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<DIV>(From the fine, if infrequent, blog, Baghdad Burning.)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=PostTitle></A></SPAN>March 19, 2004</DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT>
<DIV><BR>The explosion two days ago was a colossal one. Our area isn't very
close to the area that got bombed, but we heard it loud and clear. It was one of
several explosions during this last week… but it was the biggest. The moment it
happened, E. and I started trying to guess where the noise was coming from. It
has become a sort of morbid game. <BR><BR>Al-Jazeera almost instantly began
covering the explosion and we found out that E. was right- it was in Karada (I
get the direction wrong 90% of the time and E. chauvinistically assures me that
a warped sense of direction is quite common to most females). A hotel in the
middle of a residential area was bombed and the stories vary in a strange sort
of way. People in the area claim they heard the hissing of a rocket and then an
explosion. Others say that it was an instant explosion. One news network is
claiming that 32 bodies have been taken out of the rubble… another mentioned 17
and the Iraqi police are saying that only 6 were found. Reports on the
nationalities of the deceased also vary- the Iraqi police are claiming all the
residents of the hotel were Iraqi and the Americans are saying that there were
some Americans and Brits among the dead. Who to believe?<BR><BR>Last Saturday
and Sunday there were demonstrations in Baghdad. Students weren't allowed into
Baghdad University because the university guards (ironically appointed by the
Americans) wouldn't let anyone in. They are part of Sistani's gang and since
Sistani's followers have diligently been objecting the TAL document signed by
the Puppet Council, the guards decided that college would be closed for a couple
of days. The students had to watch the dean of the engineering college beg to be
let in, and refused. <BR><BR>I found out about the demonstrations because I was
supposed to have a job interview on Saturday and my potential employers called
me postponing it until further notice because their guards- avid Sistani fans-
had decided to take the day off to join the demonstration objecting the TAL.
Sistani's followers would not be out protesting the transitional law document if
they didn't have explicit directions from him- so <BR><BR>Mustansiryia
University (another major university in Baghdad) is full of student protests
because the dean of the college of science requested that after the arba'een
(40th day after the death of Imam Al-Hussein), the students take down the black
flags and pictures of Al-Sadr and Sistani. The more conservative Shi'a students
immediately took offence and decided that they wouldn't attend classes until the
dean was fired. In retaliation, Sunni students decided they would organize a
*protest* to the strike organized by the Shi'a students…<BR><BR>We also heard
that one of the assistant deans of the college of engineering in Baghdad
University was assassinated recently. It's terrible news and the subject has
been on my mind a lot lately. I don't know why no one focuses on this topic in
the news. It's like Iraq is suffering from intellectual hemorrhaging. Professors
and scientists are being assassinated right and left- decent intelligent people
who are necessary for the future of Iraq. Other scientists are being detained by
the Americans and questioned about- of all things- Al-Qaeda. <BR><BR>The stories
they tell after being let go are incredible. Most of the scientists are college
professors and have dedicated their lives to teaching and research. Many are
detained only because they specialize in a certain field, like heredity, for
example. One man who was recently let go told about the ridiculous interrogation
that lasted 3 days and involved CIA and military police. They showed him picture
after picture of his family, confiscated from the family home during a raid, and
kept pointing at his two teenage sons and their friends and asking, "Aren't they
a part of Al-Qaeda?!"<BR><BR>And it doesn't stop with the scientists. Doctors
are also being assassinated by some mysterious group. It started during the
summer and has been continuing since then. Iraq has some of the finest doctors
in the region. Since June, we've heard of at least 15 who were killed in cold
blood. The stories are similar- a car pulls up to the clinic or office, a group
of men in black step down and the doctor is gunned down- sometimes in front of
the patients and sometimes all alone, after hours. One doctor was shot brutally
in his house, in front of his family. There was a rumor that Badir's Brigade
(the SCIRI militia led by Al-Hakeem) had a list out of 72 doctors that had to be
killed for one reason or another. They include Sunni, Shi'a and Christian
doctors. <BR><BR>Scientists, professors and doctors who aren't detained or
assassinated all seem to be looking for a way out. It seems like everyone you
talk to is keeping their eyes open for a job opportunity outside of the country.
It depresses me. When I hear someone talking about how they intend to leave to
Dubai or Lebanon or London, I want to beg them to stay… a part of me wants to
scream, "But we need you here! You belong here!" Another more rational part of
me knows that some of them have no options. Many have lost their jobs and don't
know how to feed their families. Others just can't stand the constant worrying
about their children or spouse. Many of the female doctors and scientists want
to leave because it's no longer safe for women to work like before. For some,
the option is becoming a housewife or leaving abroad to look for the security to
work. <BR><BR>Whatever the reason, the brains are slowly seeping out of Iraq.
It's no longer a place for learning or studying or working… it's a place for
wealthy contractors looking to get wealthier, extremists, thieves (of all ranks
and origins) and troops… </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><</FONT><A
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