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Aug 1 2007 ''Had poverty been a man, I would have killed him.''

Dear Bruce,

 

''Had poverty been a man, I would have killed him.'' This was one of Imam Ali's adages. However, it is not only poverty that is crushing the people today in Iraq.

A friend of mine has recently reported to me that he visited a family in Najaf governorate that is living in very harsh conditions. This is an internally displaced family that escaped the scourge of sectarian violence in Baghdad. This family consists of a father, two daughters and a son; the mother is dead. The whole family is suffering from alopecia totalis (complete head-hair falling). The son and his sister are severely malnourished so much so the case that the sister, who is 6 years old, is only 6 kg. malnutrition is causing her complete loss of sight and total atrophy.

 

There is no enough food the family can find to subsist and water is full of sulphur and is not drinkable altogether. Little are those who come and feed them and it is until recently that people from Sadr office began to provide them with some food and drinkable water.

 

This is one of the many grieving stories that we witness every day in post-war Iraq. Our loved ones, relatives, friends and colleagues are being killed and intimidated every day by the militias and the criminal gangs. Doctors are being abducted, mutilated and murdered every night. University professors are leaving the country in huge numbers. Poor people are subjected to every sort of forfeiting and grievances. No one is putting an end to their suffering and they do not know who is doing what and why.

 

Eleven football players were able to bring joy to the Iraqis' hearts while armies of soldiers and politicians failed to drive away harm. A question is always raised ''why is all this happening to us?''

I am still receiving mails from my students. Their hearts are burning with pain for losing their good teachers. The universities are morphing meeting places where one can pass time. This academic deprivation is eating into the society that has already been subjected to different sorts of torment.

 

Rafed

June 22 2007 from Basrah, Iraq Teacher -to- Amman, Jordan Refugee

What does it mean to leave everything in your life behind except your wife and children?

After RAKA's brother was killed he was told that if he didn't leave he would be killed also. He managed to get to Jordan with his wife and children unharmed. They chose to leave everything they knew behind them in order to keep living.

The bond between good, caring teachers and their students is strong. The loss of contact with them is only one part of the pain of separation, but it is as real as any other. Here is RAKA's letter to his beloved students, written soon after he arrived in Jordan.   

Dear Students, brothers and sisters,   

I am sorry to have left you without saying good-bye. But such being our lives: so fickle, so shadowy. You remember Macbeth's lines:
 
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.     

After the death of my brother, we thought it was everything. There was a strong urge from my family and friends that I leave the country. However, I was thinking of the good things that I have in Iraq: my family, my friends, my teachers, my colleagues and last but not least my students that I have always been thinking of as friends and brothers that are in need for help, advice, guidance and a good word that would keep them on the right path. In this regard, and thanks to modern technology, I would like to tell you that I am not so far from you. Yes, I am abroad, but I am keeping a close look at you and I follow up your news. I have always been willing to stay among you, but there are bad people who do not like you to progress and prosper. As such, I earnestly call upon you to tend a little bit to yourselves, to see yourselves as students, real students who are worthy of success. I am abroad today and I am so much pained by what I see around me, not out of envy, but out of woe. I see the students in the Arab countries progressing and edging their way in life confidently and proudly. I look back at you and feel a strong sense of pity for what you are. Think of yourselves as translators and interpreters who are going to contribute to the good of your country. Do not be involved in material gain while forget your lessons and what you are. Money is luring and work is tempting. This is a fact of life. Though, you have to reckon that you are students, still young, and the whole future is ahead of you, just wait and prepare yourselves for the good chances ahead.    

You can make your life meaningful and, opposite to Macbeth, worthy of living and signifying a lot. The chances you have are better than ours are and the resources at your hands are more copious than what we used to have when we were students, sometimes not able to find a dictionary. With translation, there are so many opportunities and chances that are waiting for you; but never be tempted by those dirty people, who are killing our folk and destroying our home.    

