Stuck at a Red Light.

Layla Anwar

...I saw the Red Zone and the Green Zone in Baghdad. The red zone was very red. As red as the sun that sets on the Tigris. Red as blood, red as fire. The green zone was a green as the palm trees that embrace the river, as green as spring. The red zone is filled with limbs , scorching heat, immolated bodies with Iraqi kerosene (oil). The green zone has healthy men and women walking about, playing bowling and billiard. The red zone is screaming with burns,pain and anguish. The green zone is playing disco music and drinking beer and whiskey. The red zone is bursting into flames , its markets reduced to ashes, its women pulling out their hair. The green zone is where secret love affairs flourish, where three meals a day are served and where electricity is available. The red zone has demolished houses , mosques and targeted churches. The green zone with its palaces is bathing in blessings handed out by the American parish priest. The red zone is burning in flames...

continua / continued