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..

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Keep the innocence..

A new operation started in Mosul last Saturday at 6:00 am ..
On Friday, at 11 Pm I was answering my E-mails, and reading my comments, when my friend phoned me saying “there’ll be curfew” and she said she doesn’t know for how long ! so our Arabic lesson should be canceled! I went downstairs to watch the news, there was this announcement:( to the citizens’ of Mosul, we knew from our resources that car bombs entered Mosul and the targets are citizens and the vivacity centers, inside the city and the countryside, so to ensure the safety of the citizens of Mosul City, it has been decided that : starting from this night there’ll be curfew and everyone don’t follow that, will be consider as a suspect for the national guards and US soldiers).
I told my grandparents and my mom at once, and also sent messages to my relatives warning them, and went to bed, it wasn’t the first time we have curfew lasts for awhile, ( we have curfew everyday starts at 10:00 Pm and lasts till 6:00 Am ) but I felt scared when I read “car bombs entered Mosul” and spent the night suffering from insomnia, I remembered all the times I saw the house damaged and wondered if my family members were alive and well or not , and hoped it will never ever happen again ..
In the next morning I heard in the Radio that the new operation Started, I felt relived, because I know the reason behind this sudden curfew.
In the first two days, we couldn’t go outside the house, but on the third day the national guards allowed us to walk in the street ..
Everyone knows the new operation may starts in every sec , and the curfew may last for few weeks probably, so my dad bought every thing we need, rice , flour, eggs, cheese ,oil, meat , vegetables , fruit, etc. but there are many families can’t buy all those stuff , and live day by day, so when the national guards allowed the citizens to walk , many people started to do shopping, but this time, the prices were doubled or got higher 30-50% ..
It breaks my heart to see my people living under hard circumstances, there are many issues need to be solved, like economy for example, and many other things, but who cares ?!! I think about those problems more than the PM ,I guess !! .
On the third day, grandpa saw our neighbor sitting on the side walk with some other neighbors, he joined them, they spent some time talking and drinking tea, then a fight started in far away neighborhood, dad immediately harried to carry Yosif inside , as soon as he carried Yosif a bullet hit the pavement where Yosif was standing !! I am so thankful it didn’t hit Yosif ..
All the men ran inside their houses leaving the chairs and tea out .. thank god no one was injured ..
In the next day, everything was calm, so we went (walking) to my dad uncle’s house, we spent about two hours or so there, and I met their relative who rent a nearby house, and it appeared he’s one of my fans :D he’s well educated and interested in reading books about policy and history..
Today we didn’t have curfew, so I attended my Arabic class, and spent about 2 hour trying to reach the lecturer’s house, the roads were closed and there were many tanks in the streets, and many check points, the road was so crowded and there was a woman needed to go to the hospital very fast, and the driver was shouting telling the national guards to allow him to go to the hospital , I had to traverse 6 districts to find an open road !!..
The situation today is not good, we heard many explosions and shooting.. and there were sounds of helicopters since the early morning, as well as many tanks as I mentioned ..
Because of this military operation, and that affected my schedule, I was planning to start the chemistry, physics, and mathematics’ classes on the fist of June but now I can’t, because not all of my friends got high marks and qualified to skip the final exams..
I really hope Mosul will be free of terrorists, I don’t mind spending 3 months stuck in the house, if there’ll be a happy end, we want to live in peace, we are tired of the continues fights, kidnapping, and killing. all Iraqis want their lives back, I want to go back to my room and sleep there, and I am eager to the day we’ll fix our house and be aware it won’t be damaged, whenever I look at our walls or my closet and see the bullets and shrapnel, my heart breaks, each damaged corner in the house has a painful story ..
I want to be able to walk freely in the streets without being afraid of terrorists, many times I wonder, god created us all equally, and gave us mind to think , and feelings to sense, everyone like children because they are so innocents, why some of those children grew up and became evils ? why people fight each other ? I can’t understand that, why someone wake up in the morning and his attention is to kill ? I can’t understand the reason that motivate people to kill, sometimes they kill because of nationality!, religion!, race, some times I wish everyone can remain a child to keep the innocence!
Stay safe ...
Sunshine

22 Comments:

At 7:57 PM, Blogger Burnt Orange said...

