The Orange Trees of Baghdad
Page 31
Animal Farm, 56
anti-British sentiment, 57, 58
antiquities and treasures, 112–119
anti-sanctions movement, 126
Antoine, 41, 44, 199, 200
army service (Iraq), 122
art as propaganda, 115
artefacts, 112-113, 119
Athra Ahmed, 214, 218
Athuri, 42, 47
attacks on US soldiers, 125, 129
Aunt Lamaan, 158, 160–162, 208
Aziz, Tariq, 126
B
Baathist army officers, 84
Baath Party
and government, 78
in schools, 297
and weapons, 162
Baghdad
closed to all traffic, 220
daily life stable, 1980s, 96
described by Ibrahim, 57
fires burning, 272
history, AD 800, 51
images, in war, 91
Lina in family home, 28
as outdoor city, 16
in ruins, 36–37, 301
satellite tour, 292–294
US–UK bombing plan for, 29
in war, March 22, 2003, 27
as war zone, 247
Baghdad Museum, 116
baptism certificate, 81
Beatrice, 196, 197–198, 300–301
beer, 67
Beirut
described by Ibrahim, 52
described by narrator, 166, 168–169
rebuilt, 173
belly dancing, 298–300
Bible, 54, 71
blackmail, 255
black market, 246
Blair, Tony, 149
blast wall, 212, 271, 293, 294
Blix, Hans, 130
Bremer, Paul, 135, 138, 273
Brigette, 85
British, in Iraq, 59
British Council, 60, 64
British Mandate, 57
British Museum, 112–116, 117–118
burials, 107–108, 152, 195, 272–273
Bush, George W.
as criminal, 310
in election, 139
and end of war, 121
expresses sorrow, 149
Ibrahim’s opinion of, 36
re-elected, 150
visits Canada, 150
Bush administration, 127
C
Caliph Harun al-Rashid, 51
camera, 158, 159, 205, 206
car bombs, 240
and churches, 141
as daily occurrence, 206
and death rate, 151–152
escalating, 139
and helicopter, 266
and Karim, 230–231
Karim’s fear of, 242, 243
and schools, 148
victims of, 210
on website, 228
witnessed by children, 246
carpets, as art, 17
Carroll, Jill, 218–219, 233, 238
cars, in Iraq, 96
cartoons about Islam, 232
Catholicism, 42
ceasefire, Gulf War, 39, 97, 257
Chaldean Christians, 41–42
“Chemical Ali,” 160
chemical weapons, 38, 160
Cheney, Dick, 183
Christianity, 41–42, 147–149
Christmas in Iraq, 155–156, 305–310
churches, and car bombs, 147–148
CIA, 75
cigarettes, 67–68
cinema, 49
civil war, 139, 203, 213, 244, 290–291, 309
clay tablets, 113, 116, 118
Clayton, May, 71
Clement, 41, 44, 52, 150–151, 152, 199
cluster bombs, 158, 272, 308
Coalition Provisional
Authority, 135, 138, 139, 141–142
Code of Hammurabi, 116
communism, 75
conscription, 122
contractors (mercenaries), 142
convents, and car bombs, 148
correctness of invasion, 245
cost of medical care, 218, 219, 220, 222, 224
coup
in 1941, 45, 75
in 1958, 58, 60
in 1963, 75–76
in 1968, 84
and curfew, 111
crossing the desert, 55–56
crying, 161–162
cultural interpretation, 266
cuneiform, 113, 116
Curtis, John, 183
D
Damascus, 55–56, 164, 181–185, 251–254
Dante, 138
Daoud, 23–24, 47–49, 274–275
dead bodies, 124, 151–152, 195, 237
Deir Ezzor, Syria, 116–117
democratic representative government, 245
doctors in Iraq, 199
dogs, 265
Duyar Sai Fehan, 220, 220
E
Easter eggs, 108
Edward, 41, 44–45
Ehab, 158
elections
campaign office bombed, 267
consequences for Iraqis, 269
in 1950s, 47
in 2005, 141–143, 166–167
electrical appliances, 289–290
electricity supply interrupted, 29, 94, 123, 124, 133, 138, 245, 261–262, 288, 289
embargo, 39, 86
embassies
British, 102
Canadian, 79, 80
Iraqi, 64
US, 141, 245, 277
England, and Iraq, 2003, 90
Epic of Gilgamesh, 116
evangelical missionaries, 148
ex-Baathists, 129, 139
F
family
in Baghdad during war, 28
Bible, 54
Canadian, 18–19, 84–85, 85–86
Christmas decorations, 305–306
connected by computer, 292
as fruit of war, 33–34
hopes for escaping Iraq, 307–308
and Iraq as enemy, 34
Iraqi, 20–23, 85–86, 91–92, 93
in limbo, 39
in Old Baghdad, 42–43
photograph albums, 103–105
as refugees, 282–286
stockpiling rations, 29
survives war, 2003, 112
visits, importance of, 91
on where Ibrahim lives, 81–83
family homes
and Aunt Lina, 200–201
buying carpets for, 17–18
during curfew, 59
