Global Voices Online

The biggest barrier to understanding the reality of today's Iraq is not being able to feel what it is like living in a state of continuous war and lawlessness. On Wednesday the BBC led on the story that 50 people had been killed in one day in Iraq. Yet the story did not even register in the blogosphere. For Iraqis today such atrocities are just part of the background of their lives. I have dedicated this weeks column to posts about the day to day life in Iraq. But it is not all negative. If you read through to the end I have instructions on the Iraqi style of haggling.

Writing this post does not get easier. This week I again send my commiserations, this time to veteran Iraqi blogger Raed Jarrar who lost his aunt recently when an American missile hit her house. He also writes a memorial for the principal of his old school who was one of the many teaching professionals to have been assassinated over the last three years:

Slah Al-Bandar was the principle of my school… A great man with a big heart. We never call our teachers with their first names in the Middle East, every teacher is called “Ostath” then his name, as in Teacher. Ostath Slah used to be a very strict eastern teacher that everyone feared, but everyone loved as well. He used to work as a taxi driver in his beaten VW car after finishing his work in our school, and on weekends too…

Every Thursday, he stood there in the middle of the big football field while the 1400 students gathering in a U shape around him never dared to whisper. He stood there and asked us all to watch the Iraqi flag going up while singing the national anthem…. Then, he'll get the old microphone and repeat the exact same introduction for his weekly speech:

“My dear sons and students. My dear colleagues and educators. Good morning…
In this blessed day, I want to talk to you about…..”

He repeated this for years, until he was assassinated some days ago.

Ostath Slah Al-Bandar's big heart will never beat again.

May they all rest in peace.
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