HW 34: Gold and Date Palms

In Iraq, gold is very valuable to the citizens. Riverbend says that this is due to the value of the Iraqi Dinar, equivalent to $3 in the United States (Riverbend 100). The Dinar kept fluctuating over time, so many Iraqis invested in gold instead, because of the fact that the value of gold doesn’t change. Many Iraqis own gold so that their savings don’t decrease over time. Iraqis have many other purposes for gold as well. Gold is given to newlywed couples as a gift, and can also be given for newborn babies. The family receiving the gold is allowed to sell it if they need the money, or they can keep it for the child someday. This is very different than in the United States. At a baby shower, you wouldn’t give someone an expensive gift so they can sell it for money. I found that interesting and the Iraqi people seem kind in this way. Date palms in Iraq serve as almost a haven for the people. It is a small paradise. “Just seeing the orchards brings a sort of peace (Riverbend 103). The orchards are green and welcoming, and it is a much better site for the Iraqis to see than tanks, guns, and blood. Also, in the winter months many exotic birds flock to the trees for shelter and food. It seems like a very relaxing area to be around.

HW 34: Gold and Date Palms

In Iraq, gold is very valuable to the citizens. Riverbend says that this is due to the value of the Iraqi Dinar, equivalent to $3 in the United States. The Dinar kept fluctuating over time, so many Iraqis invested in gold instead, because of the fact that the value of gold doesn’t change. Many Iraqis own gold so that their savings don’t decrease over time. Iraqis have many other purposes for gold as well. Gold is given to newlywed couples as a gift, and can also be given for newborn babies. The family receiving the gold is allowed to sell it if they need the money, or they can keep it for the child someday. This is very different than in the United States. At a baby shower, you wouldn’t give someone an expensive gift so they can sell it for money. I found that interesting and the Iraqi people seem kind in this way. Date palms in Iraq serve as almost a haven for the people. It is a small paradise. The orchards are green and welcoming, and it is a much better site for the Iraqis to see than tanks, guns, and blood. Also, in the winter months many exotic birds flock to the trees for shelter and food. It seems like a very relaxing area to be around.

HW 28: An Open Letter to Riverbend

Dear Riverbend,
I am an eighteen-year old freshman at Keene State College in Keene, NH. It’s a small, everyday American town. I’ve been reading your blogs, specifically your older ones in 2003 and I find them very interesting. I can only imagine what life must have been like and still is like today. I never understood how bad the living conditions actually were. However, after carefully reading your blog from August 28th, 2003, I felt a little offended. You imply that most Americans are ignorant and do not see what you see in Iraq. You say that we think of turban-wearing teachers, brown tents, dirt roads, and many other stereotypes when thinking about your country. However, I would bet that you make the same assumptions about the United States. You probably assume we are all addicted to fast food, sex, and drugs. We all drive SUV’s and have million dollar houses. That is not the case, as with the same in yours. Yes, we as a country on the whole, tend to kid and joke about the stereotypical Iraqi, but I don’t believe we should be held responsible. In many of your posts, you bash the news and media for giving the wrong impression about your people. In this aspect, I agree to the fullest extent. You hit the nail on the head when making this assumption. American citizens can’t fly to your country and experience life there in the first hand. We are forced to trust the media, news, and government about the actions in Iraq. I’m sorry you have strong feelings about this, but I want to try and defend myself. If you are to blame anyone, single out the media, not the American people. Other than that, I love reading your posts and trying to view life the way you see it. I find it enjoyable and I have the utmost respect for you.

HW 25: Responding to Riverbend

In Bagdad Burning, Riverbend writes her own accounts of what has happened in Iraq over the last few years. Soueif believes that this is powerful work, and never before seen accounts are described in Riverbend’s writings. Most mainstream media concentrated largely on the war, and what was being done to stop terrorists. However, Riverbend’s blog is about something more, something that we have never witnessed. In Ridgeway’s introduction, he describes Riverbend’s blog. Not about shootings and conspiracy theories, but about everyday tasks that we take for granted. “…rounding up enough friendly armed men to take the kids to the store to buy crayons (Ridgeway xi).” Never have I heard this report. The only news coming from CNN or Fox News about Iraq has been about the war and the larger perfect. We forget that we are killing and punishing innocent human beings. The introduction is about the history of Iraq and how oil has supported the country for many years. Britain invaded, took over, and the United States wasn’t in favor. This has led the United States to years of battling with the Middle East over the oil problem. Through the 2003 war in Iraq, with all the children dying and others crying, we forget that we made humans suffer. They weren’t terrorists, Muslims, Shia; they were people. Prior to the reading, I forgot about this tragic fact. I forgot about the actual people, and only thought about the country. I thought about oil, Saddam Hussein, and conspiracy theories. Bagdad Burning makes myself and everyone who reads it that human beings are affected by the war, and that is what’s most important.