Politics and Law

When I participated in the parliamentary out-of-country Iraqi elections that took place between March 5-7, to vote for an Iraqi candidate who would hopefully put an end to the violence in Iraq and thus, ease the pain and suffering of the Iraqis and make the environment safer for our troops in Iraq, I was not aware of the vicious “American” thoughts that surrounded our voting site in Warren, Michigan. Thank God that police were patrolling the area!

I learned of my neighbors’ contemporary views towards Middle Easterners while doing research online. My intention, as a journalist, was to write a piece about the terrorist acts that Iraqis faced in Iraq during the elections. That’s when I discovered the radical thoughts that exist in my own backyard.

Here are some of the comments people posted for an article published by the Macomb Daily about the out-of-country voting and the counting for 2010 U.S. Census: http://www.macombdaily.com/articles/2010/03/10/news/srv0000007784980.txt

“I count them [Iraqis] everyday. With my high powered rifle scope. Mr. Fouts [mayor of Warren] contact me. I have the exact number. TOO Fricken” MANY! ”

“iraqis are sub-human and need to be deported along with ALL middle eastern people including those nut jobs from former soviet block countries. ”

“I dont care if they are counted or not. I just want them to go back to Iraq and never return. Let them fight for their own freedom, if they have the *alls. ”

“Would some of you dam middle easterns please tell me why you want to live in a country that hates you. People may smile and act nice to you but deep down you are one of the most hated group of people in this country. Blacks hate you Whites hate you, Jews hate you and Chistians hate you. So, please tell us why you are still here. ”

Honestly, I did not know that my country hates me. I thought that I am living in a democratic country where I need not fear the type of bigotry that led to the Holocaust, the genocide of Rwandans, and the one that Christian Iraqis are currently undergoing.

Furthermore, a true Christian should not hate me as I am of Chaldean (Christian Iraqi) descent. Chaldeans were the first people to embrace Christianity in the Middle East and today, they still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus. I doubt that a true Jew would hate me given that their forefather is the same as mine, Prophet Abraham, a tribal leader who was born in ancient Iraq. Actually, Jews, Christians and Muslims all originated in the Middle East, so whether they like it or not, they are one big family.

Here’s another post:

First of all if they live here why in the hell are they voting for someone in IRAQ??? If that is where your vote goes then get out of this country. Secondly, I was driving through the 14 and Ryan area Saturday when the vote was going on. The rudeness of the drivers was unbelievable. They cut people off, give you the finger and do what they want. Go vote in your own country and be rude to your own people and speak your language in your own country. This is America, so act like an American!! ”

.. to which someone responded…

“Your last sentence,” this is America, so act like an American”, seems to me they were. i.e. being, rude, cutting people off, and last but not least ,the middle finger salute. ”

My response is this. By going to the polls, what I and thousands of others have done is tried to contribute to the welfare of both Iraq and the United States. The majority of Americans are not aware of the fact that the United States has been politically involved with Iraq for over fifty years. A recent tour I was invited to at Fort Jackson military base in South Carolina emphasized that the relationship between these two countries will continue for many years to come, if not forever. That means that Americans will be influenced by the type of government Iraq has. So if we really want to show American patriotism and safeguard the future of our children, let’s start becoming as involved with both countries’ politics as possible!

The majority of Americans are also unaware that contrary to popular belief, Iraq is part of our heritage. It is the “cradle of civilization,” where literature, school, law, science, astronomy, a map of the world and the idea of dividing time and space in multiples of 60, the clock, was first found. The first writer in recorded history was Enheduanna, a woman from ancient Iraq. She lived, composed, and taught roughly 2000 years before AristotleAristotle.

Today, Mesopotamia, the biblical Garden of Eden, is a flat desert – thanks to inflation, overuse of agricultural land, and enemy invasions. The past is a warning of how our current civilization could destroy the environment of the future. Yet rather than use the East’s vision as a counterpoint to that of the West, Iraq’s rich history and contributions are being buried beneath ignorance, hate and discrimination.

The ultimate key to peace is in the West and East joining ideas.

 

That Line

By: Weam Namou

(Published by Acumen 59, a British literary journal – September 2007)

 

Who casts the vote on where the east and north end,

and the south and west begin?

Where is that line?

I search for it and wonder,

if it’s pink, gold, silver, charcoal or chocolate.

Does it feel like pebbles, sand, lipstick, chalk or rain?

 

I left Saddam airport, had my passport stamped in blue ink,

crossed over lands, jungles, farms, and oceans,

saw the Statue of Liberty before I flew into Detroit,

and drove on highway 94, passing up that big wheel

until I arrived to my new residence.

But nowhere did I detect a trace of that line.

 

Where is that line that is as perfectly drawn on the map

as the decorations of a wedding cake,

or the hem on my blouse and skirt?

If it’s not visible on soil and grass

how am I expected to grasp it in my head?

Should I force myself to pretend it’s alive, not dead?

 

Regardless of what is written or said,

lines do not exist in one’s soul.

They have no place in the heart.

They cannot bring other countries closer or push them apart.