Hi Sunshine. I am a teacher in Canada and father of four. I read your blog and I am so proud of you, even though I don't know you. It is so sad what has happened to your beautiful country and people. I pray that it will all be well very soon and that you and your family will be safe. Please know that there are many people in the world who want only peace and happiness like you do, and we are all praying for things to get better. Keep up your wonderful blog and never lose your beautiful attitude towards life. Bless you all. Bob

 
At 10:05 PM, Blogger David said...

I really hope that Mosul will be a much safer place soon! You, your family, the citizens of Mosul, and all Iraqi people deserve so much better!

I don't think that we are all born equal. Some people, like yourself, are born very smart and very caring. Other people are born very differently. There is an old debate among psychologists that is referred to as "nature versus nurture". Nature refers to abilities and behavior patterns that we are born with. Nurture refers to abilities and behaviors that we learn as we grow from children into adults. I think there is a combination of nature and nurture that makes us who we are as adults. Both are important. It is hard to understand why some people are violent and some people are not. However, children who are violent usually have a parent who is violent, so I think it is something that we are born with.

I have an unusual question for you. Do you know the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey? Do you ever watch her show? She really cares a lot about helping young girls to become successful in life. Her own life was very difficult as a child. I think she might see something of herself in you.

Take care.

 
At 10:57 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you Sunshine for giving us the information. I have been wondering what was happening in Mosul. I had read that Premier Al Maliki was going up there to try to get rid of the terriorists (Al Queda).

I am the same as you in that I don't understand why any kind of people want to kill other people.

I certainly hope that it will all be corrected soon.

Stay safe and remember that we all carwe for you and admire your courage and intelligence.

 
At 5:49 AM, Blogger Jhondie said...

I hope this operation is the one that finally gets it right. Stay safe Sunshine perhaps all of us can return to innocence someday. Maybe in the after life for many of us.

 
At 7:57 AM, Blogger jae said...

Sunshine,
I too do not understand the motivation for anything that is not kind, loving or peaceful.
The world needs healing.
Thank you for the sweetness you share with all of us.

 
At 9:35 AM, Blogger annie said...

sometimes they kill because of nationality!, religion!, race,

sunshine, i heard today over a thousand people in mosel were arrested today for being sunni. i hope none of your friends were targeted because of their sect!

why people fight each other ? I can’t understand that, why someone wake up in the morning and his attention is to kill ?

soldiers kill. it has always been so.

stay safe.

 
At 4:09 PM, Blogger Rachel said...

I think that as long as you keep writing your thoughts and telling your story, you are helping us all to remember to "keep the innocence"... THANK YOU!

 
At 7:17 PM, Blogger Santa Rosa New School Aikido said...

Dear Sunshine. Thank you for your wonderful post. I am holding you, your family, Mosul, Iraq close in my heart. I agree with you. Imagine what our world would be like if we remembered that each person is worthy of the love and tender care we freely give new borns. What a world we would have if we treated each other with such consideration!

Stay safe and well, and know that people the world over care what is happening to you, to your family and friends, to Iraq.

 
At 4:48 AM, Blogger Tossing Pebbles in the Stream said...

Thanks for the information of the attack in Mosul. I trust it will not last long. May you and your family remain safe.

 
At 6:15 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Sunshine, I am reading from my desk at work in Australia. I can't imagine what it would be like to be in your position. You amaze me with your resilience and optimism in the face of all that is going on around you. Stay strong and may God bless you.

