"Burning" Issue

Not so long ago a friend told me about a blog posted by an Iraqi woman. It got a lot of recognition all over the world. The blog was also published as an award winning book. It’s called “Baghdad Burning”.
Having heard so much about it I decided to check it out myself. It’s an amazing piece of work. I’m using the word “amazing” reluctantly here. I’m sure the writer would sacrifice thousand such awards if only it ended the events that inspired the writings in the first place.
I don’t consider myself a well knowledgeable person when it comes to politics and international affairs, and rightly so. So, needless to say the blog changed my views about the Iraqi people in general. I guess, I never imagined a citizen of an anti-American, Muslim country with a somewhat conservative society being a fan of “The Practice” and “Pink Floyd”. It amazes me how wrong I was.

In the posting titled “Volatile Days” (Monday, February 27, 2006), she talked about the possibility of “Civil War”. How, once a distant prospect, now, is in the verge of becoming a frightening reality. I read about the terror they are being forced to live in, and the terrifying images from the various war movies (“The Pianist” and others) came to mind. I couldn’t help dwelling on it. I thought about the condition here in Nepal. Many would say it’s getting better now. After a brief chaos, things have become relatively quieter. But I have my doubts. I don’t believe this peace is going to last too long……….. that is, if you can even call it peace at all. The Maos have declared a seize fire, but the killings haven’t stopped. The other day, a highly respected doctor got shot while driving in his car. He was lucky to survive. Just because the curfew nightmare is over here in the capital city doesn’t mean life has returned to normalcy outside Kathmandu. People are still being threatened, abducted and killed. Both, the Maos and the Army, have an active role in this.
We are yet to witness the horrors of a full-blown civil war. No one has yet came bursting through our front doors carrying a gun. Well, at least not here in the capital city. I believe these sort of things are a part of daily routine in the rural areas. If you somehow survive the Maos, best of luck surviving the Army! Caught in the crossfire between the Maos and the Royal Neplease Army – that’s the life in the major portion of Nepal.
However, after ten years of violence people are finally becoming a little more optimistic now – mainly due to the recent seize fire between the newly formed government and the Maos. Still, if the politicians of this country don’t learn anything from the mistakes they made in the first 12 years of 15-years-democracy (last 3 years were filled by somebody else’s mistakes), and still overlook the interest of the nation in favour of their own, then the days of “Kathmandu Burning” aren’t too far away. I see her blogs as a early warning of how fast situation can deteriorate and how terrible life can become if we do not do something in time to amend our past mistakes and resolve our differences. There will always be forces that will try to take advantage of a weak nation; and they’ll do whatever in their power to weaken this nation. It’s upto the citizens of the nation to recognize these forces and to stay wary of them.

I admire her for her efforts, and thank her for her words. I’d like to end this by dedicating these words by Pink Floyd to her late friend Alan – a fellow Pink Floyd fan……

I was spending my time in the doldrums
I was caught in the cauldron of hate
I felt persecuted and paralyzed
I thought that everything else would just wait
While you are wasting your time on your enemies
Engulfed in a fever of spite
Beyond your tunnel vision reality fades
Like shadows into the night
… … …
Can you see your eyes blighted by darkness
Is it true you beat your fists on the floor
Stuck in a world of isolation
While ivy grows over the door
… … …
(Pink Floyd – Lost For Words)