No picnic

[radegund]

So, the news is all about the liberation of Baghdad. Defenders dispersed, a statue toppled, an American flag raised (and later removed), the Iraqi population (which, as we all know, is an entirely homogeneous entity - it must be: Donald Rumsfeld wouldn't mislead us) celebrating in the streets. (Although there are no Iraqis, really - just proto-Americans in funny costumes...)

The stories being told focus on how support for Saddam has crumbled, showing how flimsy it was in the first place. Indeed, this may even be broadly true. I feel we must acknowledge that the ending of an evil and brutal dictatorship cannot be entirely a bad thing - and also that the joy and elation of large groups of Iraqi civilians is genuine. They know what they have endured; I do not. I have no right to speak for them.

But we must also remember that this has been an illegal invasion, and that the suffering and political instability it has caused, and will continue to cause, will not be easily redressed. The freedom to consume US products in relative peace, for as long as it suits the current White House administration, is not, shall we say, a wide-ranging freedom.

On the radio I heard Kurdish crowds chanting "thank you, George Bush", those with a little English speaking eagerly to reporters - "America, very good; Britannia, very good" - "now we will be free" - "welcome to my country". As if it's as simple as that. As if it's not overwhelmingly likely that these people will be let down, once again, by Western powers working in their own interests, and left to defend themselves against their hostile neighbours.

This open letter to Dubya from Paolo Coelho, written before the invasion began, says a lot.

Meanwhile, we're going ahead with our Bring and Buy sale to raise funds for Oxfam's Iraq campaign, this Saturday. If you're Dublin-based, get in touch and I'll give you the details.

Comments

BBC interview Iraqis

[cheerfulcynic.livejournal.com]

There were a few interesting interviews yesterday - the family living in London who had had half their family killed by the Iraqi regime before they fled. While I felt for them, it was quite unnerving how they were training the toddler with a pure english accent how to say to the cameras how evil Saddam was and how she is glad he's gone.

The other one was when they interviewed Iraqi 'Intelligensia' (their emphasis), who had a very well spoken, unveiled female speaking for them who seemed carefully non-committal on the US invasion itself but utterly unambiguous about wanting the US out of her country as soon as possible, in the interests of democracy.