Five things to crave/dread when returning to Baghdad

On the plus side:
1. Hooking up with my Iraqi team because they are awesome guys;
2. Driving over the Tigris River. It always looks calm even when there are dead bodies lurking beneath the surface and everywhere else is chaotic;

3. Tucking into my first samoona, check out this previous blog: http://timesonline.typepad.com/inside_iraq_weblog/2008/02/love-at-first-b.html
4. Contacting a young, Iraqi woman I befriended and ensuring she is well. She, like so many people here, has been through a really tough time;

5. Taking a dip in the hotel swimming pool. It sounds utterly frivolous to talk about swimming, given the terrible problems in Iraq, but while I take my job seriously, I do like a swim every now and then to work off all the samoon.

On the minus side:
1. Multiple full-on body frisks and x-rays when entering the Green Zone;
2. Power cutting out in my hotel suite, particularly when on the loo or in the shower. Also the hotel lift, which is impossibly slow and rickety;

3. Terrible mobile phone connections, see this past blog: http://timesonline.typepad.com/inside_iraq_weblog/2007/09/hello-hello-can.html
4. Fear of death or hideous injury. Admittedly this has eased since a year ago but I can’t help wondering ‘what if’ when driving around;
5. Pigging out on samoon and getting terrible stomach ache – I stuffed my face with seven slices yesterday. Most Iraqis eat about one or two per day on average.

[Picture 1: Sun sets over the Tigris in Baghdad;
Picture 2: Me diving into the hotel pool;
Picture 3: The temperamental lift;
Picture 4: A piece of samoona]

Comments

[Zappy Corleone]

Samooooon! how I love you Samoona :(

[Iraqi Canadian]

Ah the Samoona, how delightful the name sounds. I spent my childhood in Iraq and the after school stroll back home was always an occasion to buy a samoona sliced open and spicey mango chutney poured/placed in between. A lovely snack.

Hassan

[David Jane]

WTF is Samoona??

[Aaron]

Welcome back, Deborah. I've missed your posts and I was getting worried that the Times had recalled you for singing lessons! :)

[JackAss-schdavidschnane]

udadj: can you not see the picture, before asking wtfis?

[elizabeth schumann]

You're quite a dish yourself, but your remarks would be better-suited for Sex in the City.

[haralambos]

Cavity searches - they on your plus or minus list Debs?

[Richard Watney]

Are you seeing anyone at the moment?

[Tahrir]

Dear Deborah,
Re he latest twist in Raniya Ibrahim's story, I would like to congratulate you for taking into consideration that the whole think is a publicity stunt. Have you seen the You Tube video posted by Yasser al wazza? one of the policemen who supposedly aprehended her.
It shows Raniya being interrogated in the most humiliating way, while holding together her torn dress, look at it she does not seem to be drugged at all at this stage, yet journalists who saw her afterwards say she sounded like she was drugged. have a look at the script of the video:
A video clip of the interrogation of 13 year old Raniya right after her public ordeal at the back of a police car without any protection or legal representation has surfaced on Youtube. She is shown being subjected to threats of violence and sexual suggestions.
The transcript of this video can be read in Arabic and in English.
English: http://houraasn.googlepages.com/raniya_english
Arabic:
http://houraasn.googlepages.com/raniya_arabic