Celebrations

I'm so happy, so glad and my heart is filled with joy and I can't believe my eyes. I'm walking in Adhamiya with my wife and we are holding hands…there is nothing on our minds just wanting to have fun…I was thinking to my self "Am I dreaming? Is this really happening?"
It's the celebrations of the Prophet Mohammed's (PBOH) birth in Adhamiya which corresponds March 19th, 2008 …Adhmiya was always famous of the wonderful celebrations at that occasion and people from all around Baghdad used to visit Adhamiya in this occasion where every one is walking to Abu-Hanifa mosque to pray and see a wisp of the Prophet's hair that was saved in the mosques for decades, it's an Iraqi tradition whether for Sunnis or Shiites. In all Adhamiya you will see people standing on the side of the road and offering juices, chocolates, candies and deserts to everyone, in this occasion people and neighbors send deserts t o each other like Zarda, Tahinia (Iraqi traditional deserts) and candies, people lighting candles everywhere in the street, it's so wonderful and the one can feel love everywhere, one can see happiness in every face and people continue celebrations even after mid-night.


My friends and relatives called me and said that the situation is great in Adhamiya and the streets are filled with people from everywhere and they said that I shouldn't miss it. I hesitated at first because I though that this would be the perfect opportunity for AlQaeda or AlMahdi Army or any terrorists group to kill as much people as they can but then I decided to go and screw terrorism…I want to be there.
Adhamiya was closed since Tuesday March 18th and no car was allowed to enter Adhamiya so we had to go on foot. As soon as I headed there I noticed there are so many people heading to Adhamiya and as I reached there I couldn't believe my eyes, I really couldn't…it's amazing, it's wonderful and great is the least thing to say about the situation…I haven't seen the streets like this in years; filled by people with the widest smile on their faces, families, girls, boys and kids; everyone was so happy and celebrating, I couldn't believe my eyes, because that's the Adhamiya I know and I really missed for years…loud songs everywhere, all the lights are on and the shops are open and people seemed to care about nothing, great number of people in the street offering juices and candies, fire works were lighting the dark sky, Oh it has been a long time since I saw fire works in Baghdad's sky, signs are everywhere and many people were carrying flgs and sign and many things were written on it...some were glorying the prophet Mohammed (PBOH) some we saying " make our prophet happy with out unity", "make our prophet proud of our ethics", "it's time to stand like one", "long live Iraq", "Prophet Mohammed (PBOH) said that the kind word is charity" and many were carrying the Iraqi flag, it was everywhere.
At that moment I felt safe and even if something happened and I died then I'll die happy. The awakening members where everywhere and I literally mean everywhere, you can find one each meter and many many checkpoints that searches everyone and that is a great thing and I'm really thankful to them for proving the safety that we have been deprived long time ago.
Now I could say that Adhamiya is safe and I trust the awakening somehow, and I'd like to thank the brave and good members of the Iraqi army who had a big role in providing the safety and also some police members who were there, Thank you awakening or Adhamiya revolutionists as you want to be named, thank you.
The scene was amazing, candles in the streets (we lighted candles too), huge number of people having fun I think there was at least a million person in Adhamiya at that day, and the thing that really comforted me is that I saw many of my Shiite friends there walking without worrying about a thing and having fun with their Sunni friends….Thank you GOD that's what I want to see, and that enforces my theory that the real Iraqi people love each other and they never hated each other (except in few cases) and that the sectarian gangs are the ones responsible for the sectarian violence. Adhamiya's rebuilding is so good and fast, it's a great great feeling to see the neighborhood that I love so much alive again. At that moment I wished for only one thing…I wished that all Iraq is like this…I wish all Iraq will be peaceful…What I have seen in Adhamiya is what I call success and achievement…this is the best achievement since the beginning of the war. I turned to my wife and said" can you believe this? Would you believe me if I told you in 2007 that Adhamiay would be like this?" she said" wish that in the near future we would be sitting in Al-Alwia (social club) at night and you will be asking me the same question"
I just wish the situation in all Baghdad would be like this but unfortunately it's not till this moment.
So we continued walking and drink from the juices that was offered to us and eating candies while we walk…we reached a famous ice cream shop that we both really liked its ice cream and it has been closed for about a year, but now it's open…I can't describe my feelings when me and my wife sat there having the ice cream…we continued walking and I think it was one of my happiest and best days, I had the widest smile ever…we reached Abu-Hanifa mosque but we couldn't get in because it was full and AlMaliki was there!! He made a speech and for the first time he said something right "enough of the sadness and grief, let us be happy".
We turned back heading home at 9pm (amazing) and the streets were still filled with people and a women came out of one house on the way back and she offered us Zarda with a wide smile, she said" I'm giving it to the newly wed couples", we thanked her and we were so happy with it…My wife made Zarda also and we gave it to our relatives and friends earlier that day…it was so delicious.
We reached home and we were so exhausted from walking and having fun…we aren’t used to have fun in Iraq, we used to have fun when we travel but not here.
The next day which was the fifth anniversary of the war, we heard that it's like yesterday in Adhamiya so we decided to go…it was also great and we had so much fun, we shopped many things from there and we headed to Abu-Hanifa mosque and hanged out there, we saw many friends there too…and as we were heading home we saw a gathering of people but I couldn't distinguish what they were doing and as we reached closer to them I noticed that a large gathering of people were carrying the Pictures of Saddam and they were dancing on old patriotic songs and they were shouting the old traditional


line "we sacrifice our souls and blood for you Saddam" and later they shouted "Long live Satar Abu-Risha"!!!…there were so many people and they continued like that for about an hour, I don't know why they are shouting in his name? He hadn't done anything good especially to Adhamiya? Anyway my personal view to this is something good because it's a sign of democracy and freedom…if they like him let them sing and shout for him as long as they are not harming anyone…anyone can like anyone he wants…that's democracy as I think.
And as I reached home I had many thoughts in my head, me and my wife sat in our garden and I begun thinking, I was thinking will these celebrations and days be the beginning of the change in whole Baghdad? Or will it be only in Adhamiya? Will it continue like this or will it be sabotaged? When the Iraqis will feel that they are much stronger and capable of having peace if they deleted the two ugly sectarian words; Sunni and Shiite, what did we gain from the sects but the tears and blood…no one will be stronger and no one will be better, both sects will be effected by this way of thinking…all the Iraqis should be Iraqis and that's it, we are not that different after all. Don't give our enemies more chances to separate us…we are one… we are Iraqis