Rising Walls, Crumbling Lives

In my view, the most oft-repeated annoying misimpression about Iraq that US elite-media dork-pundits like to promote, in their neverending quest to proudly brandish their arrogant ignorance, is the idea that Iraqi society is primarily animated by "ancient tribal rivalries". To be sure, divisions remain between Sunni and Shia, divisions which Saddam Hussein exploited during his cynical consolidation of dictatorial power while simultaneously promulgating secular Arab nationalism. But it seems to me that these divisions cannot really be described as "tribal". Rather, they revolve around modern power politics.

Anyone who has even briefly studied Iraq knows that the country's cosmopolitan centers — Baghdad in particular — have long been noted for tolerance and inter-mixing between diverse inhabitants. Incidentally, yesterday I walked through a well-to-do area of Hong Kong known as Kadoorie Hill, which was settled by Iraqi Jews who came to China as merchants and traders in the 19th century, a period during which the long tentacles of British imperialism were planted in both Iraq and China. Indeed Baghdad was once home to a large Jewish population, in addition to Muslims and Christians, all of whom lived together in relative peace.

In order to appreciate the complexity of Iraqi loyalty and identity, we need only consider the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, when Iraqi Shias vigorously fought their fellow Shias from Iran at the behest of the ostensibly-hated Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein. In that instance, national unity clearly overrode sectarian rivalry. Tellingly, Hussein did not rely on Kurds to fight Iran, because the division between Kurds and Arabs is indeed more "tribal" in the sense that it's based in deep-rooted ethnic identities and conflicting ideological agendas. But the division between Sunni and Shia is neither ethnic nor ideological; historically, it's a succession struggle for authority in matters of Islamic jurisprudence, though nowadays it appears to have become something of a cloak for various intra-national movements, inflamed and exacerbated by the politics of the current puppet regime.

When Hussein waged war against Iran, he depended heavily on Iraqi Shias fighting Iranian Shias, knowing that secular nationalism would outweigh religious factionalism. It would have been nice if the US government had demonstrated a similar grasp of Iraqi sensibilities when it decided to invade and occupy; although, in my view, the US government never intended to create stability or peace, but only to foster discord and turmoil in order to prevent or forestall the emergence of competing sources of regional power.

The reason I'm going through all this is that this morning I read Riverbend's latest post and was saddened to learn that her family has finally decided to leave their homeland. Of course it's a development we've all been expecting; in my case, with a certain sense of dread, as though the day that Riverbend's family gives up, all is lost; because if a well-to-do family that has proudly and stubbornly stuck it out for this long is giving up, I just don't know how far things are about to fall. As walls go up, buildings and families and lives crumble into ruins amid the nightmarish smoke and flames of this tragic war, this mass-murderous crime, this sea of bitter tears.

The Wall is the latest effort to further break Iraqi society apart. Promoting and supporting civil war isn't enough, apparently- Iraqis have generally proven to be more tenacious and tolerant than their mullahs, ayatollahs, and Vichy leaders. It's time for America to physically divide and conquer- like Berlin before the wall came down or Palestine today. This way, they can continue chasing Sunnis out of "Shia areas" and Shia out of "Sunni areas".

I always hear the Iraqi pro-war crowd interviewed on television from foreign capitals (they can only appear on television from the safety of foreign capitals because I defy anyone to be publicly pro-war in Iraq). They refuse to believe that their religiously inclined, sectarian political parties fueled this whole Sunni/Shia conflict. They refuse to acknowledge that this situation is a direct result of the war and occupation. They go on and on about Iraq's history and how Sunnis and Shia were always in conflict and I hate that. I hate that a handful of expats who haven't been to the country in decades pretend to know more about it than people actually living there.

I remember Baghdad before the war- one could live anywhere. We didn't know what our neighbors were- we didn't care. No one asked about religion or sect. No one bothered with what was considered a trivial topic: are you Sunni or Shia? You only asked something like that if you were uncouth and backward. Our lives revolve around it now. Our existence depends on hiding it or highlighting it- depending on the group of masked men who stop you or raid your home in the middle of the night.

On a personal note, we've finally decided to leave. I guess I've known we would be leaving for a while now. We discussed it as a family dozens of times. At first, someone would suggest it tentatively because, it was just a preposterous idea- leaving ones home and extended family- leaving ones country- and to what? To where?

Comments

[Veronica]

Oh, good lord, don't even get me started on this one. If you listen to the media, they'll have you believing that 80% Arabs report to a tribal camel-riding sheik from some sort of 20's silent film and the other 20% worship Lionel Richie and live at the mall, that all Afghans live in caves, that all Persians burn American flags for fun, and that all Egyptians are religious whack jobs. And, really it was like that before the wars, too, though the flavor the week aspect was slightly different in the 80's.

GAH.

I swear, it's like most people think that Iraq is comprised of a handful of buildings in Baghdad and a lot of sand, and that's it. Like the war can't possibly be that bad because we're just bombing dirt, right? And, I've heard similar comments about Iran... and I just cannot wrap my head around the basic ignorance of it all.

I think you hit a pet subject of mine. Guess I needed to rant.

[Nezua Limón Xolagrafik-Jonez]

Walls coming up...over and over again. Here, there, everywhere. On the inside, on the outside...they are always to stave off an impossible tide. They are always to bolster the conquering lie.

