Review Riverbend, Baghdad Burning, Girl Blog From Iraq, The Feminist Press, 2005

Riverbend, Baghdad Burning, Girl Blog From Iraq, The Feminist Press, 2005

 

In August 2003 an Iraqi woman going by the name Riverbend started a blog called Baghdad Burning. It became one of the many voices from Iraq that emerged during this time that was quite popular. This book collects her first year of posts. They range from her family life to observations about the deteriorating situation in her country.

 

There were several re-occurring themes in the book. One was the difficulties of everyday life after the U.S. invasion. For one the electricity was intermittent which reverberated throughout the household. The water pump and heater for instance didn’t have any power which meant there was no pressure to push the water out of the faucets and no hot water either. The phone began going out as well causing the family to feel cut off from the outside world. Whenever the power did come on the family would jump into action turning on the TV to get news, etc.

 

The growing violence was another issue. By December 2003 Riverbend posted that there were bombings every day. Her and her brother would often run to the roof if there was a large explosion to try to see what happened. Kidnappings also became a major business within the first few months of the fall of Saddam run by gangs. Riverbend’s family was a victim when her cousin’s husband was taken after a family gathering. They paid the ransom but he wasn’t immediately released causing panic that he’d been killed. When he did return he still had a sense of humor saying that his kidnappers only wanted $5000 for him. He told them that was an insult because he was worth at least $20,000. Riverbend was especially vulnerable because women were a prized target. Whenever she went out she had to get permission from her parents and find a male relative with a gun to protect her.

 

That tied in with the declining situation for women overall. When Riverbend went out she had to wear a hijab because of the new religious sentiment in the country that grew with many Islamic parties coming into power on the coattails of the U.S. She got fired from her job for being a woman. Her work said they wouldn’t take responsibility if she was attacked because the new religious parties didn’t want women to be employed. Two female principals in Baghdad for example were killed by the Badr Brigade for refusing to give up their positions. Riverbend and others largely became prisoners within their own homes because it wasn’t safe to go out.

 

Riverbend disliked all of the exiles that were empowered by the Americans and became the new ruling elite. Ahmad Chalabi came in for repeated scorn in her blog with her questioning why the U.S. picked a criminal to be their chosen leader? Chalabi was found guilty of bank fraud in Jordan. His Iraqi National Congress also began stealing cars in Baghdad and smuggling them to Kurdistan to be sold. She called the Iraqi Governing Council a bunch of power hungry individuals who only represented themselves not the Iraqi public.  She often wondered why no Iraqis from within Iraq could be found and given positions.

 

Baghdad Burning is a very quick read and important for the Iraq War because Iraqi voices are largely missing from the history. Most histories focus upon the Americans and the new Iraqi politicians while the everyday citizen is excluded. That’s why books like this need to be searched out so that the common voices of Iraqis are heard.

 

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