The Writings of my Iraqi Friend: an email I just received...

[debbie mannas]

I just received this from my Iraqi friend. For all of us who sit here debating the issues - here's some perspective. I've been given permission to post this, I hope it will help us all to stop dehumanizing people - anywhere in the world.



Debbie



*****************



dear all,



i apologize for not writing and keeping in touch for so long...



i thank so many of you for writing to ask about me and family during this crazy time....



we have not heard news about the whereabouts or state of my grandmother aunt and her family...nor the rest of my extended family for about 2 weeks. we recently found out my father's cousin along with 7 other women were killed in a bombing....



it is a very difficult time. you know, i am mad about this land, i mourn for the buildings too....they after all belong to iraqis, they are what we drive by, they are what triggers our memories of our city baghdad. rebuilding/ reconstruction will never bring them back. and of course the live flesh and spirits of people who are being lost. who will remember them??? i get sick when i think that there might be a street in iraq named "george w. bush jr avenue" and who will remember the innocents? everyone is saying this is all worth it...a sacrifice for the "democracy" to come. i hate being dehumanized to this level, showing soldiers throwing bread at us, so people run like dogs...



anyways, you can tell, i have many emotions running through me....



i have been trying to be outspoken despite its risks. the FBI came to interview my family...i understand their concerns about security but still, it is a violation and dehumanization to pick people out simply because they were born in "baghdad." it was very strange.....they called this thing "the cause." i feel i am an actor in an over dramatic movie....we have the good and evil, we have the oppressed and the liberators...we have the black and the white.



ok, i will stop the blabbing...i miss you all and want you in china to try to stay healthy....please write me about your plans and happenings. remember that if you come to boston, you have a place to stay here...



i am enclosing a speech i gave on the 29th at an antiwar rally in boston. it is simple but i want people to realize that war gets us nowhere....also, i am pasting below a letter i wrote to sara...which explains what i think of and want for iraq....for her date palm trees to thrive and nothing else....



love you,

rana

PS debbie, if you like any of these and want to post them on your site, you have my permission. i will write you soon.

**************

March 19, 2003

Dear Sara,



I had a moment of brilliance today -- such as the blindingly bright moment my history teacher used to speak of, "a marble head moment" as he used to say --the moment when the sun hits the marble.



I sat dialing Baghdad in an effort to reach my aunt and her family -- to urge her to find a way out of Baghdad -- to see how she is -- I don't want to admit it, but to hear her voice. Will it be the last time?



I kept trying. I had been trying for 2 hours already. I made breakfast -- dibbis and rashi -- date molasses and sesame paste. Then the moment struck.



This was my idea: Iraq has often forgotten its other black water, dibis, date molasses. Why can't we just get rid of the black curse , oil, and look towards the wealth from what can potentially be, the black blessing, dibis.



Dibis and rashi, I thought, to me it is more delicious than chocolate-- and you know dear Saroosh my obsession with chocolate. Iraq used to export more than 90% of the world's dates. Why not?



My plan is this: Let Iraq be forgiven of its debts from its more than 24 year contemporary bloody history of wars in exchange for giving away its oil. Pipelines can be installed in areas willing to be occupied for the sake of more interests. The rest of the country will have no business in dealing with this oil. We will just have our dates.



The date palm trees stand tall with their branches outstretched towards heaven and their roots anchored deep into the earth. I want this to be Iraq. The date palm branches have granted shade from the strong desert sun --the palm fronds have thatched the roof of huts -- provided the baskets in which peoples of this land have gathered the savory and nutritious fruit that grows abundantly from this tree. Arab folklore has listed 360 ways to use the date palm. Surely there are more. Let us add onto this list.



The palm tree is considered to be one of the most adaptable and strong trees in the world. I want that to be Iraq.



What do you think? That way, foreign intervention can be gone -- at least when it comes to the black curse. "O, country born, between river and river, country torn, between sword and sword," Saadi Youssef wrote once these lines about Iraq. Surely, this land has seen swords even before oil, but perhaps this is a way to take away the modern sword under the throat of Iraqis today.



Or will dates be sought after with blood too? Now, I'm sure, Iraqis and non-Iraqis alike think me to be mad. But I propose to those folks to sit here and eat dibis and rashi. Iraq can globalize and popularize the next most adored dish in the world. Iraqis will no longer be rich in money, but we can be left to cultivate and resuscitate ourselves as people from our tragic history. Culinary creativity can rise. We can no longer be blinded by money wheeling and dealing-- as a people we can focus on building our country, filling up our libraries with books, bringing back to life our civilization and once again, have our date trees thrive and sing in the wind as they once did.



Think about it, there can be date connaisseurs like those who know wines. This is the blessed tree where all of its parts can be used. It bears more than just fruit.



Are you laughing? I wrote this to you, for you, because dear friend you seem to be have analyzed a great deal my psychological tendencies when it comes to my obsession with food! What say you of this?



Peace be upon you, my land peace be upon you. Peace be upon you blessed date tree, peace be upon you. When can this country stop being torn between sword and sword?



I still can't reach my auntie. And I have finished my dibis and rashi. Shall anyone join me? Shall you? Shall we start working on a plan? Or will we accept our fate as Youssef wrote:

And, what about us? Inflamed by the fire of ancestors,, prepared to receive the rose of the soul,

uncovered discoverers, wanderers, squanderers...

