I have been here in the Al Dulamie hotel for 3 days, I’d
avoided haggling over the price, then the boss, Abu Noor
showed his face round the corner of my door. "Mr Sean about
your stay.." It was time to haggle. I’m usually good at
haggling but Abu Noor is better, a real expert, or at least
someone I always fail to outbid. He is a rotund gentle man. He was
happy to see Saddam in the dock, Saddam killed his younger
brother. He doesn’t agree with the death penalty but in
Saddam’s case he said the people need to see justice. In an
angry moment he tells me that Saddam should be put in a cage
in the zoo, paraded for the people, and left to die there. Abu
Noor runs a cheaper end, family run hotel next to a 4 star
flash place over the road. Around us are about 5 hotels,
(well 4 since one was bombed a few weeks ago by a suicide
bomber who also killed the 13 year old cigarette seller in the
street.) All the hotels here supposedly profit from what
looks like good security, guns, concrete walls, checkpoints,
etc.. none of this means anything of course until it is put
to the test. Can anyone stop a suicide bomber I ask one of
the many private security companies working here? No, they
answer. Are we safe against a rocket propelled missile
attack I ask? No they answer, if they want to send an RPG
over here they can. They got the Palestine Hotel a few
months back by firing a mortar off the back of a donkey and
cart. The first mortar hit the hotel, the second would have
certainly killed people except that the donkey shat itself
and ran away, dragging the mortar's with it. The joke for
months after was that 'the donkey saved our lives’.
As I wake this morning I hear on the news that the Sheraton
Hotel was rocket attacked killing 3 people.
When I arrived here on my first visit since the fall of
Saddam in January, the Sheraton had just been hit. I was told
that it was probably the safest place to stay now as it had
already been hit. That advice came from one of the many
expensive security companies working here for contractors,
t.v. news organisations, and who also protect the US army convoys.
I went against their advice and found a little family run
hotel, the ‘Dulamie’, a famous fallujah family. I figured
that as Fallujah was the hotbed of resistance in Iraq this
hotel wasn’t gonna get hit. Abu Noor would always point to
his father in the lobby, "Look he is the tribal leader, no
one will touch us here." Shame the Americans never
understood the power of tribal leaders when they occupied
this land over a year ago. They’d have been having an easier
time by now if they had. In places like Fallujah it is
difficult to imagine that the people were welcoming the
American’s when they arrived. But heavy handed American
tactics soon led to resentment, a pattern seen throughout
Iraq, stories of American soldiers putting their feet on
tribal leader’s heads is unimaginable here. It is a crime
that incites the whole tribe to take revenge, which
they do. And so things escalate.
Anyway, Abu Noor wanted his money. He is a shrewd businessman and I
was tired and couldn’t argue for long. Finally I agreed to
pay $1000 for a month, I know others are staying here for
$700 and $800. Poolside, I opened a bottle of wine and drank
with Marla, an American woman, who is here to help Iraqi
families that have been bereaved by the US. She helps kids that
have been orphaned find compensation. The heavy handed
American response to an attack is to let rip in the general
direction regardless of who they kill. As a result Marla has
her hands full with children without parents and parents
without children. She helps them make applications to the US
to claim the $1200 paid to any family who has someone killed
by accident by the Americans, a very difficult one to prove
though. Marla has been looking into a friend’s case. A
journalist had uncovered a story from Abu Griab prison where
a US soldier, currently on trial for torturing Iraqi
prisoners, is accused of killing one of his victims. Marla
has a high powered US lawyer helping her see that justice is
done to the soldier and that compensation is paid.
Poolside, we were all tired, talking war, an American friend Quil
joined us, listening to our conversation he looked up from
his beer. "can’t we talk about sex.. or something else, it’s
always war and death.. and killing." He should have been
with me and the French journalists last night I thought. I
didn’t feel like talking sex after such sad tales from
Marla. But then I’ve only been back here 4 days and Quil has been
here 6 long weeks. It’s amazing what 6 weeks in a war zone
can do to your mind.
POSTSCRIPT
Sweltering heat in Baghdad today. I went against all advice
for my safety and headed out to the most famous pizza
restaurant in Baghdad. It has been 'warned' on a number of
occasions for entertaining westerners and even the US army. The
threat of a bomb attack doesn't add to the wonderful taste of
the food and wine. but for the 90 minutes we are there it is
wonderful; like stepping out of all this madness.
I'd gone with George, a French journalist, who is interested in
the other film I have been setting up whilst out here, 'a
behind the scenes documentary of the trial of Saddam'. We met
more French journalists there, the ones from the other
evening, but this time there was no talk of sex. Just the
story.
One of them was working for an American network and wants to
meet with me tomorrow night to talk about buying into our
behind the scenes film of the trial. Good news I guess, but I
was just enjoying the wine and air conditioning. Simple fun
for a simple man. It seems the American networks have annoyed
the Iraqi authorities by recording the sound of Saddam's
voice yesterday at the trial. And boy what an effect it has
had on the streets, not only are our guards putting the
thumbs up to Saddam, but my driver now also. On the way he
declared to me, "Sean.. I love Saddam."
I came back to the hotel to add all this into the blog and met
the receptionist at th" desk. He looked up at me with
loving eyes and said, 'Sean I love Saddam" I was becoming
confused. I thought that the two glasses of good Lebanese wine had
twisted my mind. I went into the kitchen and asked the tea
boys "Do you love Saddam?" No, they answered, pulling their
fingers across their throats, "finished."
What is difficult to grasp here as my French friend George
pointed out, "Arab people think from their hearts. Saddam was
Iraqi, an Arab..he was one of them.. now they see a new
leader, Ayad Allawi, the best of a bad bunch, a former CIA
guy working with the Americans who is still guarded by
Americans. Saddam was one of them.. they respect that.. even
though he did all those things.. now who have they to look
to..?"
After months of incomprehension, studying the confusion
Iraqi people have felt since the fall of Saddam, things are
becoming clearer to me. Like Samir said yesterday 'imagine
your country invaded and your queen paraded and humiliated
like saddam. how would you feel? Saddam was a bastard, a bad
man, but he was also our President, we feared him a lot'. And
I started to see that silently many Iraqi people also
respected him for his singled handed stand against America.
sean 02 07 04
posted by mcallister at
5:49 PM
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