Sacred Shoe

As most of you know, it's not my nature to write a new post one day after I published a post because I don't want to ruin the older one unless something really big happens. Sacred shoe is not a myth or a fairy tale…the shoe I'm talking about is for Muntathar AlZaidi from AlBaghdadia channel; the brave journalist that I'm sure majority of you have heard of…but what you haven't heard is the reactions of the Iraqi street and what do people think of Muntathar and what happened.
As a start I must make it clear what does it mean to throw someone with a shoe in the Iraqi traditions or may I say Arabic traditions in general; it's the maximum insult a man can do…it's the maximum humiliation no word can accomplish…and it happened yesterday in front of the whole world to one of the greatest criminals in the modern history when the brave Muntathar AlZaidi threw his two shoes on Bush who was standing beside AlMaliki in a press conference in Baghdad (BTW, it was an insult to AlMaliki too since he was standing besides him and in his place which is considered another insult in the Arab traditions).
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it on TV…Bush is a great criminal who directly or indirectly killed and ruined the lives of thousands of people whether Iraqis or American and it was hurting me to see him walking out of the white house with a pride thinking and pretending that he have accomplished his missions, made the world a better place and spread democracy! And the shoe came right on his face to wake him up and give him the humiliation he deserves by the hands of a brave Iraqi with the brave Iraqi saying "here is the goodbye kiss"…how many Iraqi faces have been stepped on with shoes because of him, it's time for him to try his own poison…I jumped out of my chair with the widest smile ever but that smile disappeared when I saw the bastards kicking him and punching him, what really hurt me with all the Iraqis that the ones who were beating him are Iraqis screaming "Turn off the all the cameras" and the brave was screaming "you are Iraqis!!!", if they were Americans it would be OK because it's their president and it's their duty to protect him but not Iraqis…as the journalist of AlBabiliya channel said "it has been hours and we are still hearing him being beaten and screaming in the other room" is this the democracy and freedom to beat someone! I know it's not a democracy to hit a president with a shoe and he should face the law because law is tricky but does the law say he should be beaten? Didn't Bush say he rescued the Iraqis from the torture of Saddam? Didn't both of them (AlMaliki and Bush) said that Iraq is a country of law! Then does the law permit torturing and in front of them and the whole world? There is nothing easier than talking…in addition to that 4 of his colleagues from AlBaghdadia channel were arrested, beaten and undressed.
Muntathar left a note to his friends that he will do something for Iraq and enter history …sure thing he did.
Anyways, today I went to work as usual and all the people I saw were very very happy, it was like a national celebration…A female patient came to me for a filling and as we were waiting for the Anesthesia to take effect she said "do you know doc. That yesterday was an Eid to me; I haven't celebrated Eid for the past 3 years because the Americans "accidentally" killed my husband and son and Bush is the reason why they are here so yesterday some of my revenge has been taken" …all the staff said the same thing "A statue should be built for Muntathar" in fact many of them have used the photo of Muntathar as a background for their mobiles but the really beautiful thing that made me even happier was that no one referred to his sect or anything…they were all proud of him, Muntathar means "awaited" in Arabic referring to Imam AlMahdi and since we are in it, he was kidnapped by AlMahdi army at November 2007 and tortured then released after paying the ransom and some say he didn't pay any ransom.
I haven't watched the news today because I'm a bit busy with few things but I have heard that there were demonstrations asking for releasing Muntathar.
So what will happen now? Will he be considered a terrorist? Will throwing a president with a shoe be a terrorist act?
I think there will be two scenarios of what will happen…either he will continue his life in jail for countless charges and die there or he will be released within few weeks and after some time he will be dead and of course they will say for natural causes or he might die in an accident.
Finally I want to clear a few things, I don't think that throwing a shoe at a president is a good thing at all but there are exceptions for everything and this incident is an exception because he really deserves it and I think many Americans will agree on that too, in fact people from all over the world will agree to this too.
May god and his angels be with you Muntathar to help you through the hard situation you are in now…Muntathar you gave the Iraqis a tiny but an important part of their dignity back which was humiliated by this criminal…you are one of the bravest men, you will be an icon for god knows how long…God bless you and protect you.
I'll leave you with a video from different cameras for the beautiful scene.

Crossing the unity bridge

Happy Eid to everyone although it is a little late!! …Merry Christmas and a happy new year in advance.
This Eid was different from the Eids of the past couple of years, it wasn't different for me but it was for many people.
For me it was the same; very few family members to visit, no parents to spend time with and almost no place to go to but many people were happier than I was because their families have returned to Baghdad for celebrating Eid in their country and with their people, I heard that all the tickets to Baghdad from Jordan and Syria were booked long time before Eid and that is a very good thing in my opinion; it's an improvement… maybe next Eid some of my family members could return and my Eid will have a spirit.
Few weeks ago I heard and saw that the Aaima (Imams) bridge have been reopened, it is the bridge that joins between Adhamiya (Sunni area) and Kathomiya (Shiite area). It was closed after the terrible disaster when the Shiites were going to visit Imam AlKathom passing through this bridge and a rumor spread among the crowds that there is a suicidal bomber among them and they started jumping off the bridge and the casualties were countless, in this event the true nature of the Iraqis was clear and the Sunnis started helping their Shiite brothers from drowning…anyway, I heard that it was reopened but I didn't cross it because I don't have anything to do there but in Eid I decided to go to Kathomiya and cross that bridge to visit my relatives there…as I was driving on that bridge I felt something strange, it has been three years since the last time I passed through here, I almost felt the crowds and how they were jumping from the bridge and that felt really terrible but at the same time I felt great because I'm passing from a very Sunni area to a very Shiite area without worrying…the security procedures to pass the bridge were very good and strict and that made me feel even better, after I entered Kathomiya I didn't know how to reach my relatives house because as I said it has been three years and most of the roads are not like they used to be (after the bridge closure I used to go to Kathomiya from another entrance) and I asked an Iraqi soldier about the way!!! Can you imagine that? Few months from now that would be considered suicide because that will means I'm not from the neighborhood and I have crossed from Adhamiya…but now I asked.
After some good time with my relatives I went back and it was night, as I was crossing the bridge back to my home I saw the most beautiful scene I have ever seen, It can't be compared to anything, I got chills and I literally felt like I was flying…tears were trapped in my eyes and blurred the most beautiful thing I have been craving to see…there were people (young men, girls, families) crossing the bridge on foot from Adhamiya to Kathomiya and vice versa…they seemed very happy and mind free…the people of Kathomiya went to Adhamiya to have some good time and so did the people of Kathmoiya who went to Adhamiya…the bridge was crowded with people, happy people…I really wanted to get out of the car and hug everyone of them…those are my people, those are the Iraqis that I call real Iraqis…those are the Iraqis who live side by side in peace and love…Those were my brothers and sister and I'm so proud of them because they still have a mind that isn't polluted with the ugly thoughts that the sectarian beasts tried to distribute…they are brave because they said NO to sectarianism and the beasts…they are Iraqis…god bless everyone who is like them…thank you god for allowing me to see this scene.

I beleive this bridge should be named "unity bridge".