Silence is Golden
McClatchy Baghdad Bureau
You never really appreciate something until you lose it. I never really paid any attention to the bliss of silence, until I lost it. It’s not that I don’t care for the loss of electricity; It’s not that I don’t care for the loss of security; It’s not that I don’t care for the loss family get-togethers, or any of the ordinary things you would take for granted living in the Baghdad of my memories, like taking a walk. No, all these things I do miss; but silence, I miss most of all. Every politician drives around in a security convoy, with sirens screaming and weapons gleaming, and there are very many politicians in Iraq today, take my word for it. Every police car patrols with its siren sounding. Army and MNF Forces usually use sirens.It has become common for young men to use sirens and sport weapons, simply as a means to open a route through traffic congestion at check points; no one dares stop or question them for fear of their belonging to "such" or "such" group. The loss of state-supplied electricity has made private generators a necessity. Every 50-100 homes are supplied with power from a generator, situated "around the corner" or "down the road" from where you live. The noise generated by these machines has contaminated our very lives. (Not to mention the smoke and fumes that are killing us)...
continua / continued
You never really appreciate something until you lose it. I never really paid any attention to the bliss of silence, until I lost it. It’s not that I don’t care for the loss of electricity; It’s not that I don’t care for the loss of security; It’s not that I don’t care for the loss family get-togethers, or any of the ordinary things you would take for granted living in the Baghdad of my memories, like taking a walk. No, all these things I do miss; but silence, I miss most of all. Every politician drives around in a security convoy, with sirens screaming and weapons gleaming, and there are very many politicians in Iraq today, take my word for it. Every police car patrols with its siren sounding. Army and MNF Forces usually use sirens.It has become common for young men to use sirens and sport weapons, simply as a means to open a route through traffic congestion at check points; no one dares stop or question them for fear of their belonging to "such" or "such" group. The loss of state-supplied electricity has made private generators a necessity. Every 50-100 homes are supplied with power from a generator, situated "around the corner" or "down the road" from where you live. The noise generated by these machines has contaminated our very lives. (Not to mention the smoke and fumes that are killing us)...
continua / continued
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 11:56 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home