described, 46
empty, 307–309
garden, 15–18
imagined, 311–312
and Karim, 232
and leaving Iraq, 283, 284–286
and Lina, 297
in satellite image, 293
Victoria and Kahlil, 49
family tree, 54
Farah’s family, 233–234
fate, 76, 78, 100
father
as assimilated, 34
at cinema, 49
and death of parents, 38
as exile, 37, 38
and family home, 15–18
in grandmother’s house, 40–42
growing up in Iraq, 50
haircuts, 40–41
and language, 37
learning English, 50–51
in Old Baghdad, 45–46
opinion of Bush, 36
physical description, 34
as protester, 36
reason for leaving Iraq, 34
and summer holidays, 51–52
summering in Lebanon, Syria, 52
and wars in Iraq, 36
writes newspaper, 286–287
Finkel, Irving, 113–118
first civilizations, 114–115
first laws (Mesopotamia), 116
Food for Oil, 278
food shortages, 100–101
“foreigner fighters,” 129
“foreign fighters,” 139
foreign journalists, 36, 95, 129, 156–157, 207, 210
freedom
daily, 1
38
dreamed of, 78
and invasion, 93, 210
new, 134
as noble idea, 185
of speech, 133, 300
fresh bread, 108
G
Galloway, George, 126
garden, family home, 15–16
gas for cars, 84, 246, 291
God, in Baghdad, 235
Google Earth, 292
Green Zone
and Farah, 204–205, 207
and helicopters, 229
and Karim, 138–139
and Maha, 270–271
medical clinic, 224–225
in satellite tour, 293–294
set up, 135
and swimming, 298
Gulf War, 1991, 39, 95
and life in Baghdad, 278–279
reasons, 276
Western media treatment, 33
H
Haidar Samir Ahmed, 214, 218
Haider, 254
Haifa, 167, 194, 199
hajj, 165
Halliburton, 183
hamman (Turkish bath), 182, 185–187
handover of “sovereignty,” 141
Hanging Gardens of Babylon, 115–116
Hani, 174–175, 178, 179
Hariri, Rafiq, 252
Haroun al-Rasheed, 135
Harriet, 199, 200
Harry, 41, 44
Hassan Ali Majid, 160
helicopters
and Farah, 159, 204
low-flying, 212, 265–266, 294
shadow, 136
and sleeping, 254
henna party, 229
Hezbollah, 175, 251
hijacking, 1973, 86
hope, 234, 235
Hugalu, 232
Hussein, Qusay, 129
Hussein, Saddam
accruing power, 85
as agent of America, 131
and Americans, 158
and Bush administration, 127
captured, 137
as dictator, 311
effect on Iraq, 101–102
and elections, 47
executed, 310–311
and Iraqi people, 39
and law, 245
named vice president, 1968, 84
palaces, 27, 31, 126, 134–135, 141, 218
palaces, and US soldiers, 134
photos taken down, 297
and political repression, 1980s, 96
in prison, 138
reaction to, 35
relationship with US, 38
and religion, 233
and sanctions, 126
statue, 271
targeted by US, 2003, 28
and totalitarian dictatorship, 38
on trial, 264
tyranny, 112
Hussein, Uday, 129
I
Ibrahim, 26, 32
adjusting to English life, 67
alone, 65
applies for jobs, 78–79
Canadian visa, 80–81
as commuter, 89–90
and consequences, 76–77
and cultural differences, 65–66
on discrimination, 67
as elder brother, 95
emigrating to Canada, 79–84
in England, 63–72
exile, 71, 75, 78, 92
first apartment, 66
first British bath, 65
gets job in Canada, 79
and Heathrow, 89
homesick, 67
Iraqi passport, 83
last visit to Middle East, 85–86
learning to cook, 66
and Lina, 191–194
in London, 77–81, 198
master’s degree, 77–78
meets Jane, 68
meets Mary, 69
and military service, 71, 85
permit for UK, 80
in photo album, 105
proposes, 79
relationship to London, 89–90
and risk, 72, 76–77
rooming in widow’s house, 65–66
scholarship, 60–61
and trip to Lebanon, 70
UK permit, 83–84
wedding, 81–83
Ibtisam
described, 97
and Lina, 194–195, 196
in London, 93–109
with Maha and Reeta, 257–279, 281–302
images
Baghdad in war, 91
of Iraqi prisoners, 142
satellite tour of Baghdad, 292–294
US army taking Baghdad, 271
wounded Iraqis, 215–225
of wounded Iraqis, 204
of wounded US soldiers, 204
Imperial College, London, 76–77, 90
improved explosive devices, 210, 223, 224
Inanna, Queen of the Night, 115
Inferno, 138
“insurgents,” 139
Iranian militia, 244
Iran–Iraq War
and air raid sirens, 106
causes, 98
compared, 95
conditions at front, 38
described by sisters, 96–98
effect on family, 37
ends, 102
