Living murder
By Nermeen Al-Mufti
Received from a friend with permission of publication for promotion of peace!Please tell me this isnot true am very much disturbed How heartless people are becoming!
Every day is one's last in the new Iraq, until the sun
sets and rises and it starts over again, writes Nermeen
Al-Mufti
Sometime in 1997, on a day that now seems suddenly
distant, I got a call from Atwar Bahjat. She introduced
herself as a young poet and journalist, saying that
friends had told her to seek my advice on how to write
newspaper stories. I met her in my office in Al-Jumhuriya,
a newspaper that doesn't exist anymore. It was closed down
when the Information Ministry was disbanded in the first
weeks of the occupation.
Atwar was a calm and good listener. I read some of her
poetry and news stories, and a friendship was born, one
that was suddenly interrupted with her tragic death.
As I think of Atwar today, I recall how upset she was that
the information minister had turned down her request to
work for the Arabic service of the Chinese radio. Had she
gone to China, would she still be among us? The question
haunted me as I saw her picture on the front page of
various papers. Once a news reporter, now she's news. Why
was Atwar killed? Who killed her? And who killed
journalist Saad Al-Janabi on the day following her murder?
No one has the answer to these questions. In Iraq, 44
local journalists and over 20 foreign reporters have been
killed since the occupation started.
Accusations were made against many groups. But let me tell
you that some journalists were killed with US fire, a few
of them in cold blood. Let me recall here what Eason
Jordan, former CNN news executive, said at the Davos forum
in 2005. He said that during his visit to Baghdad, he
sensed that US forces were killing journalists on purpose.
The statement caused such a stir in the US that Jordan was
forced to retract it and resign. The US administration is
still denying purposefully killing journalists, although
available evidence tells another story.
"In Iraq today, you can say anything but the truth.
Corruption is rampant and ordinary Iraqis lack the most
basic services," says Iraqi journalist Saleh Al-Shibani.
"Atwar was a daring journalist and a brave Iraqi. Perhaps
her assassination, which shocked the world, would make the
Iraqi government think of restoring peace and security,"
he adds.
"Those who killed Atwar are people who don't want the
truth to come out," says journalist Abdel-Amir Al-Majar.
"Where has the fourth person who was with the Al-Arabiya
crew gone? How did he manage to escape? And why is the
news so conflicting about the crew's abduction and murder?
During the funeral, more killing took place, and once
again the truth was lost amid conflicting reports. The
only truth we know is that journalists are a main target."
Amal Husein, a news reporter, is shocked by Talibani's
suggestion that journalists should carry guns for
self-defence. "When it became clear that former military
people and academics were becoming targets, Talibani gave
them a safe haven in Suleimaniya. He is interested solely
in partial solutions. Iraqi officials are not expected to
resolve problems. Should I decide to buy a gun, I would
have to wait for months to get a license. Without a
licence, the gun would be confiscated and I might be
detained for carrying it. This is a solution that cannot
be implemented, just as all other government promises."
Perhaps Atwar thought it was enough to be objective in her
reports. Perhaps she thought she was safe because her
father was Sunni and mother Shia. She was just as
comfortable in Fallujah as in Najaf. But she was not safe.
No one in Iraq is.
How could I work as a journalist under such circumstances?
Foreigners often ask me that question, and here is what I
say. In Iraq, we all live by accident. We live because we
have been missed by "friendly fire" and booby-trapped cars
and unidentified gunmen. I leave the office to go home
without bodyguards. But everyday, before I leave to work,
I say a prayer and get myself ready for all eventualities.
Before I started my weekly newspaper, Al-Qalaah, I was
working for an international network that offered me
protection while on the job and trained me to stay safe.
Despite the protection, two of my colleagues were killed.
Now I go to the office without protection. The government
is not offering protection to anyone in the street. So how
would you expect it to offer protection to someone such as
myself, or any of my colleagues?
The government and the occupying forces are only
interested in protecting the Green Zone and top officials.
Every official has the right to a team of bodyguards at
the government's expense. Members of the now disbanded
National Assembly used to receive $3,000 in security
allowances to pay bodyguards of their choosing -- normally
relatives, for no one trusts anyone anymore. Who will pay
me to hire a team of bodyguards?
Right now, there are at least two Iraqi organisations that
get international donations to protect journalists. These
organisations only hold training courses when the donors
are in town. Otherwise, their only purpose seems to be
offering some people the chance to travel abroad and make
money. The Journalists' Syndicate remains ineffective, due
to divisions among journalists. Everyone is competing to
become chief. Everyone wants to attend international
conferences. And yet no one is safe. A few months ago, a
member of the Journalists' Syndicate board, Mohamed
Haroun, was assassinated.
In my newspaper, I have a team of young journalists who
refused to work in publications that take no particular
stand on the occupation. Perhaps we're taking a risk by
being pro-Iraq. Perhaps we are taking a risk by reporting
the sad facts and the terrible reality. The following
numbers are all official: since the occupation started,
182 academics have been assassinated and hundreds fled
Iraq after having been abducted and forced to pay ransom.
Some 278 teachers have been assassinated. Most military
leaders of the "disbanded" Iraqi army, as well as many
pilots, have been assassinated. In the past six months, 26
doctors have been assassinated. Dozens of lawyers,
engineers, and professionals have been killed.
The world will never know the true number of Iraqi
victims. The authorities are reluctant to mention the
number of murdered journalists. According to international
organisations, Iraq is the most dangerous country in the
world. You wonder how I keep working in Iraq? You wonder
how the Iraqis go on living? Just keep us in your prayers.
May Atwar and all the martyrs of Iraq rest in peace.