Blog 11

            This week we read the book Baghdad Burning written by Riverbend it is a collection of blogs written by a 24-year-old girl called Riverbend. She is faced with a constant fear with living in Iraq during the war. She blogs about her everyday experiences and what it is like to live in a country at war. Her country has changed drastically since the war has started and people everywhere are being devastated everyday. The American army has occupied Iraq and the people no longer feel save in their own homes. She refers to the government as the “puppet counsel” because they are all just figureheads. They have no real power and the Americans say and tell them what to do. This makes Riverbend extremely angry because everyday the counsel goes and makes announcements and pretend to have any sort of power at all to change what the current situation is, and it is all empty promises. Troops have raided the streets and have been breaking into people’s homes for no reason. They have taken innocent people to prison and Baghdad was being reduced to rubble. She is so angry as the “puppet counsel” sits there and lets all of this happen with no arguments or fights. They have no power and have not tried to help anyone. It is almost impossible to leave the home safely. Everyday they are in fear for their lives and for their family’s lives. She said once that she has been to more funerals this year then in her entire life. She hears all the time about people being abducted, beaten, and killed in jail and in the streets.

One thing that really stuck out to me was when the pictures from the Abu Ghraib jail is leaked to the media. In the prison Abu Ghraib in Baghdad American troops were sexually abusing, beating and killing many of the prisoners. The pictures had leaked and were all over the news and all over America’s news. President Bush made a statement saying this was not the face of the American Army and not the face of America. He wanted everyone to know this is not what we represent. Riverbend is furious with this apology because everyday troops are killing innocent people in the streets. The American army is bombing hospitals, schools, and mosques. They even bombed a wedding ceremony for no reason. Everyone living in Iraq knows this happens everyday that troops are abusing their powers but these pictures are the only things being shown and nothing is gong to change. Everyday innocent people are being raped, killed, beat in these prisons and she is furious that the government does nothing about any of it.

            Baghdad Burning really gave me a better view of what is going on in Iraq and the war. Living in America we don’t see any of the things that these people are faced with everyday. We are so unaware that we are even at war. This novel really opened my eyes to what is going on in the world and how our government really censors what we see. Our news is so biased towards America and our war that we never see the other side of it.