Bahgdad Tears

From MSNBC:

NOT GIVING UP HOPE IN IRAQ

Posted: Thursday, March 20, 2008 12:47 PM
Filed Under: Baghdad, Iraq

By Rose Rasheed, an Iraqi translator for NBC News

BAGHDAD, Iraq - I remember vividly the moment when the bombing started five years ago. The sound of the air raids and the sirens still echo inside me.

Within minutes of the first siren, columns of smoke climbed the sky and thunderous explosions could be heard everywhere. It brought mixed feelings for many Iraqis; feelings of delight and anxiety, which were overwhelming to me and my family.

On the one hand, there was a strong sense of hope and expectation that this war would lead us to a better future and away from a life that had witnessed many wars and much destruction. On the other hand, there was anxiety that it could all end in disappointment.

On April 9, 2003, our neighbor came running to our house like an excited child, saying that U.S. forces were on the main road of our neighborhood. We did not believe her.

Then we saw them. Some were on the top of a house; others positioned on the ground. A big convoy of tanks and armored vehicles followed shortly. My mother, sister, the neighbor and I went running toward them.

My sister said "hi" to a soldier who looked like the actor Tom Selleck. The convoy spread over the whole neighborhood, as Iraqis greeted soldiers with cheers and big smiles and simple words like "welcome mister" or "hello." Everyone, I mean everyone, was welcoming the troops.

Now, five years later, we can only find but a few optimistic Iraqis in comparison to the many we saw back then. Pessimism has rapidly grown and overwhelmingly dominates the mentality of most Iraqis.

Hopes of a brighter future are dashed by the bad security situation and the difficult living conditions. One now sees people attack the same forces they had once welcomed, even going so far as to attack those who work or cooperate with the troops.

The same place, the same forces, and the same people, yet so much has changed.

Despite the negative turn in Iraq, I hope to celebrate the next anniversary, the sixth, in a prosperous Iraq with wide smiles drawn deep from the heart and reflected on Iraqi faces. I have not given up.