Days of My Life

Talk about daily life of a teenage girl in Iraq, and days of suffering and success. My nick name will be Sunshine..

Sunday, July 24, 2005

Why Oprah ?....

Few days ago, I saw Oprah show, it was about women in the age of 30 in the world, and there were women from different places in the world, like Kuwait, Mexico, Korea & Iraq .Talking about the women life in their countries.
A woman from Iraq (Sabah Al_ samady) sent a video tape, talking about the women’s life in Iraq. She was from enchorial place in Baghdad. She did not represent the true life. When I saw the show, I was soooo angry. I couldn’t sleep at that night, because we don’t live like that at all. We don’t sleep & near our bed a machine-gun. My father doesn’t have a gun, but I don’t ignore that many families owned guns, specially in the last three years. She said that the Iraqi women are often attacked& raped so they don’t go out. That isn’t true, the women go to their jobs & to the market. When the situation was bad, & there were kidnapping cabals, some crimes occurred, but those cabals were caught one after one. They were few. That’s why women kept going to their jobs & We (the students) continue studying.
There was a woman from Kuwait. She talked about the women in Kuwait& how they like to be dapper. The Iraqi women like that too, specially in Baghdad .We get free education up to college just like in Kuwait.
The working women in my country form a good ratio, & many women join the University, because the education is free. They form good proportion in medical, pharmacy, & the engineering collages.
Sabah said that the women take large doses of valium, drugs, & dopes. That is not true. The dopes came to Iraq after the rid of Sadasm’s regime, But the dopes did not spread in the way she mentioned. I can tell no one from respectful honored families ,take drugs ,in the way she said. I believe that the source was unfair. My mom is in her thirties, neither she nor her friends nor any one we know, live similar to the life Sabah described.
In many news channels, they only show women how wear (al abaia) mantle. While they don’t represent the women in Iraq. They are so few specially among the educated women. Al abaia began to appear again after it was vanished. In America, there is Hippies but they don’t represent all the American people, it is the same thing here in Iraq.
Tack care, Believe Sunshine & don't believe Sabah ,
oprah choose better sources..
Sunshine...

14 Comments:

At 4:17 PM, Blogger In His Steps said...

Thank you for shedding the light on we North Americans. I don't personally watch Oprah as I feel she likes to sensationalize things. That is probably why she chose the women that she did.
I am thankful for you Sunshine to show us the real truth.

 
At 4:25 PM, Blogger In His Steps said...

Here is the url for comments to Oprah http://www.oprah.com/email/reach/email_reach_fromu.jhtml
I encourage you to share your thoughts with her directly.
Kim

 
At 10:25 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you Sunshine for your wonderful and informative post. I seem to enjoy everything that you post. I don't watch Oprah very much but I do know that she has done very much to help poor people who need assistance. However, in this case I doubt if she had any way to check it out for validity. I believe what you said in this post, without exception. Thank you.

 
At 10:26 PM, Blogger Bill said...

Here is a brave Iraqi woman for sure.
http://www.publiuspundit.com/?p=1409

 
At 4:17 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bill, she is certainly a brave woman. I wish that had not shown her picture though, for her security. The terrorists will be able to identify her too easily.

 
At 8:01 AM, Blogger Jack B. said...

Bill, that is a brave woman. I hope nothing happens to her. And Sunshine of course I believe you - after reading all the Iraqi blogs out there (a lot written by women and young girls like yourself) its obvious how intelligent and serious educated Iraqi women are.

 
At 5:00 AM, Blogger Mad Canuck said...

Hi Sunshine,

Kim is right - I would email Oprah herself if I were you. I think she (or her producers) would be quite interested in your point of view.

 
At 12:33 AM, Blogger Dr.Human said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

 
At 12:36 AM, Blogger Dr.Human said...

hi ,I am wiht you ,I also saw this show ,and felt the same thing

Sabah didn't tell them the true life here in Iraq

visit my blog :
theflowerofmosul.blogspot.com

 
At 7:16 AM, Blogger quixote said...

Sunshine, you write like your name. Full of light and hope.

I would very, very, very much like to think that the situation for women is as you say. But the pictures I see on the news (BBC) show almost all men on the streets. The few women are veiled. Is this because the photographers are trying to get "Middle Eastern"-looking shots? Or is that really how it is on the streets?

In your heartfelt and touching post about your grandmother's funeral, you talk about the men going, and her sons not being able to be there, and you and your mother and other women staying home. If it is not more dangerous for you, why was that?

Please don't misunderstand me. I really respect your courage, to be living in a war zone and to be living with so much dignity and hope. I doubt very much I would have so much strength.

On the other hand, I see the news (and I don't mean Oprah). The situation for women sounds bad and getting worse. Yet many Iraqi women say nothing about it. Is this loyalty? Or is the situation shown to us all wrong? How much harder is it for poor women? Or does it seem to you easier for them?

Thank you for giving us a window to what you see!

 
At 3:48 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oprah is a phoney. Please don't worry about her. She is a controlling, power-hungry shallow person. Just like George Bush.

 
At 11:21 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear sunshine,
Am an iraqi youngman, age 28, worked in babylon / hilla for 3 years and now working in baghdad since 3 years.... I do not like to see iraqi women to be afraid from terror directed towards them only for being a free female but that is what is happening in Iraq these days .... and most of Iraqi famillies got guns in there home.... and many take sedatives and this is not wrong sunshine.. it is ok to take sedatives and whatever the psychiatrist prescribe when you live in a war zone as we do....
yours Sami

 
At 8:35 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear sami , I want to thank you for your comment , it is important to have different opinions BUT unfortunately i do not agree with you , Iraqi women do not take sedatives , and they do not sleep with guns near their beds at all .
stay safe .
Sunshine .

 
At 7:02 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Ophrah:
I salute you for assisting the families in the Mother Country. For the critics, I say, "You do something where you feel the need. Don't direct someone else's money" I wish those hip hoppers, rappers, actors, singers, etc.,of
african descent, if they acknowledge it, would pick a project in Haiti, Africa, Jamaica, or some other country that is predominently African to raise the standard of life. I feel that just donating to the Cancer Society, Aids Project or Diabetes
Foundation causes does not really get their hands dirty.

Ophrah, I'm a senior citizen and these inner city kids have way more than the children in other countries. Most American children do not apppreciate being able to eat on a daily basis or have a place where they can adequately take care of their hygiene needs or have a roof over their head and clothes on their backs. If those critics feel the youth are not at fault for the conditions that exist in the inner city, why are they, as adults, not out on the streets attempting to assist in guiding them in another direction? Why are they not raising their voices about the black on black crime and police brutality? No other race of people would remain silent while their youth are continually
murdered or committing murder.

Why are they not demanding that these churches come out of their sanctuaries and these preachers out of their pulpits onto the streeets where the problems are? Why are the church members, sororities and other black groups not organizing, protesting, teaching, providing leadership, mentoring, teaching good moral and character building standards to these young people, instead of partying, socializing, playing games, politicking, for personal gain, etc.?????????????????????

I have been to hundreds of meetings with the same people expousing the same rhetoric and doing absolutely nothing but scheduling another meeting to discuss the same problems that are getting worse and to which they have no solutions. Let them put their money where they feel it is needed; but not only their money, but their time, energy and their heart-felt concern that can easily be identified through action.

So, again, I applaud you Oprah. "You Go Girl." I hope you have motivated others that have the financial capability to do as much or more.

PEACE & LOVE

 

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