Another Journals' Diary in Baghdad

Ibtihal Belaibil wrote today about the sudden happy news she received that morning in the journal: a journey, for herself alone, to Switzerland. She spent the day happily till the boss of the journal summoned her to his office and told her that that was a lie, the lie of the first of April. She wrote about that an article in today's Al-Sabah issue, and included a picture of a plane that belong to the Iraqi Airlines. 

Ali Daneef, on his part, wrote about that soldier who knew the names of his 99 grandparents (his father, his grand-father, the father of his grandfather and so on). Ali Daneefs remember that soldier who persuaded them at the military unit in the vital importance of knowing the names of at least the first 7 grandfathers.  

 In today's article, Ali Daneef declared that he no longer see it necessarily to know all those names, a human should be respected for his-self. Next to Ali Daneef's article was a picture from Germany, an apple tree with 10,000 colored eggs, as a celebration of a Christian holy day that I remember participating once in Baghdad in my childhood.

 In the same page, the last page, my favorite, was a photo of Tim Sorrier and one of his paintings.

 Khudair Mery is continuing his wonderful articles. Today he wrote about the experimental Arabic novels. I have read no one of those that he mentioned. I will keep his article in my archive as I always do with his articles.

 "Hasta La Vista Kapitalista" was in the front cover. I really forgot what is about but I liked so much that girl who held that pancarte.

 BB was on Al-Mada's cover.

 Hani Fahas was in the inside of Al-Mada. There was an article about another book written by him about his memories.

 As I reached home and saw that the internet service is available I decided to show you the newspapers of today and few pictures from the last week's papers.

 Baider Al-Basri has won the title of "The Voice of Religions". She is an Iraqi singer. I never heard of her before.

 From Romania, a bride wore the longest wedding dress in history.

 Romania, had offered me a novel of Herta Muller. A novel that was translated to English under the title of "Passport" but to Arabic under the title of "I Wished I Had Not Met Myself Today". The novel is about the Communist Party in Romania under Ceaucescu. The novel is long, and talks about trivial daily things, in a country that reminded me of mine, under Saddam.

 The newspaper seller had loaned me his personal copy of "God Thieves" the latest book of Abdul-Razaq Al-Jubran. From the book, I will never forget that line which states: "The prophet is not a poppet under the hands of the inspiration (of God)".

Mohammad Ghazi Al-Akras had written in yesterday's issue of Al-Sabah a lovely article about a poor Iraqi sweeper who loves his work. He wrote about those poor manual workers who sings while working. A very lovely and clever article as it is usual with Al-Akrass articles. Next to his article was a picture from Eastern Europe (Bulgaria maybe) showing that day when they celebrate by throwing water on each others. 

I don't know how to end this post but if you were next to me, I would bring a glass of water and through the water on you and giggle. Have a nice day dear friends. Thank you for Al-Sabah and Al-Mada writers. You are all wonderful.

An Iraqi Pantomime and Anxieties

Yaseen Taha Hafuth, an Iraqi poet and translator of literature, was writing in yesterday's Al-Sabah issue. The title of his article was "The Anxiety of Falling". It started with that usually antagonism to the biological theories of psychiatry. As structuralism was decomposed, a poetic writing prevailed. It is not me who is supposed to be fascinated with such an article, but a little degree of empathy had found itself inside at that particular moment and another dose of empathy, or even sympathy, had caught the possibility of existence in the future when a better explanation for the normality of the anxiety of falling will be read from another source.

 Falling, as a concept, had pointed to two facts: 1. The coming Arabic Summit, that will be held in Baghdad in about a week, and 2. Falling of an elderly body and hip fracture. As I contemplated Yaseen Taha Hafuth face, I knew his body is not that youth, anymore.

I always think about the bed I will lie in while knowing that I am in my last days. What will I think when I will be diseased and expecting death at any moment. Will be satisfied with what I did in my life? Could I have said, at that moment, that I have lived?

Yaseen Taha Haduth talks also about the anxiety of "living" and the anxiety of "fate". About the necessity of anxiety to motivate living and creating and thinking. This article will be read in the future again and again. Thank you Yaseen Taha Hafuth.

Have you ever heard of an Iraqi pantomime? A pantomime entitled "The Sculptor is Watching his Watch"? Written and directed by an Iraqi called Muna'im Sa'eed?

 Ali Shia'a was writing yesterday in Al-Sabah about it. Ali Shi'a was talking about his memories of 1991 when the Gulf War ended and he was forced, with others, to leave Iraq to K.S.A. and be refugees in an asylum, in tents in the Saoudian desert. Fa'is Al-Banna was among those Iraqis and he had reproduced this pantomime in front of the others asylum seekers, from his memory. The article tells us that that pantomime was forbidden to be played anymore.

Donald Rumsfeld 21^st episode of his Memoir was neglected again for the sake of reading Ali Daneef who was writing about his son showing signs of falling in love. 

Ali Daneef is embarrassed in front of his son's new care about his hair and clothes and poetry. The article is very beautiful. Next to the article is a fresh photo from Paris, where the weather was hot a little making people sitting in the terraces again.

Another article was talking about the Mothers' Day in the Sumerian days which was regarded as the first of April, in a link to what the Sumerian thought the start of spring which symbolizes fertility for them. A picture with the article is showing a typical mother in traditional clothes selling vegetables. 

