Currently dispatching from Iraqi Kurdistan

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Iraqi Kurdistan, Take Two

SULAIMANIYAH, IRAQ: I made a (very) last-minute decision to return on my own to Iraqi Kurdistan, a place I found completely intolerable just a few months ago. I lived in Sulaimaniyah in northeastern Iraq -- a difficult and often dull place -- for nearly a year. By the time I left I was exhausted and completely uninspired. I sat on the couch with my computer for several months in the States but couldn't manage to actually write anything, including emails.

Iraq can do that to you, no matter where you are. Iraqis from all corners of this country are tired of life here. But I'm sure that despite the devastation, leaving the war-torn areas of Iraq (I'm not in one) isn't easy – not for the foreigners, and certainly not for the millions (that's right, millions) of Iraqis who have fled their country in the past two-plus years. Most of them are in Jordan and Syria, and most are unable to work. Watching their country disintegrate must be heartbreaking.

I managed to find the energy and inspiration to come back. Despite the fact that I have been in many conflict areas, I'm not a war-zone junkie. But I do like to feel alive, and sometimes that's difficult to do in an often mundane American life. What makes it worse is that most Americans don't seem interested in even discussing international issues – even, sadly, Iraq, where the dialogue often begins and ends with, "Should we pull out?"

I also suppose I felt that my experience in Iraqi Kurdistan was somehow incomplete; that I needed to write about what I felt, saw and experienced. (Like, for example, that the lights are dimming right now because our private generator isn't providing enough power. We'll turn off the water boiler for the shower to see with proper light.)

I plan to blog not only from Iraqi Kurdistan but from Colorado when I return "home." (It's a relative term when you move every year.) I hope that you find the dispatches informative and thought-provoking – and that you comment often.

2 comments:

dchervitz said...

hey tiare. do what you need to do - it probably needs to be done - but most of all stay safe!! and call me when you get back to the States!!

Heather Rath said...

I look forward to hearing more big sis. Love You
Heather