Honeymoon over
After a beautiful honeymoon in Lebanon with my lovely wife, I just got back to Iraq.
As I drove to the office this morning I said to myself, "Wow…Things have really changed - and for the worse." I started to compare Beirut to Baghdad and couldn’t help thinking of all the huge differences between here and there.
When I left Baghdad it was quiet in a way, but then I started to watch the news on al-Jazeera and some other Arab networks and the bad news didn’t stop. So I decided to stop watching the news, otherwise I wouldn't enjoy my time away.
I was really frustrated when I saw the sectarian violence in Iraq has become so obvious to everyone. But, the first question for me is still: Is it a civil war? "No, no, no - this can’t be happening to my country," I keep thinking.
When I arrived at the office, I sat down at my desk. The office looked quiet. Everything was normal, and I started to check my e-mail. Half an hour later I received a phone call from one our sources in the Iraqi police telling me that they had found over 70 bodies – mostly in Baghdad.
My God, I thought, that’s really bad to hear first thing in the morning.
I wanted to get back on the first flight to Beirut to stay a way from this weird country. But since it’s my country, I have to cover the story. I have to try to make people understand we are not barbarians, and that what’s happening right now is just a temporary conflict that will hopefully go away soon.
That was my first day back and I can say things have definitely changed since I left.
(To read about about happier times at this contributor's wedding, see the related posting from NBC's Jim Maceda who was a guest at the reception: "Baghdad Highs and Lows").
* The names of NBC local journalists in Baghdad are not being used in order to protect their identity and security.
Invasion Iraq: Three Years Later
EMAIL THIS
advertisement
Slide Show
- Life beyond the violence
Suicide attacks and murders due to sectarian conflict continue around Iraq. See how residents live their lives amid the attacks.
Read the Nightly News blog
