The Ajajas of Summer: Reflections on America and a New Constitution

The Month of May:

The number of explosions in Baghdad has grown exponentially in recent weeks. People are even told not to eat fish from the river because, as human remains are dumped into the river, the fish find their sustenance on the rotting flesh. Additionally, the security forces are continuing to round up civilians and, just days later, their family and friends have found them dead.

https://youtu.be/Jb8Yk8LaUoc

Iraqis are sent to jail but with no respect for Iraqi cultural and religious tradition. When detainees return from jail, they tell their family and friends about how they were forced to eat pork, hang out with dogs, and were never allowed to pray: all big rules of Islamic faith and tradition. Again, Riverbend emphasizes that her issues with this go beyond just the things themselves, but go to the deeper root of principle. Like the forced wearing of a hijab, freedom of loss and respect of culture has disappeared.

"It is no longer a war against terror or terrorists-- it is, quite simply, a war against Islam and even secular Muslims are being forced to take sides."

There is now talk of splitting Baghdad in half. The two regions, Karkh and Rasafa are split by the Tigris River. "Operation Lightning" wants to split Karkh into 15 subdistricts and Rasafa into seven while implementing over 600 checkpoints and guarding the entrance of Baghdad.

Car bombs and suicide bombs are going off everywhere and Riverbend emphasizes that despite the goal to eradicate certain groups, bombs kill everyone in their wake.

"Bombs do not discriminate between the young and the old, male and female or ethnicities and religious sects-- no matter what your government tells you about how smart they are. Furthermore, they are going off everywhere... not just in Shia or Kurdish provinces. They seem to be everywhere lately."

Mushsin Abdul Hameed, member for the former Iraqi Governing Council, rotating puppet president, and example Sunni, has been "detained and interviewed" by the Americans. His house was raided, windows and doors broken, a bag placed over his head and a boot on his neck for 20 minutes.

Tuesday, June 21st, 2005:

As the summer heat intensifies, Riverbend is still without water and an ajaja has swept through Baghdad. Ajajas are intense dust storms that occur every so often in the region, leaving everything covered in dust, food tasting sandy and homes and yards yellow in color. As the regular washing machines used too much water, they now must wash everything in a plastic tub that her mother calls a "diaper machine."

Raids and arrests are continuing to increase without access to lawyers and visitors, and with consistent use of torture.

"Almost every Iraqi family can give the name of a friend or relative who is in one of the many American prisons for no particular reason.

An increasingly frustrating aspect of life in Baghdad is the flourishing American Green Zone. While most of Baghdad is falling apart, the restricted American housing areas remain flourishing and cut off from the rest of the city. Riverbend says that the walls separating the two grow all the time. There are plans of further housing developments, restaurants, shops, gyms and gas stations in the American zone. Additionally, water and electricity are never scare like they are in Iraqi-owned regions.

"The Green Zone is a source of consternation and aggravation for the typical Iraqi. It makes us anxious because it symbolizes the heart of the occupation and if fortifications and barricades are any indicator- the occupation is going to be here a long time...It's like a slap in the face."

July Through September:

Another contextual introduction is now given, providing the reader with a framework to understanding the situation as the summer months begin. He lists some incredibly notable data points in this introduction:

• 54% of Iraqi households have a stable water supply, not all of this water being potable.

• 78% of households experience daily electricity cutoffs.

• 36% of households have modern sanitation facilities.

• 182 people were killed in Baghdad, alone, during September.

• President Bush's approval ratings have now fallen below 40% as Hurricane Katrina hits the United States.

Friday, July 1st, 2005:

Riverbend watches a speech given by President Bush with her cousin and finds frustration in many elements of his rhetoric. Firstly, after announcing the end of the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, believed by many to be a simple excuse to invade the country, the term has been dropped from his speech entirely. She states that now his rhetoric is directed towards "terrorism" which he uses 23 times in his speech.

"According to him, Iraq was flourishing under the occupation. In Bush's Iraq, there is reconstruction, there is freedom and there is democracy. 'He's describing a different country...' I commented."

Riverbend states that Bush's use of the "abroad" rhetoric is particularly dehumanizing. After he states, "We either deal with terrorism and this extremism abroad, or we deal with it when it comes to us," Riverbend states that this makes it sound as though Iraq is a "vast wasteland of terror and terrorists" rather then the flourishing nation in which some of the first civilizations existed.

"Don't Americans realize that 'abroad' is a country full of people- men, women and children who are dying hourly? 'Abroad' is home for millions of us. It's the place we were raised and the place we hope to raise our children- your field of war and terror."