 
At 6:17 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Sunshine, I am reading from my desk at work in Australia. I can't imagine what it would be like to be in your position. You amaze me with your resilience and optimism in the face of all that is going on around you. Stay strong and may God bless you.

 
At 5:19 PM, Blogger John said...

Please stay safe, Sunshine!
I'm praying for you!

 
At 6:53 PM, Blogger Briconcella said...

Hi sunshine, I am reading you from Paris, in France. I have been reading you for a long time. I talked about you to people in South Africa, France, usa. Today, I was wondering what could help you support your spirit. Would you like a daily message? Would you like photos of places where we are fortunate not to be at war or in danger ? Would you like stories, links ? Would you like fashion news ? Would you like to converse with girls of your age ? Learn a language ? Tell us. We are on the other side of the screen.

 
At 9:36 PM, Blogger John said...

P.S. You have good questions. I wish we had good answers.

 
At 1:08 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Since the begining of time there has been good and evil. We have been fighting that war
forever. It's very important that there are people like you. As long as there are people like you evil will never win. Stay safe. One of your biggest fan's

 
At 4:35 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

this is cute... hehe

 
At 10:23 PM, Blogger Captain Jarred Fishman, USAFR said...

You guys take so many chances and are so brave! Instead of just hiding out in your house you go out in the streets and talk! That is the true spirit of the Maslawis and you will win in the end. Not much longer now. Just like Maliki won in Basra, he has now won in Sadr City, and very soon Maliki will win in Mosul as well. We are killing and capturing so many terrorists- we just need time to interrogate them and get the information and then move to the next bad guy. Keep the faith- shortly victory will be on your very own street!

 
At 10:05 AM, Blogger Maury said...

I just read an article that claims attacks in Mosul are down 85% since the operation began. Can you tell any differnce Sunshine?

 
At 4:23 PM, Blogger Lela said...

Sunshine, I'm sorry that you and your family and friends have to live through these uncertain times and the violence that has surrounded your lives. Unfortunately, this is one of those hard times that must be gone through to get to the "good" on the other side. I think that most sensible people in Iraq have realized that the terrorists and criminals are not part of that "good." I've read your blog for a while now, and you seem like a bright young woman with a lot of promise; just like your country. And, just like your country, you'll make it through this hard time to the "good" on the other side. Hang in there.

 
At 7:39 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

hi sunshine, i am a 20 year old muslim girl from malaysia. i don't know you but i can feel your sadness over what is happening in your country. hope things will get better.
take care, ika.
bintangbicara.wordpress.com

 
At 6:36 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Sunshine,
I'm writing you from NYC. Please don't lose faith that someday things will get better.
It won't always be this way. Stay strong!
Love,
Rachel

 
At 5:46 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

To Lela and the rest of the apologists of the violent criminal US government:

I am disgusted at the fact that some of you are telling this young Iraqi girl that what she is going through is "necessary" in order for things to be "good". This destruction, murder, suffering, torture and abuse is not necessary: it is wrong, it is criminal and it is inhumane. The US government that launched his immoral unjust war against the will of the entire world with the support of nearly 70% of US citizens is the one that bears responsibility for the suffering of millions of innocent Iraqis. As the girl noted, her family has the means to stock up on food but the majority do not have that luxury and continue to suffer so the war-criminals in the US government can say that "they brought freedom to Iraq".

I have noticed that no one apologized to the Iraqi girl although there are over 130,000 US soldiers in Iraq running the country by the use of force and violence and Iraq continues to be occupied by the US without so much opposition from most US citizens. In fact, the US continues to support, both financially, morally and politically this violent unjust occupation.

Shame on all of you.

The US government has become an imperialist government, a government that symbolizes violence, injustice and the complete disregard towards the lives of others.

Iraq has lost over 1 million civilians in the last 5 years, 4% of its population vanished just like that, millions of lives have been scarred, abused, and wounded and yet the war-criminals in the US government continue to call their immoral war "Operation Iraqi Freedom".

 

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