This man always catches my interest when he writes in Al Sabah newspaper. His face is a typical face of an Iraqi unknown thinker from the south. He is thin. He should be. Wearing Faucouldian glasses. Have a look in his eyes mixing unknown experiences for us. His eyes are eyes of a man with too much to say. We got to put him in a colored TV live show and listen to what he wants to say.
"Declaration of Insanity, My Journey From The Torture To The Asylum" is the story of Khudai Merry, that student in Baghdad Academy of Beaux-art. He was studying theatre. Tried at the end of 1980s with a friend of him to escape with illegal papers to outside Iraq. Men in ages able to hold firamrs were not free to leave Iraq during the previous regime.
Khudair Merry was caught. impresoned. Tortured because they thought that he was a member of a group planning to change the rigime in Iraq. They thought that he knew a man called Abu Nada. But he said he doesn't know him. They tortured him more till one day they took him to an attorney. (the following lines are my trial of translation of some lines from the book):
" After days, they came to my cell in the morning, they tied me well, put a bag made of black cloth in my head, took me out for long distance, not as usuall, then they stopped, took the bag off my head, and made me to face an old man, having no hair in his scalp, nor in is eye brows, the chaos and neglect in his room cought my attention, files thrown on his desk without order. Behing him there was a metalic file container, is cigarettes were on the floor, had a table lump with no light in it, his spectacles got very thick glasses, I barely could see his eyes if he really got eyes....He did not noticed me until a man told him that am there. He raised his face toward me and did not talk a thing till he asked me:
- are you guilty or not guilty?
- I don't know (I answered immediately).
- are you guilty or not guilty?
- what do you think?
somebody kicked me on my ass and told me in a sound that was about to explode:
- talk properly to your highness the attorney.
I knew for the first time the type of attornies used by the regimn, an elderly barely can see will be responsible for all those young people filled with enthusiasm. Ifelt the ridiculousness in that fact and I bursted into laughter"
The attorney uspected that he was mad. He asked the guards whether he is mad. They start to look on Khudair with some fear but did not answer. Then after a while:
"A fly rested on the attorney's nose, one of the men tried to made it flew away but he hit the spectacles of the attorney which felt down. At that moment the attorney yelled as if he was a child spnked by his parent:
-I told you he is crazy, take this crazy out of here"
Khudair Merry started to ast as if insane to convince them that he is insane. They were convinced. They took him to Al Rashad hospital (al shamma3ya), and he rested there till 1991 when the gulf war started and he escaped when there were no guards. Part 2 of his book talks about his diaries in the mental hospital. He give the frank names of the workers there. I asked on of them whether she agreed that he publish her name, and she answered that he did not asked her. He just wrote the book. Actually 2 books. If we neglect this moral mistake of publishing frnak names, it would be a great book to read.
"Declaration of Insanity, My Journey From The Torture To The Asylum" is the story of Khudai Merry, that student in Baghdad Academy of Beaux-art. He was studying theatre. Tried at the end of 1980s with a friend of him to escape with illegal papers to outside Iraq. Men in ages able to hold firamrs were not free to leave Iraq during the previous regime.
Khudair Merry was caught. impresoned. Tortured because they thought that he was a member of a group planning to change the rigime in Iraq. They thought that he knew a man called Abu Nada. But he said he doesn't know him. They tortured him more till one day they took him to an attorney. (the following lines are my trial of translation of some lines from the book):
" After days, they came to my cell in the morning, they tied me well, put a bag made of black cloth in my head, took me out for long distance, not as usuall, then they stopped, took the bag off my head, and made me to face an old man, having no hair in his scalp, nor in is eye brows, the chaos and neglect in his room cought my attention, files thrown on his desk without order. Behing him there was a metalic file container, is cigarettes were on the floor, had a table lump with no light in it, his spectacles got very thick glasses, I barely could see his eyes if he really got eyes....He did not noticed me until a man told him that am there. He raised his face toward me and did not talk a thing till he asked me:
- are you guilty or not guilty?
- I don't know (I answered immediately).
- are you guilty or not guilty?
- what do you think?
somebody kicked me on my ass and told me in a sound that was about to explode:
- talk properly to your highness the attorney.
I knew for the first time the type of attornies used by the regimn, an elderly barely can see will be responsible for all those young people filled with enthusiasm. Ifelt the ridiculousness in that fact and I bursted into laughter"
The attorney uspected that he was mad. He asked the guards whether he is mad. They start to look on Khudair with some fear but did not answer. Then after a while:
"A fly rested on the attorney's nose, one of the men tried to made it flew away but he hit the spectacles of the attorney which felt down. At that moment the attorney yelled as if he was a child spnked by his parent:
-I told you he is crazy, take this crazy out of here"
Khudair Merry started to ast as if insane to convince them that he is insane. They were convinced. They took him to Al Rashad hospital (al shamma3ya), and he rested there till 1991 when the gulf war started and he escaped when there were no guards. Part 2 of his book talks about his diaries in the mental hospital. He give the frank names of the workers there. I asked on of them whether she agreed that he publish her name, and she answered that he did not asked her. He just wrote the book. Actually 2 books. If we neglect this moral mistake of publishing frnak names, it would be a great book to read.
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