Voices of Baghdad Etched on Its Walls (Baghdad graffiti, most pro-Bush, MUST READ)

News Day ^ | 19 November 2003 | Samson Mulugeta

[Stultis]

[...snip...] Thousands of slogans in the Arabic script snake across acres of gray walls that line city squares, apartments and office buildings, a perfect canvas for the outpourings of a population intoxicated by new freedoms.

Hussein loyalists shout their yearning for the deposed dictator - "Saddam will come again" - followed by the coda on the same line from a detractor: "Through my behind!" [...snip...]

"I walk around reading these writings, and some of them move me so much I don't know whether to laugh or to cry," said Amir Nayef Toma, 52, a retired radar operator in the Iraqi army. "You want to know what Iraqis are thinking? Read these walls." [...snip...]

"Some are ironic, some are funny, some are artistic," said Muhir Edan, a bookseller in the Old Baghdad section of the city [...snip...]. "Even now, some are afraid to say something in the newspapers. I am still afraid," he said. "But at night, in the cover of darkness, you can write what you want."

Edan's favorites are the back-and-forth graffiti repartee: "The masses are stronger than tyrants," one slogan declared. Next to it a skeptic asked: "When? Before or after liberation by the Americans?"

[...snip...] but mostly President George W. Bush is hailed as a liberator [...snip...]

Samplings of the Arabic slogans include: "Down Saddam the infidel and long live Bush the believer!" "A thousand Americans but not one Tikriti," referring to residents of Hussein's hometown.

Many taunt the deposed dictator: "Saddam the dirty, the son of the dirty, in which septic tank are you hiding now?" [...snip...]

"I like what I read," said Karal Nadji, a Shia street vendor who sells shoes. "We appreciate Mr. Bush. We're all waiting for the fruits of change." [...snip...]

Toma, the former radar operator, predicted the writing would stop in another six months. "We Iraqis are so full of suffering and bitterness, these feelings are just pouring out of us," said Toma, who has carefully transcribed more than 100 slogans in a small notebook. "Soon we will realize we can speak out freely. We don't have to write on the walls."

[k2blader]

Good read--thanks.

Sending the article to a friend.

[livius]

Great article about something most of us hadn't even considered, although grafitti has been with us from the dawn of time (the Pyramids, Pompei, etc.) and is a pretty revealing form of communication. Thanks for posting.

[TigersEye]

You better call Rush and find out where that drug treatment center is! ;^)

[concentric circles]

A while back I saw an Iraqi doctor and his wife interviewed on network tv. It was remarkable in it's simplicity. The doctor translated his wife's comments. She said, "If Saddam returned, he would find that his countrymen have changed. Now we can speak what we are thinking and it brings a feeling of great happiness."

[San Jacinto]

Unfortunately, I missed seeing Dan again tonight. I think that makes 21 years in a row now.

Don't tell me he didn't cover those stories! I'm shocked! I just saw last week he won an award for fair reporting. Who gave it to him?- Cronkite or Castro?

[BOBTHENAILER]

They could have been killed for writing these words less than a year ago.

All that needs to be said in your words. Beautiful.

[Republic]

From hearts to walls to newday...truth just has a way of seeping thru the cracks. The way I figure it-God is moving through the side window again, creating hope and peace, and surely, blessing those who speed the process.

A few weeks ago, I realized that the enemy I fear the most, is our mainstream press and those in power there who eliminate the news our nation deserves to hear, especially those who have husbands or sons serving so courageously for each of us, every second of the day surrounded by the danger of the unknown strike.

Our citizens, who pay for this fight so dearly, experiencing the anxiety of having loved ones serving in our military, as well of those of us who simply pay for this fight against terrorism with our own earned money-taxes-are so CHEATED by not hearing about the marvels on the walls, created in darkness and so full of hope, by the Iraqi people.

Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather, Katie Couric, Charley Gibson, Wolf Blitzer, etc., are my enemies, as well as the legion behind them who practice the elimination of the full story.

Just imagine an America where the bad is balanced by the good or the FULL STORY, in our media.

Imagine the increase in honor our deserving military people would experience, imagine the resolve and coming together' our nation would experience. And even tho there would still be disagreement, there would be a true accounting of events from which to build upon.

That many Iraqi's are rejoicing should be written upon the hearts of every American, most especially those who have genuinely sacrificed.

[Travis McGee]

"Saddam the dirty, the son of the dirty, in which septic tank are you hiding now?"

[ALOHA RONNIE]

WALTER CRONKITE - Year 2000

"The Southern States should all secede from the Union"

---

WALTER CRONKITE - Year 1968

"I am against the Vietnam War"

---

WALTER CRONKITE - Year 2002

"Now DAVID LETTERMAN, you just lay off my friend HILLARY in your TV Interview with her or you'll answer to me"

---

WALTER CRONKITE - Year 2004

Presidential Candidate HILLARY's No. 1 Media Defensive Linebacker


The Enemy is now Within...
and always has been.

[ohioWfan]

Beautiful, Republic. Thank you......through tears.

[Billthedrill]

Soon we will realize we can speak out freely. We don't have to write on the walls.

Yeah. That one gave me chills too.

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[American Sovereignty Defender]

...some Iraqi teenager talk about his liberator and hero Goerge W. Bush...

After reading that I thought of a slogan for the war protesters: SOME say he lied, M say he liberated Iraq and Afganistan.

The other slogan I already use is: "LIARS say Bush Lied".

[American Sovereignty Defender]

...some Iraqi teenager talk about his liberator and hero Goerge W. Bush...

(correction) After reading that, I thought of a new slogan for the war protesters: SOME say he lied, MILLIONS say he liberated (Iraq and Afganistan).

The other slogan I already use is: "LIARS say Bush Lied".

[radu]

Thank you for posting this, Stultis!
And thanks soooo much for the ping, RC!

Perfect for mass e-mailing, which I just did.

[ppaul]

It's a sure bet you we won't be reading this on the front page of our major newspapers, eh?

[Coop]

Good to hear. Thanks for the ping!

[windchime]

Bump to great quotes!

[samtheman]

This should go right into the Bush campaign in 2004.

Maybe a split screen, one side with Dean going on and on about how horrible it was for us to go in Iraq.

The other side a camera panning wall after Iraqi wall with all the inscriptions translated in subtitles at the bottom of the screen.

There's so much wonderful material for campaign ads out there! I hope the Republicans are imaginative enough to use a lot of it.