Christmas tree shopping in Baghdad

Christmas in Baghdad was always going to be rather lonely so I decided to cheer myself up by buying a tree and all the trimmings.

Admittedly there is a lack of nurseries flogging Norwegian firs in the city and I have yet to see any hand-carved wooden decorations or plumes of thick tinsel. However, fake trees (made in China), flashing coils of colourful lights and boxes of baubles are for sale at certain stores.
Feeling rather excited at the prospect of getting into the festive spirit, I donned a headscarf, hoisted my Iraqi handbag over one shoulder and headed to the central commercial district of Karada with a couple of Iraqi colleagues last week.
It was still a bit early in the morning when we arrived so the three of us ducked into a café to wait until more shops opened.

Settling down on wicker benches around a circular table, we ordered some Iraqi coffee – a strong drink with a bitter taste disguised by lots of sugar that comes in a thimble-sized cup.
One of the guys I was with also asked for a hookah pipe. Soon the air was filled with apple-smelling fumes as he puffed away, while we chatted in low voices against a backdrop of Arabic pop music strumming from a television set in the corner of the otherwise empty bar.
About 45 minutes later it was time to heave ourselves up and hit the shops, or at least hop back into our car and drive a few hundred metres down the road to a rather dilapidated bits and bobs store that had also turned its hand to Christmas gear for the holiday season.

Eyeing several sorry-looking plastic Christmas trees outside the front of the shop, I asked the owner through my translator whether he had any more fake foliage inside.
The mustachioed man unhelpfully shook his head.
He appeared rather scared to have a foreigner at his shop in the first place and had already declined to answer any questions on Christmas for a story that I had been working on.
Unperturbed by the frosty reception, I decided to go for the tallest  of the skinny trees, which stood at 210 centimeters, before turning my attention to various piles of cheap decorations on the pavement and a row of small, squishy Father Christmases stuck to the shop window.
One large bag full of baubles, cardboard drums, silver bells, gold chains and coils of parcel-shaped lights later, I returned to the car and headed back to my bureau.
Erecting the tree was the next problem. Fortunately my two Iraqi staff had caught the festive bug as well so agreed without too much coercion to help me slot the trunk together and splay out the separate branches and twigs.
Adopting a scatter at will approach to the scores of decorations, we attacked the tree with the gold, purple, green, silver and blue balls, bells, drums and beads, followed by the lights, before attaching a small Santa to the top – we had forgotten to buy an angel or a star.

Standing back to admire our handy work, I felt that Christmas in Baghdad was no longer so alien – the only slight discrepancy being that two flak jackets lie under my new tree rather than mountains of presents…

[Picture 1: Me and tree, with toy candy floss stick around neck and Father Christmas sleigh on head;
Picture 2: The coffee shop;
Picture 3: The bits and bobs store where I bought the tree;
Picture 4: The squidgy Father Christmases;
Picture 5: Decorating the tree.]

Comments

[Pop]

Hi Debbie,
Have tried to call and to text - just hoping maybe you'll read this. Arthur and Tom (!) are cooking and I am relaxing. We're all thinking of you.
Love Dad x

[Maloof]

Could you give us an update on Habib, the young man who needs the kidney?

[Kelly]

Hello

Merry Christmas. I feel ashamed I didn't bother to get a Christmas tree here in London now!

Kelly x

[John Hartley]

Deborah,

I realise that you've been under a lot of stress lately: you're reporting from a war zone, and also fending off accusations of being a 'foofer' from party or parties unknown in South Carolina. However, that doesn't excuse the fact that you've overlooked the fundamental rule of Christmas Tree decoration - small baubles go at the TOP of the tree, big baubles go at the BOTTOM.

Merry Christmas!

[Hannah]

Hullo,

Happy christmas (nearly new year now, though!), hope it wasn't too bad.

On the plus side, you aren't forced to eat leftover turkey till it walks out the fridge...

Hannah

[Kim in Singapore]

A nice read, Deb, and a welcome break from the flood of bad news. Merry Christmas and best wishes for a safe and happy New Year.

[Amanda Smith]

Looks like you're leading a pretty nice life in Baghdad.
Are you on the "Don't bash my door down and Shock and Awe" my house" list?

As for Christmas in Baghadad, well consider where you have chosen to be and don''t be so childish and imperialist, What's next, a children's book about Christmas in Baghdad?
Why MUST Baghdad be in a christmas spirit, pray tell?

[regis ex-afp]

hi debbie,
Happy new year from Tokyo. Come back to Japan for holidays. For a change!

[Heather Powell]

Hey Debbie

Finally found your blog - great to see you looking so well. Have a good New Year - hopefully will see you soon.

Heather in New Zealand

[Yasmin]

You are one courageous women, an inspiration.

[Shopaholic]

Hi Debbie

Good to see you are alive and well.
We don't get a lot of updates about what's happening over there lately.
Any inside info about the economy.
I own a few stocks and shares over there, Waiting for the promise of the stock exchange becoming electronic.

Take care of yourself.