My article in today's Iraq section in the Guardian.
The article has only been up for a few hours but from first impressions non-Iraqis seem to be dismissing it as nonsense and not even worth a try but Iraqis seem to be more enthusiastic and believe it makes sense. I am happy because at least its not the other way around.
Unfortunately many non-Iraqis still believe Biden's idea, of splitting up the country, is the number one solution for Iraq. No number of Iraqis screaming at them telling them it is an absurd idea will be enough for them. Cue the lame argument: Iraqis are monsters, they don't know whats best for them, and they need to live in human cages.
Hopefully time will prove them wrong.
Update 15/8/2010:
The article has since been translated in Arabic and published in two independent Iraqi newspapers, Al-Aalem and Al-Mowaten.
11 comments:
The people who comment on the Guardian colums are almost invariably myopic, freakish morons who mock and dismiss any idea if it doesn't correlate with their ivory-tower, oft-racist, narrow-minded and nihilist views.
Congratulations on getting it posted, but whilst the Baathists are still killing Iraqi people, going afterthem and bringing them to justice and making rivers flow with their blood is a bigger priority than giving them a podium which they would probably scoff. South Africa has hardly been a success story to be frank, and it cannot easily be replicated in Iraq, which is a different kettle of fish, especially with respect to the number of people who have been killed.
Ali, I will be the last on this planet to forget about the crimes the Ba'athists committed, and as you rightly say, are still committing. But I will also not ignore the fact that the Shia who came to power have ALSO committed crimes and atrocities, and that this pain, on both sides, or however many 'sides' there is, is leading to a vicious cycle that will not end if people do not stop and think.
The numbers are incomparable, granted, but numbers make no difference when you are a young angry Shia/Sunni who has just had his neighbourhood run over by a Sunni/Shia gang and members of his family killed for no other reason than identity.
SA is different yes, but a TRC in Iraq does not have to exactly emulate it, and whether or not it fails elsewhere doesn't mean it will fail in Iraq.
Are the Assmericans also killing Iraqi people, Ali MM? I seem to recall an operation of theirs called Shock & Awe which killed 100,000 Iraqis minimum
Eye Raki, well done! How did you get your article published by the way? I might wish to send one off to the Guardian for publication myself.
Thank you Aymenn,
Send them your article.
commentisfree@guardian.co.uk
Dear Hayder
Your article has been translated and published in Al alaam, an independent and respected Iraqi newspaper
http://www.alaalem.com/index.php?aa=news&id22=15024
Mohammed
Thanks Mohammed for letting me know.
Assalam Alaikom,
You should come back to Shiachat.com, dont leave it for the ones who dont want Iraq to have good future.
I am all for debate, but when one side believes they are the only holders of the truth nothing you can say will persuade them otherwise. It's like talking to a brick wall.
Congratulations, very interesting article
I have thought of the same thing many times, and walking around the Nobel Peace center in Oslo the other day I came across photographs taken during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Right then I realised that the perpetrators were there as well. Truth and reconciliation has to have both parts of the crime present or in some sort of agreement on who did what. How many Iraqis are like you and willing to admit that their ethnicity or "sect" also committed crimes? And in Iraq there was no ONE bad people. The Baa'this have in no way put down their arms or seeking forgiveness. I agree with you on a lot, but dear you give Iraqis too much credit. Yes, we have lots to learn from South Africa, but the most important thing to learn is perhaps some self-knowledge.
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