Every day, I read and I correct, and what I’m reading about is what’s going on. The deaths. The ambushes. The bombings. Police stations get attacked in broad daylight. Convoys get ambushed, hit by RPGS, IEDS, and small arms fire.
Bit by bit, though, what seeps to the surface of these reports, are the[stories of the]Iraqi people affected by them. "My brother was captured by Sadr. Can you help me find him?" A grand ayatollah takes his life in his hands to set someone straight. "You should have put the people of Iraq first! Not yourself!"
Common people, one after the other, clinging to decency, no matter what. A crusading police chief leads a special team from city to city, building up his troops against the insurgents, reminding that soon they will be independant again.
An American translator is re-united with the son he hasn't seen since the first Gulf War, when he had to flee the country. Once persecuted by Saddam, he now has to visit the graves of two brothers who didn't escape---and the palace of a brother who did, and will soon be a governor.
Simple people, decent all of them, but their words could come from any country. "Americans and the Iraqis---they are the same people to me.", " I can go to the marketplace and say anything I want.", " It is against the Koran to take a life!" "I saw these men and they had weapons. They might hurt us---or you.", " He is not a good Muslim."
Ordinary people, unarmed, even, taking on armed men. It goes on and on, the voices that rise out of these reports, bit by bit, and sometimes the bordom gets relieved because I have to sniff just a bit.
My favorite movie is Camelot. Why do I keep thinking about it more and more as I read these things, and put in them the faces of the people I've met since I got here?
If you spend time reading her blog, what comes through is her humanity and her regard for the ordinary people of Iraq. I have a feeling that if she were asked whether or not the sacrifice of our soldiers was worth it, she would say yes.
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