Pigeons welcomed in Baghdad

A flock of pigeons has taken roost in a busy square in central Baghdad, where three fountains also recently started to spout water.
The rare display prompts some passers-by jokingly to liken this tiny fraction of their otherwise broken city to London or Paris.

“It makes me feel like we are in Europe,” said my driver as we pulled up to Tahrir Square this morning to check-out the tame birds and the waterworks.
Twittering to each other, the pigeons flutter around the foot of a large stone plaque at one end of the square, which is actually shaped more like a rectangle and also boasts a revamped patch of parkland surrounded by a main road.
The Baghdad Council installed the birds here a few months ago as part of a push to revive the bomb-scarred capital, said a young boy who looks after them.
“There are about 300 pigeons altogether, though I lost a few of them in the first day because they just flew off,” he said, declining to give his name.
Housed in a green cage, the size of a garden shed, the grey, white and speckled birds are released every morning at 7am and shooed home at 5pm.
The walls of the cage are lined with shelves holding small, straw baskets where the pigeons sleep and also reproduce.
“This chick was born three weeks ago,” said the bird-keeper, reaching into one of the baskets and plucking out a small ball of dark grey feathers.

People walking across the square pause to check out the pigeons and the fountains. Some even snap a few pictures on their camera phone.

Jamal Ali, a 22-year-old football player, said the sight of the birds and the water made him feel safe.
“There is nothing more beautiful than pigeons,” he said. “The fountains are also a picturesque sign of life.”
Another passer-by, Raleem Nahader Khalaf, said that he began visiting the square with his family after the garden area was renovated.
“Everybody in the world loves pigeons. They are a sign of peace,” said the retired 65-year-old.
Pigeons have a long history in Iraq. Poor families in Baghdad kept such birds in cages because they brightened up their lives in a city that was otherwise cluttered with houses and little greenery, said Mohammed Nashrine, a professor of history.
Men would rear their pigeons on the roof, letting them out in the early morning and also in the evening, he said.
Such a hobby became less common after the invasion, however, because the birds are frightened by the countless military helicopters that buzz over the city day and night as well as the regular bursts of gunfire and explosions.
“Also many people cannot go onto the roof of their house anymore because of the fighting. People have been killed by stray bullets,” Dr Nashrine added.
The pigeons in Tahrir Square appear to be made of sterner stuff. None of the birds flinch when sirens blast from the endless stream of police, army and private security vehicles that zoom past.
A car bomb exploded on the other side of a roundabout next to the square two months ago giving the flock a bit of a fright.
“They all jumped to the highest point of the stone plaque,” said the young bird keeper. “But they didn’t seem to be affected afterwards.”
As well as pigeons, the Baghdad Council is turning on several fountains built on grass-covered roundabouts across the centre of the city in a further bid to make the place look more organised. Flower beds are also being revived.

In Firdos Square, where a statue of Saddam Hussein was famously toppled after the invasion, a fancy fountain display spouted into life two months back after a generator was installed to keep the water pumping.
“This square is very beautiful now,” said Ala Mohammed, 21, one of three cleaners contracted to keep the area tidy.
While a welcome sight, the pigeons, fountains and flowers do little to mask the devastating impact of five years of war. Blast walls, barbed wire and destroyed buildings remain the lasting memory for anyone visiting Baghdad.

[Picture 1: A flapping pigeon in Tahrir Square;
Picture 2: More pigeons;
Picture 3: Two baby pigeons;
Picture 4: Jamal Ali stands among the pigeons;
Picture 5: A fountain display in Firdus Square;
Picture 6: A house that was destroyed in a blast and has yet to be repaired.]

Comments

[Jason - USA]

A sweet post, I guess, and positive. But don't you think it pales in importance to the retreat of the Mahdi mafia in Sadr City and the advances of legitimate Iraqi security forces? I understand the mortars and rockets into the Green Zone have been stopped. Isn't that worthy of reporting?

[Bill Baar]

Nice to see you back though...I wondered what had happened to you.

[Pelé]

Jason, dude, this is a blog.

Check out the link to "Iraq News" on the right for the high-brow reporting.

[Jason - USA]

Pele, your right, this time. Deborah actually has a decent report up on the news portion of the site. But as a general rule, reporting on Iraq has been very poor and biased, and that deserves to be pointed out.