Happy Mothers Day to all Iraqi mothers and all mothers around the world.

Hope all the best to Ali Daneef's son.

Thank you Ali Shiay'a about that wonderful story about the Iraqi pantomime.

Yaseen Taha Hafuth, you are a master that we learn from.

Bus Newspaper Reading

"Rave is still being understood as monopolized by mental illness, while it is the human language that created its raving, and raving would not be possible without a linguistic incubator, an incubator that can make raving another kind parallel to speech, or a little behind speech, or a little in front of it in its well-made beautiful majority." That was how today's Khudair Mery's article started today in Al-Sabah newspaper.

He continues after few lines that I found myself unable to translate: "… and perhaps it was Jacques Derrida who deconstructed, for the first time, the concept of writing and referring to writing as a trial to be centered around the logos."

What is more amazing in today's article is Mery's trial to elaborate on the concept of writing for us, the Arabs, and why we find difficulty in understanding Jacques Derrida's view about writing.

I don't claim that I understand Derrida. I must declare here that I didn't read anything before about Derrida in spite of one of my friend's insisting on this issue.

Mery states the quote of Gilles Deleuze about the difference between the Eastern wise-man who thinks by images in a side, and the Western philosopher who thinks in concepts.

I don't claim that I understood that, but I can assure that this saying was imprinted well in my memory for further evaluation. 

Towards the end of the article Mery mentioned one of Roland Barthes quotes: "Writing is that neutral, composite, oblique space where our subject slips away,
the negative where all identity is lost, starting with the very identity of the body writing."

Khudair Mery's last two articles are exciting and encouraging to read more and more. To open a new window. To share my friend, who likes philosophy, some views. To open conversations with some friends. Thank you Khudair Mery and thanks to Al-Sabah.  

Mohamad Ghazi  Al-Akhras wrote today in Al-Sabah. He wrote today about a conversation with a taxi man in Baghdad about the taxi man's brother visit to a psychiatrist and about that psychiatrist strange prescription: "Music, hear tranquilizing music!" 

Mohamad Al-Akhras compared between the music that is composed by Arab Iraqis Vs. music composed by Kurdish Iraqis. The former is sad, the latter is happy and dancing.

Newroz is approaching and is usually celebrated in Kurdistan vigorously. Al-Sabah showed a picture of Kurish females dancing. 

Another picture was from Afghanistan showing a man in traditional clothes standing in front of a poster of Marylyn Monroe.

The 20^th episode of "Known and Unknow:  A Memoir" by Donald Rumsfeld was talking about the arrival of Paul Bremer to Baghdad. I could not read more than 4 or 5 lines then shifted to Al-Mada which talks about the history of the 100% Iraqi-made clock in Al-A'athameya.

Reconsidering Khudair Mery

‘To write is certainly not to impose a form (of expression) on the matter of lived experience…Writing is a question of becoming, always incomplete, always in the midst of being formed, and goes beyond the matter of any liveable or lived experience. Writing is inseparable from becoming: in writing, one becomes-woman, becomes-animal or vegetable, becomes-molecule to the point of becoming-imperceptible.’ (Gilles Deleuze, ‘Literature and Life’)

With this quote of Deleuze today's Khudair Mery article in Al-Sabah newspaper started. Mery is writing about writing. I must declare here that I never had read anything about Gilles Deleuze before today. Thank you Khudair Mery for this clever article. For this philosophy that we need in our daily life. Because of you I will start buying Al-Sabah more and more. 

Another article tells about Khudair Mery trial to direct a theatrical piece of Jean Genet.

Today's Al-Sabah issue was remarkably mentioning the name "psychiatry" here and there. 

Labua Arab (Labua means literally: Lioness; and Arab means Arab), a new Iraqi actress was stating that: "Art had stolen me from psychiatry!"

In the article she declared her early dream to be a psychiatrist so that she can understand people. 

An article entitled: "declarations of a mentally ill" written by Ali Daneef Hasan, talks about people gathering one morning in Iraq outside a governmental department for some papers to fix, and as they were waiting a man among them declared that he is a mentally ill patient and that one must admit this and not be shy of it. Not only that but he said that he thinks that all of the Iraqis are mentally ill and most admit this to feel more secure and healthy. He added that when he started declaring his mental illness in public he started to feel much better and balanced. He said pointing to a clerk in that governmental department: "That clerk had screamed in my face and threw my papers in my face but I forgive him because I know that he is a mentally ill patient."

The article was cute and clever.

Next to the article is a picture of a Chinese man standing on his head, on a nail!

 Ali Shaye wrote an article entitled: "Psychological Needs" and is talking about those patients whose families leave them at the gates of one of Baghdad mental hospitals. Their family disappear after leaving them. Next to the article is a caricature by Khudair Al-Himyari showing a "punishment" coming to the only working clerk among the other sleeping clerks, a thing that is real and repetitive in governmental departments.
 

 Donald Rumsfeld's "Known and Unknown: A Memoir" is being translated in a series of articles since some time in Al-Sabah. Today was talking about the 1^st of May 2003, the day of the end of the military operation in Iraq.

 There were many other interesting articles like the one about sculptures made from the previous wars' waste products. 

 Those were interesting but of course not.... cute!