prisoners, 98–99
Iraq
airport attacked, 247
ancient, 112–119
antiquities and treasures, 112–119
armed by West, 38
birthplace of civilization, 114–115
bombarded, January 1991, 39
and British citizens, 117
and Christianity, 41–42
civil war, 244, 290–291, 309
conditions, 2006, 241–248
conquered by Britain, 1917, 41
and conscription, 122
coup, February 1963, 75
as cradle of civilization, 118
creation, WWI, 33, 118
cultural institutions destroyed, 118–119
“democratic” elections, 166–167
dictatorships, 1960s, 78
and foreign Jews, 1971, 117
as “free” country, 269
and freedoms, 78, 300
government, 1950s, 47
history, in British Museum, 113
history, taught in school, 51
history of war, 311
internal rebellions, 39
international food supply, 57
invades Kuwait, 28, 39, 93, 103, 217, 276–277
isolated, 37–38, 39, 99, 132, 288
land ownership, 60
in limbo, 138
marriage in, 46
middle class, 60
military coup, April 1941, 45
military coup, July 1968, 84–85
modernized, 1980s, 96
monarchist elite, 58–59
and narrator, 20–23, 25, 27, 30
new flag, 139
oil revenues, 57
and prosperity, 57
and puppet government, 58
and regular commercial flights, 132
revolution, 1958, 47, 58–59, 98
revolutionary years, 1960s, 75
as secular dictatorship, 149
treasures undiscovered, 117–118
in war, 2003, 33–36, 90–91
without law, 245
without rule of law, 308–309
Iraq Body Count Website, 228
Iraqi Governing Council, 135, 139, 140–141
Iraqi National Assembly, 166
Iraqis
acclimatized to war, 122
and Allies, WWI, 41
and invasion, 2003, 93
as unwanted refugees, 31, 140
Iraqi tanks, 296–297
Iraqi victims of war, 243
and Farah, 204
irrigation (Baghdad), 57
Israel
bombs Lebanon, 251–253, 255
established, 57
J
Jane, 68, 71
journal, 2003 invasion, 156–163
K
Kahlil
and Am
mu Ibrahim, 52–53, 104, 169
in Beirut with family, 86
at boarding school, 53
crossing the desert, 55–56
death of, 106–107
and family Bible, 54
and friend Ibrahim, 169
and Iran–Iraq War, 37
misses Ibrahim’s wedding, 81–82
in photo album, 103, 104
relatives in photo album, 103
stopped at checkpoint, 75–76
teaching English, 44–45
travelling, 20, 21
and trip to Europe, 60
visits Syria, Lebanon, 55–56
in wedding photograph, 45
Kalashnikovs, 162
Karim
on Americans entering Baghdad, 124
and American tank in driveway, 152
and car, 230–231, 262
describes war, 122
in despair, 254–255
on e-mail, 121–125, 142–143, 148, 307
gets car, 132
in Green Zone, 138
and Lina, 199–201
and Maha, 44
and nougat, 227–228
on the occupation, 129–130
on the phone, 208–209, 241–248
in photograph, 129
on reasons for war, 122
sends wedding present, 217
and suicide bomber, 263
on the telephone, 130–135, 131
on webcam, 292
Karradah-Miriam (Green Zone), 135
Kellog, Brown and Root, 183
Kennedy, Maev, 183
Khaled, Leila, 19–20
Khomeini, 97
kings
Faisal, 43, 45, 58
Faisal II, 45
Ghazi, 45
Ghazi I, in photo album, 104
Hussein (Jordan), 45
Koran in Guantanamo, 232
Kurdish, 139
Kuwait invaded, 28, 39, 93, 103, 217, 276–277
L
lamasus, 112–113
land ownership, 60
language, 21–22
Law 80, 59–60
Law 30 (aggregation law), 60
Lawrence of Arabia, 69
Lawrence of Arabia brooch, 71
Layla, 176–177, 179
Lebanon
bombed by Israel, 251–253
civil war, 1974, 85, 86
and Syria, history, 52–53
Leilah, as name, 19–20
leukemia, 150–151
“liberation” of Iraq, 111
limbless Iraqis, 210
Limbo, 138
Lina
burying, 195
death of, 191–201
described, 23
driving, 190
education, 44
in family home, 2003, 28–30
living with Maha, 156
in London, 93
memorial mass, London, 195–196
misses Ibrahim’s wedding, 81–82
named, 41
on occupied Baghdad, 128
on the phone, 143
photographed by Farah, 127, 128
Little Baghdad (Damascus), 253
“Living Through a War in Baghdad,” 30
Luma, 158
M
Madeline, 23
described, 49
at Ibrahim’s wedding, 81–83
in London, 77–78
marriage to Daoud, 46–47
as midwife, 46
and Ibrahim’s home, 81–83
Maha
and Aunt Lina, 44
on being afraid, 291
considers leaving Iraq, 282–284