ONE SENTENCE

Malcom Lagauche

Shortly after the "fall of Baghdad" in April 2003, my friend Wameeth called me and said, "I just found out that one of Iraq’s most famous singers was murdered." He was referring to Dauod Alkaisy, a well-known entertainer who had performed in Iraq for decades. His murderers were members of a Shia militia. At the time, most people did not consider his death to be the beginning of a pogrom. With the ever-present chaos, they had more important things on their minds. Since then, various Iraqi groups have had their experiences in annihilation. More than a thousand pilots who flew for the Iraqi Air Force during the Iran-Iraq War have been hunted and killed by sectarian militias. Then, gay and lesbian Iraqis had their turn. Soon after, Christian Iraqis were targeted. And, probably the largest group of ethnic cleansing was the Sunni population of Baghdad and surrounding cities. Let’s not forget the female population of Iraq of all religious affiliations. The fanatic mobs killed them for acting "un-Islamic." If they were not killed or beaten, they were forced into exile in their own homes. Before the invasion, about 55% of the Iraqi workforce consisted of females. Today, the number is about 3%...

continua / continued