Pay due respect to each other and to those who are there to help you: your teachers. Help each other, pray for the good of the whole country, and never forget that Allah, the Prophet and the good men, both dead and alive, are all watching us.    

I am sure that the foam of the sea will never last long, and that the waves of good hope will wash out the solid rocks of despair.    

I wish you all the best and safe life…    
Sincerely Yours,    
RAKA   
Amman, 23, 04, 2007

June 18 2007 The Sky Will Not Rain Again, part 5, the last. (A Basrah story)

Here's the end of Rafed's tale. Is this allegory, history, or a glimpse into the unfolding present? This well-wrought story is a crystal through which we can see a world through Iraqi eyes.  Thank you, Rafed, for sharing this with us.

We hope that the near future will find you and your family fulfilling your wish finally get here to continue both your own studies as well as your wish to bring the truth out.
Bruce

Rafed's short story, The Sky will not Rain Again, continues below <<click 'Continue reading' to view part 5, the end.>>.

 

June 18 2007 The Sky Will Not Rain Again, part 4 (A Basrah story)

Here is more of Rafed of Basrah's email that he sent with the short story serialized below. If you have any ideas of how to help him get to the US the please write us at [email protected].

I don't know if you can help me with my situation. I want to come to the US so that I follow up my education there. It is my dream to be there to speak to the people about the hardships we are facing and to show them a better picture of Islam and Muslims than the one presented to them in the atrocious September 11 events. I was admitted for a partial scholarship to study for an MA in Sustainable International Development (SID) in Brandeis University. Unfortunately, they offered me a maximum of 17'000 USD and I have then to care for the remaining 32'000 USD, which I can never afford viewing my situation. I don’t really know if you could possibly help me with this.

Rafed's short story, The Sky will not Rain Again, continues below <<click 'Continue reading' to view part 4>>.

June 16 2007 The Sky Will Not Rain Again, part 3 (A Bagsrah story)

Stranded in Amman, unable to return to Basrah because of threats, Rafed said,

Every day, there is a September 11 in Iraq and the US-British presence, unfortunately enough, is adding insult to injury. Right after the murder of my brother by one week, our house was raided by an army of British soldiers with their armoured vehicles and sniffing dogs. They were searching for weapons that they think we use for attacking the Multi-national forces. They beat my wife and my eldest brother. Upon finding nothing, they took more than 4'000 USD, my Toshiba Satellite laptop and so many personal papers including my bereaved mother's passport. They terrified the family and scared the kids. The situation is unbearable there and life is so difficult here in Jordan.

Rafed's short story, The Sky will not Rain Again, continues below <<click 'Continue reading' to view part 3>>.

 

June 14 2007 The Sky Will Not Rain Again, part 2 (A Basrah story)

Rafed's story continues below <<click 'Continue reading' to view part 2>>. Here is more of his email:

What is happening to us, believe me, is far more overwhelming and horrendous than the September 11 events. Those who attacked you and killed your beloved ones for no reason but madness and sheer grudge at a society living in peace and liberty that go at extreme variance with their evil minds are themselves who are attacking our beloved today in different parts of Iraq.
Rafed

 

 

 

June 13 2007 The Sky Will Not Rain Again, part 1

This is the first part of a serialization: The Sky Will Not Rain Again, by Rafed A. Kashan. Trapped in Jordan, not able to return home because of threats after the murder of his brother, and unable to gather the funds needed to take advantage of his partial scholarship at Brandeis University, he wrote:

"Regarding the short story, please be aware that you are free to post it on your project blog and mention my full name. There is a name in the story, Jalal, who is Karim's close friend and my brother who was murdered in his barbershop three months ago. He was only 30 years old and very loveable and amorous person. He was kind hearted and the money he was gaining from his exhausting profession used to be lent to those who are in need so that when he died, we had no idea where his money was. Thanks to the people who came and informed us that they kept his money with them. His girl friend whom he promised to marry is still in a very traumatic state as she is an orphan and she was heavily relying on Jalal to care for her and her young brother."

<<Click 'Continue reading' to get started>>