Ya know, sometimes I don't know half of what I think I do.
Just when I get a clear-cut idea of how, when, why, what, & where, I am thrown back into indesision.
I may not be near as smart as I think I am.

No One Dares to Help

Because this account of daily life in Baghdad reveals where the writer lives, his name is not being used to protect his safety. He is a 54-year-old Iraqi reporter in The Times' Baghdad Bureau

BAGHDAD — On a recent Sunday, I was buying groceries in my beloved Amariya neighborhood in western Baghdad when I heard the sound of an AK-47 for about three seconds. It was close but not very close, so I continued shopping.

As I took a right turn on Munadhama Street, I saw a man lying on the ground in a small pool of blood. He wasn't dead.

The idea of stopping to help or to take him to a hospital crossed my mind, but I didn't dare. Cars passed without stopping. Pedestrians and shop owners kept doing what they were doing, pretending nothing had happened.

I was still looking at the wounded man and blaming myself for not stopping to help. Other shoppers peered at him from a distance, sorrowful and compassionate, but did nothing.

I went on to another grocery store, staying for about five minutes while shopping for tomatoes, onions and other vegetables. During that time, the man managed to sit up and wave to passing cars. No one stopped. Then, a white Volkswagen pulled up. A passenger stepped out with a gun, walked steadily to the wounded man and shot him three times. The car took off down a side road and vanished.

No one did anything. No one lifted a finger. The only reaction came from a woman in the grocery store. In a low voice, she said, "My God, bless his soul."

I went home and didn't dare tell my wife. I did not want to frighten her.

I've lived in my neighborhood for 25 years. My daughters went to kindergarten and elementary school here. I'm a Christian. My neighbors are mostly Sunni Arabs. We had always lived in harmony. Before the U.S.-led invasion, we would visit for tea and a chat. On summer afternoons, we would meet on the corner to joke and talk politics.

It used to be a nice upper-middle-class neighborhood, bustling with commerce and traffic. On the main street, ice cream parlors, hamburger stands and take-away restaurants competed for space. We would rent videos and buy household appliances.

Until 2005, we were mostly unaffected by violence. We would hear shootings and explosions now and again, but compared with other places in Baghdad, it was relatively peaceful.

Then, late in 2005, someone blew up three supermarkets in the area. Shops started closing. Most of the small number of Shiite Muslim families moved out. The commercial street became a ghost road.

On Christmas Day last year, we visited — as always — our local church, St. Thomas, in Mansour. It was half-empty. Some members of the congregation had left the country; others feared coming to church after a series of attacks against Christians.

American troops, who patrol the neighborhood in Humvees, have also become edgy. Get too close, and they'll shoot. A colleague — an interpreter and physician — was shot and killed by soldiers last year on his way home from a shopping trip. He hadn't noticed the Humvees parked on the street.

By early this year, living in my neighborhood had become a nightmare. In addition to anti-American graffiti, there were fliers telling women to wear conservative clothes and to cover their hair. Men were told not to wear shorts or jeans.

For me, as a Christian, it was unacceptable that someone would tell my wife and daughters what to wear. What's the use of freedom if someone is telling you what to wear, how to behave or what to do in your life?

But coming home one day, I saw my wife on the street. I didn't recognize her. She had covered up.

After the attack on the Shiite shrine of the Golden Dome in Samarra in February, Shiite gunmen tried to raid Sunni mosques in my neighborhood. One night, against the backdrop of heavy shooting, we heard the cleric calling for help through the mosque's loudspeakers. We stayed up all night, listening as they battled for the mosque. It made me feel unsafe. If a Muslim would shoot another Muslim, what would they do to a Christian?

Fear dictates everything we do.

I see my neighbors less and less. When I go out, I say hello and that's it. I fear someone will ask questions about my job working for Americans, which could put me in danger. Even if he had no ill will toward me, he might talk and reveal an identifying detail. We're afraid of an enemy among us. Someone we don't know. It's a cancer.

In March, assassinations started in our neighborhood. Early one evening, I was sitting in my garden with my wife when we heard several gunshots. I rushed to the gate to see what was going on, despite my wife's pleas to stay inside. My neighbors told me that gunmen had dropped three men from a car and shot them in the street before driving off. No one dared approach the victims to find out who they were.

The bodies remained there until the next morning. The police or the American military probably picked them up, but I don't know. They simply disappeared.

The sounds of shootings and explosions are now commonplace. We don't know who is shooting whom, or who has been targeted. We don't know why, and we're afraid to ask or help. We too could get shot. Bringing someone to the hospital or to the police is out of the question. Nobody trusts the police, and nobody wants to answer questions.

I feel sad, bitter and frustrated — sad because a human life is now worth nothing in this country; bitter because people no longer help each other; and frustrated because I can't help either. If I'm targeted one day, I'm sure no one will help me.

I was very happy when my eldest daughter married an American. First, because there was love between them, but also because she would be able to leave Iraq, and I wouldn't have to worry about her safety day after day. She left last year.

If you had asked me a year ago whether I would consider leaving Iraq, I would have said maybe, but without enthusiasm. Now it's a definite yes. Things are going from bad to worse, and I can't see any light at the end of the tunnel.

