Mortar Attack!

Today, as i was going home from work, reaching my neighborhood, it was obvious that the road is closed by two squad cars. There was some debree on the ground. All the cars turned back to change the road including our bus.
We tried so many roads until the bus had to stop some point becasue most of them were closed and we had to continue to home walking. Well, that was kind of dangerous but we had no other choice.

When I entered our street I saw my father approaching me. When I asked him what happened, he told me that there was mortar attack on our neighborhood, he said that one of them hit the market and the shops, the two others hit residential buildings, the third floor, both of them hit bedrooms and landed there, luckily there was no one in the rooms so no one got hurt. My father said that the voice was so loud, the houses were shaking. Mother said that she was out in the garden, and the mortar flew over her, both the voices of the flying and the landing were very scary, but she decided to stay calm.

Later in the day, I knew that one of the mortars hit a friend's and neighbor's house. It hit her bedroom while she and her baby girl were at the exact next room. Luckily she managed to get out of the apartment before she and her baby got hurt. Her building is three buildings away from us.

The question is, why here? our neighborhood is a residential only, houses, buildings and apartments? I dont understand! What is the point of all that?

A Bullet in our Garden ( Front Yard )

Few days ago, my brother rushed into the house announcing that he found a bullet near the garage door in our garden few inches away from his car. It is so big! I havent seen a bullet this size before. But it is not surprising, since the clashes between militia Al-Mahdi army and joint Iraqi-American forces still going on so as the daily violence...

I took some pictures of it and there they are:

That is a zoomed shot of it, it is 6 cm long

You can see the garage door on the right

Five Years

Today, is the Fifth anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussain ruling regime. The end of more than three decates of tyrrany ruling with blood and iron fist. And the end of US led war. The fall of Saddam statue in Al-Furdoos Square.

I still remember that day. News about the falling of the regime was dazzling, we where at the big family houe when we heard the news. I remember being very surprised when I heard in the radio what the presenter says: " Saddam Hussain, the former Iraqi president" !

" What?!!!" I remeber crying. My uncle was there saying : " Yeah, that is the end! he is no longer the president!"

Later in the afternoon, we say American choppers fly over the neighborhood where the house is. then at the sunset, we saw American soldiers walking there.

That was a really dazzling day, most of us were in denial.

Well, a lot had happened during the past five years. Changes, lots of changes, mostly violent.

Since the war, public services is less; electricity is non-stable, keeps cutting untill we had to utilize many alternatives. Water, we had a tragedy with it until we installed our own water storage.

Violance, killing everwhere. Bloodshed is a common daily event..

Changes of leaders and governments. Sect conflicts and disputes, political crises. Boming with all methods possible and impossible, roadside bombs, car bombs, belt bombing, women bombing, animal bombing and even they tie bombs to mentally ill people!!!

Lack of security and safety made our movement semi-impossible.

Made life of women harder than it already is, started with the kidnapping after the war, till the killing and violance now, killing and violence against women or a member of family, such as husbands, fathers or brothers.

Lack of freedom and increasing of radicalism and strict social traditions, limited movement.

One of us cannot move outside the house alone without the company of family member or a friend .

Families being moved from their houses by force and plenty of people left the country to neighboring countries or others..

Since few months ago, the situation calmed down. We finaly thought that we can breath again. but not for long. Now the clashes of Shiit militias ans US and Iraqi forces is still on going.

And the list is much longer...