[Sylvia]

I hope she finds somewhere to go. It's possible she could apply to come here; the U.S. is working to make more spaces for Iraqi refugees to settle here because Jordan and Syria are overtaxed, and it's definitely not safe to try living near the borders. There's humanitarian aid there, but...yeah.

Of all the efforts to actually help people survive in Iraq, the U.S. puts resources that could be rebuilding homes, safeguarding businesses, and leaning towards ceasing occupation into building a fucking wall. Are they trying to keep the violence outside or keep the insanity inside of it?

[Kai]

Sylvia, well I can't imagine that Riverbend has any desire to move to the country that's responsible for destroying her homeland and killing hundreds of thousands of her people. She's not going to end up in a border refugee camp, remember her family is well-to-do and probably connected to relatives in other countries in the region. I'm sure they have the wherewithal and knowledge to make the best possible decisions.

Veronica, yeah it's a pet peeve of mine too, the constant mischaracterization of the Middle East and indeed the entire non-Western world with a seemingly subtle but powerfully pervasive white supremacist civilizational narrative. So rant away.

Nezua, indeed. Pink Floyd was onto something.

[Sylvia]

Choosing to move from Jordan or Syria to America is an option, not a mandate or a cure-all. And with the conditions America is imposing on Iraqis who apply for visas to get out of the conflict, perhaps it's not a first resort -- or even a great last resort. But it's an option. It's not necessarily an issue of desire.

Also, I understand that Riverbend and her family are well-to-do, and they will make the best provisions for themselves. I also understand that since they're voluntarily leaving for their safety, they have significantly broader options than an ordinary refugee. But at the same time, while I do wish the best and safest escape for her and her family, that's not a universal safeguard against meeting up with some of the conditions other refugees are facing in this conflict.

My comments do sound fatalistic, and I apologize for that. But I didn't bring up what I did in any attempt to undermine whatever decisions Riverbend and her family makes and are making, or to suggest they couldn't make those decisions. Perhaps I should have restricted my comment to what's there about the wall.

[brownfemipower]

She probably couldn't come to the U.S. anyway, democracy now just reported that the u.s. is only letting in like 88 people from Iraq a year or something horrible like that--wheras they're letting in hundreds of thousands of cubans and iranians.

I disagree, tho, that she wouldn't want to come to the U.S. because of our invasion--Mexicans don't like the US much, but we come here anyway. There's a lot of benefits to being in the u.s. that has nothing to do with traditional understandings of why the u.s. is "good"---nobody invades the u.s. is generally a nice benefit. and if you have family that moved here before any invasion began, you're going to move here simply because you won't be all alone. For example, I've known many mexicans that walk right through the U.S. to get to canada. sure the U.s. is closer, but they have family in canada. And if they have business contacts in the u.s., that might be another reason to come here--just because they can get help getting started here.

starting life in a whole new place with no family, no friends, no clues as to how the culture works--that's not fun and it's not easy. You tend to forget things like a *government* attacking your country when you're scared and alone and maybe can't speak the language to well and *family* can help you.

[brownfemipower]

She probably couldn't come to the U.S. anyway, democracy now just reported that the u.s. is only letting in like 88 people from Iraq a year or something horrible like that--wheras they're letting in hundreds of thousands of cubans and iranians.

I disagree, tho, that she wouldn't want to come to the U.S. because of our invasion--Mexicans don't like the US much, but we come here anyway. There's a lot of benefits to being in the u.s. that has nothing to do with traditional understandings of why the u.s. is "good"---nobody invades the u.s. is generally a nice benefit. and if you have family that moved here before any invasion began, you're going to move here simply because you won't be all alone. For example, I've known many mexicans that walk right through the U.S. to get to canada. sure the U.s. is closer, but they have family in canada. And if they have business contacts in the u.s., that might be another reason to come here--just because they can get help getting started here.

starting life in a whole new place with no family, no friends, no clues as to how the culture works--that's not fun and it's not easy. You tend to forget things like a *government* attacking your country when you're scared and alone and maybe can't speak the language to well and *family* can help you.

[brownfemipower]

damn, sorry about the double post

[Kai]

Sylvia, yeah, good points, esp. about the limited role that desire sometimes plays in such decisions. BFP, good points also and thanks for the Democracy Now news, that certainly limits options. Hehe, sorry I can't add much just now as I'm on the road, but just wanted to acknowledge your great comments!

Cheers.

[kweenkong]

Thanks so much for stopping by my South Side Star!

Your writing is wonderful (love the China photos,too), and I shall return!

[westyx]

The tribalism issues, along with the religious issues that are affecting iraq (and to a smaller extent the region) boil down roughly to power issues - who gets control of what, and wether that control aligns to the personal beliefs of those in power.

Yes, it is wrong to say that iraq is a seething mass of tribal fighting, but the three main groups (kurds, sunnis and shias) are 'tribes' - groups of people with common interests who have common enemies. In this case I believe the underlying issues are dominated by who gets control of the oil, but the groups are aligning along 'ancient tribal rivalry' lines.

The thing about tribal rivalry is that in the good times, they tend to disappear - in an period of prosperity, most people tend to ignore the past if it will bring up unpleasantness. The problem occurs when there are major societal upheavals, and then people look to those they have most in common with (same family, which means same tribe) to attach to in order to fight for what they can get.

Most iraqis are trying to get on with their lives, but they're just not able to with the violence going on exacerbated by these tribal groupings.