Four weeks ago, I came home from work. As I reached my street, I saw a man lying in a pool of blood. Someone had covered him with bits of cardboard. This was the best they could do. No one dared move him.

I drove on.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-letter20sep20,0,4188916.story?coll=la-home-headlines

How can we help a people that have been reduced to this?
Fearfull for thier own life, they turn a blind eye and pretend it isn't happening.
Very understanding, concidering they can't trust us, thier military, or thier police.
How do we turn them around?
How do we get them to fight for thier own freedom?
It seems they are just waiting, to see who comes out on top, so they are sure to be on the right side.

But could they do more?
Could I, or would I, living in thier shoes?
I am ashamed to think that I would probibly act in exactly the same way as they are.
Talk of bravery is easy for me, setting at the computer, shaking my finger at the World.

I'm just not sure of anything, anymore.
The World is becomming a crazy, ugly place.
Or maybe it always has been.

I think I'm just going to leave the big desisions to those more qualified to make them.
I just want everything to be all right.
For those that believe, pray em' if ya' got em'.

yup - good stuff, eh?
what they need is some super-hero's
fight the good fight
basicly, just a step above gang violence

I would guess alot has to do with the them being perpetually under some form of oppression, the poeple dont know their own strengths, so they do nothing but cry & blame others for not being able to stand on their own. they know they are being fukced by their own people, but wont stand up put an end to it.

quote Originally posted by Boondawg: How can we help a people that have been reduced to this? Fearfull for thier own life, they turn a blind eye and pretend it isn't happening. Very understanding, concidering they can't trust us, thier military, or thier police. How do we turn them around? How do we get them to fight for thier own freedom? It seems they are just waiting, to see who comes out on top, so they are sure to be on the right side.

Good post.

You can't help them without more force. Everyone's on edge because everyone is an enemy.

Before we invaded, there was a forced cooperation between them. Everyone was afraid of Saddam, so the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Fear of Saddam kept everything in check. Remove that, and now everybody is struggling for power over the weak government (military).

How do we turn it around? Lots more people with guns, on our side. Problem is, nobody wants that, and the military is already tapped out on our side. Another option is putting together another dictatorship. I think there will be constant instability and fighting unless there is some oppressive force, whether it be military or government. Everybody has to fear something, or else they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Psssst... hey... hey you.... want some power?

quote Originally posted by ryan.hess: Good post. You can't help them without more force. Everyone's on edge because everyone is an enemy. Before we invaded, there was a forced cooperation between them. Everyone was afraid of Saddam, so the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Fear of Saddam kept everything in check. Remove that, and now everybody is struggling for power over the weak government (military). How do we turn it around? Lots more people with guns, on our side. Problem is, nobody wants that, and the military is already tapped out on our side. Another option is putting together another dictatorship. I think there will be constant instability and fighting unless there is some oppressive force, whether it be military or government. Everybody has to fear something, or else they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Psssst... hey... hey you.... want some power?

if someone wants to buy my plane ticket and a m16a2 and some kevlar ill go take it over and become president.

quote Originally posted by 84fierotrevor: if someone wants to buy my plane ticket and a m16a2 and some kevlar ill go take it over and become president.

I'm with ya. this is EXACTLY what we need.
and, dont forget to rob pillage & burn on your way

Many countires in the world are like this. I used to live in Colombia for 6 years (and other Middle Eastern and Asian countries) and I know what I'm talking about. Iraq is just interesting right now due to the US involvement. People can hack each other to bits by the million in Africa and we wouldn't even take notice because it's not in the news...

That's what man is like. It's just a thin varnish of civilization on us and we'll go back to barbarian if things get a little out of hand.

I fell asleep on the couch last night and woke up early in the am to a documentary La Sierra where they followed kids in the paramilitary groups in Columbia. Very interesting viewpoints, the kids/gangmembers/paramilitary soldiers felt they were defending their neighborhoods and it was bloodshed at night. Young kids with guns leaving very young girlfriends and children without fathers when they were gunned down by other groups or the government. Interesting and sad. Looks like things have improved some there, the guerillas were defeated, the paramilitary groups combined and then disarmed and at the time it was released peace was in effect.

http://www.frif.com/new2005/sier.html

[This message has been edited by Scott-Wa (edited 09-22-2006).]

What ever happened to the mercenary groups that were being contracted by some of the African governments back in the 90's ? Weren't they actually somewhat effective in bringing some of the warlords in check for a while ? Maybe that's a possibility ? I don't pretend to know anything here.... just tossing it out there for discussion. Any takers ?

quote Originally posted by Boondawg:BAGHDAD — On a recent Sunday, I was buying groceries in my beloved Amariya neighborhood in western Baghdad when I heard the sound of an AK-47 for about three seconds. It was close but not very close, so I continued shopping. As I took a right turn on Munadhama Street, I saw a man lying on the ground in a small pool of blood. He wasn't dead. The idea of stopping to help or to take him to a hospital crossed my mind, but I didn't dare. Cars passed without stopping. Pedestrians and shop owners kept doing what they were doing, pretending nothing had happened. I was still looking at the wounded man and blaming myself for not stopping to help. Other shoppers peered at him from a distance, sorrowful and compassionate, but did nothing.

I made it to that point in your story and just cant put myself there and do nothing. I didnt read the rest of the story sorry if I missed the point.