discussing it more and more. It was only a matter of time
before what began as a suggestion- a last case scenario- soon took on
solidity and developed into a plan. For the last couple of months, it
has only been a matter of logistics. Plane or car? Jordan or Syria?
Will we all leave together as a family? Or will it be only my brother
and I at first?
After Jordan or Syria- where then? Obviously,
either of those countries is going to be a transit to something else.
They are both overflowing with Iraqi refugees, and every single Iraqi
living in either country is complaining of the fact that work is
difficult to come by, and getting a residency is even more difficult.
There is also the little problem of being turned back at the border.
Thousands of Iraqis aren't being let into Syria or Jordan- and there
are no definite criteria for entry, the decision is based on the whim
of the border patrol guard checking your passport.
An airplane
isn't necessarily safer, as the trip to Baghdad International Airport
is in itself risky and travelers are just as likely to be refused
permission to enter the country (Syria and Jordan) if they arrive by
airplane. And if you're wondering why Syria or Jordan, because they are
the only two countries that will let Iraqis in without a visa.
Following up visa issues with the few functioning embassies or
consulates in Baghdad is next to impossible.
So we've been busy.
Busy trying to decide what part of our lives to leave behind. Which
memories are dispensable? We, like many Iraqis, are not the classic
refugees- the ones with only the clothes on their backs and no choice.
We are choosing to leave because the other option is simply a
continuation of what has been one long nightmare- stay and wait and try
to survive.
On the one hand, I know that leaving the country and
starting a new life somewhere else- as yet unknown- is such a huge
thing that it should dwarf every trivial concern. The funny thing is
that it’s the trivial that seems to occupy our lives. We discuss
whether to take photo albums or leave them behind. Can I bring along a
stuffed animal I've had since the age of four? Is there room for E.'s
guitar? What clothes do we take? Summer clothes? The winter clothes
too? What about my books? What about the CDs, the baby pictures?
The
problem is that we don't even know if we'll ever see this stuff again.
We don't know if whatever we leave, including the house, will be
available when and if we come back. There are moments when the
injustice of having to leave your country, simply because an imbecile
got it into his head to invade it, is overwhelming. It is unfair that
in order to survive and live normally, we have to leave our home and
what remains of family and friends… And to what?
It's difficult
to decide which is more frightening- car bombs and militias, or having
to leave everything you know and love, to some unspecified place for a
future where nothing is certain.