Bush then credits the American's attempt to help Iraq rebuild after three decades of tyrannical rule. To this, Riverbend refutes by stating that tyranny is not what has bombed and burned her city. She states that before the occupation, they didn't have sewage overflowing the street or water and electricity shortages.

She desperately wants the Americans to set a timetable for their exit.

Friday, September 9th, 2005

After a two month break from blogging, Riverbend returns with even more passion. The electricity and water access has continued to decrease. She states that her house "just sounds...dry. There's no drip-drip-drip from the faucet."

Local mosques have held the tradition, over the past few years, of hanging black banners on their exterior with the names of Iraqis who have passed away. She says that the dusty walls are almost completely hidden by the black of death announcements.

Sunday, September 11th, 2005

Today is the 4-year anniversary of the fall of the Twin Towers in New York City. Her blog post on this day recalls her emotions during that day and as the events of that day unfolded. She said that as she watched the plane hit the tower she was "paralyzed." She thought it was fake, a set-up, just Hollywood but quickly realized that the fear in the people's voices was much too real.

"Al-Qaeda was just a vague name back then. Iraqis were concerned with their own problems and fears. We were coping with the sanctions...We didn't have the problem of Muslim fundamentalists-- that was a concern for neighbors like Saudi Arabia and Iran."

As she watched news cast with her cousin she remembers his first words being, "How long do you think before they bomb us?" While some Iraqis felt that the Americans deserved it for getting involved abroad, most Iraqis felt extreme sadness for the American people. They were able to feel empathy for their fear and confusion. Four years since, there are still thousands of Iraqis being killed in their own country, she says.

Saturday, September 17th, 2005:

To replace the Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period, the Iraqi Constitution has now been drafted for the nation. Riverbend says that she has been reading and rereading it to come to an understanding of its contents and what they will mean for the Iraqi people. She says that there are three different versions: two versions in Arabic, one in English and an additional in Kurdish. It is laid out in seven parts:

1. Preamble

2. Chapter 1: Basic Principles

3. Chapter 2: Rights and Freedoms

4. Chapter 3: Federal Authorities

5. Chapter 4: Powers of the Federal Authorities

6. Chapter 5: Regional Authorities

7. Chapter 6: Transitional and Final Guidelines

She first analyzes Chapter One. Article Two states that:

• Islam is the official religion of the state and is a basic source of legislation, and no law that contradicts its fixed principles and rules may be passed.

• No law can be passed that contradicts the principles of democracy, or the rights and basic freedoms outlined in this constitution.

• The constitution respects the Islamic identity of the majority of the Iraqi people, and guarantees the full religious rights of all individuals and the freedoms of creed and religious practices.

She says that while she is a practicing religion, she is fearful of the interpretations of Islamic rule that may come into play with such language in the constitution. Article 12 then mentions the term Marja'ia which means "reference." In Iraq, however, it often refers to extreme Shia religious figures,

Chapter Two, she feels, looks very identical to the Temporary Constitution of 1970. In particular, the rights of women are "murky."

"Women are mentioned in context with 'children and the elderly.' In the 1970 constitution, women aren't mentioned at all. References are made to 'Iraqis' or 'citizens' -- this does not single out women as needing special attention or care because they are less capable."

Friday, September 23rd, 2005:

After the final version of the constitution was submitted to the United Nations, Riverbend continues her analysis. In Chapter 3, while the Arabic version mentioned that women should make up 25% of the Council of Representatives, the English version does not mention this. Even in the Arabic version, she says, the word "aspire" does not do enough for women's rights. To "aspire" is one thing: not mandatory. To "aspire" is a goal, not a set in stone necessity.

Article 65 then lists the conditions for the President of the Republic. He must:

• Be Iraqi by birth from Iraqi parents

• Be legally competent and have reached the age of 40.

• Have a good reputation and political experience and be known for his integrity, rectitude, justice and devotion to the homeland.

• Not have been convicted of a crime that violates honor.

She is additionally concerned about Chapter 5: Article 115. It states that every province has the right to establish a region based on a request for a referendum. She feels that this will be divisive to Iraq. These regions will be able to draft their own constitution, take its own local language, own government, and own regional guard.

"So here's a riddle; what do you call a region with its own constitution, its own government, its own regional guard and possibly its own language? It's quite simple-- you call it a country."

She is hearing talk of a separatist, autonomous region in Southern Iraq run by pro-Iran extremists: Da'awa and SCIRI.

"Federalism based on geography is acceptable, but federalism based on ethnicity and sect? Why not simply declare civil war and get it over with?"