But, mightier, is the Earth, heavier the impact of the falling comet, and all our modern

ammunition is not worth one bullet from our old gun.

Let us, then, rise in soul beyond our bloody Present and recognize, for once, our bitter

predicament and let the journey start from the darkness of this very night!



I am seeking your opinion about this matter. Write soon,



Love,

Rana

[RonOnGuitar]

<<a speech i gave on the 29th at an antiwar rally in boston>>



My guess is the person can't quite see the incredible irony of an Iraqi, who would be tortured for giving a pro-freedom speech in Iraq, coming to America to denounce the US.



=Ron=

[debbie mannas]

Where does she say that?



Is there anything wrong with people sharing heartbreak?



You still don't have any comment about how Saddam got into power...

[Social Spit]

Plus, I think that person has a point about the Date Palms.

[debbie mannas]

when you meet people from all walks of life face to face you tend to get a different perspective on things.



The human loss here is very real and I would say think of how you would feel if you were in their place and your families were getting killed because someone decided you needed "liberation".



And dont forget the depleted uranium that is being used in the shells. I urge all of you on this board to do some research on depleted uranium (which the US govt. says is "safe" and yet practices decontamination on its troops after its exposure, but leaves the dust behind in the bombarded areas).



The iraqis liberation is going to be a lifetime of lost families, deformed babies and cancer.

[Social Spit]

There is a large Chaldean community near my house, I'm sure if you spoke to them, you would get a TOTALLY different persective on this. I speak to them every day.



I also speak to jew-hating pakistanis and aghans too. They invite me to their house for dinner, and I try to respect their customs and religion, however, the conversation always ends up with one of their kids jew-slagging. So I have to stop them right there, and ask them why they have such feelings.



I dunno, when I ask them, they can't give me any coherent reason why they hate jews, and as it turns out, they have several jewish friends, too.



I don't get it.

[MIKE BURN]

[quote]...the conversation always ends up with one of their kids jew-slagging...[/quote]



You should ask yourself why that is always.

[LarreeMP3]

..."Jews are worse than blacks because Jews can pass for white."



I just don't get it.

[LarreeMP3]

Because of people like you.

[Social Spit]

No, I always ask myself why they cannot give me a coherent answer.



See when it comes down to a personal level they do not REALLY hate their jewish friends.



Which makes it all propoghandi egged on by people like Bin Ladle and Sad-ham Hissyfit

[Social Spit]

-Who are not Muslim in any way shape or form, but who use Islam to incite violence and atrocities.

[MIKE BURN]

NOT TRUE?

Quote:

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History of Israel: The Descendants of Abraham

The history of Israel begins with God's promise to Abraham in about 2000 BC, "I will make you a great nation" (Genesis 12:2). The name "Israel" (meaning either "one who fights victoriously with God" or "a prevailing prince with God" comes from the new name God gave Abraham's grandson Jacob, after Jacob withstood a spiritual struggle at Jabbok (Genesis 32:2 . It is at this point that the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are often referred to as the "Children of Israel."



History of Israel: Its Selection as a Special Nation

The history of Israel goes back even further than 2000 BC. In fact, the selection of Israel as a special nation was part of God's plan from the beginning of time. God's choice of Israel as His "chosen people" did not lie in any special size, nature or attraction. Actually, the nation of Israel was the least in number among all the nations (Deuteronomy 7:6- . Rather, God chose these people because of His love for them and His unconditional covenant with Abraham. This doesn't mean that God loved Israel more than other people, it was just that He intended to use Israel as His means to love and bless everyone. It was God's plan from the beginning to bring forth the Messiah through Israel to act as the savior for the entire world.

---

[MIKE BURN]

Quote:

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History of Israel: God's Ultimate Purpose

Why is so much of the Bible focused on the history of Israel and the future of its people? Why was one nation called out as "God's chosen people"? These questions are answered when we examine God's ultimate purpose for Israel. When God made His unconditional promise to Abraham that He would make his descendants a great nation, God also promised to bless all people through that nation (Genesis 12:1-3). Therefore, Israel was never considered a sole recipient of God's blessings, but rather, a channel for God's blessings to all mankind. God's miracles for Israel, such as their dramatic deliverance from Egypt, were intended not only for the Israelites themselves, but as evidence of God's absolute power and uniqueness for a watching polytheistic world (Exodus 7:5; 14:18; Joshua 2:9-11). The Messiah that would come through the nation of Israel was always intended to be the Savior for all mankind (Isaiah 49:6). The Old Testament also contains many invitations to the entire world to come and worship the one living God in Israel (Psalm 2:10-12; 117:1).



Based on recent events in the Holy Land, it is clear that God's promise to Abraham is still being fulfilled. Accordingly, God's promise to bless all peoples through Israel is still absolutely apparent.

---

[DreamTone7]

Hate, when it is passed on from generation to generation, loses its basis for existance.....and yet will still exists. I can think of nothing worse to teach my kids, but how to hate without reason......or to hate at all!

[debbie mannas]

I have a song about this : Mother are you scared...



its basically about teaching NOT to hate. Not to raise a monster.



artists.mp3s.com/artist_s...96149.html



It applies to all of us. Just because there are fanatics who teach hate it doesnt mean we have to follow suit and do likewise.