We lost our family senior,but that wasn't all....

I can't bear more anxiety, fear, and sadness. Counting our losses every day. Yesterday we lost our dear family senior; he is my father's uncle. He was shot to death by the American soldiers in his parent's in-law neighborhood. He is 78 years old. He was such a great man, educated, warm, and faithful to his wife who died with cancer, he raised his three children by himself to up bring a doctor, an engineer and an accountant. He remained without marriage for twenty years. Then he got married again. He was an ex-officer in the army….We all loved and honored him…we used to gather in his house every Eid; I will miss his kiss over my forehead as he used to, when we kiss him.My uncles and of course my dad considered him their best friend. They had very nice memories together; he was definitely their model…He will be missed by his friends and family, he is that kind of person that leaves emptiness.I couldn't sleep last night, neither my parent's, my husband nor my father in law. I wonder if the soldier who shot him and left him in his car ,asked himself about that old man , did he wondered if he was alive or died immediately?.. Did he sleep as a lamb?! Probably he forgot all about it, and had nice dreams….….The soldiers left him dead in his car after they shot him BY MISTAKE , then Iraqi policemen found him , used his cell phone to call one of the his family members.........
more details about the accident ......

We need help to stop the violence, and the disrespect of the humanity. I am giving some of the details about my relative's accident to seek for help, and investigation. On Wednesday afternoon about 5 pm. My dear grand uncle was shot by many American bullets from the right side while he was driving his car (Dark brown" Opel\vectra", model 1991.), in a residential neighborhood, "Al Tairan ". The report of the forensic doctor mentioned that the victim was turning his head toward the left, when he got the first bullet on his neck (that one caused immediate death), the other was in his upper right side of his chest, and the third bullet was on his upper part of his right arm.Such accidents, I mean shooting innocent people, had been repeated to a large extent that turned the appreciation of the Iraqis toward the American liberation from Saddams' regimen to hate or violence or at least suspicious about the intentions of the Americans' coexistence in Iraq …I doubt, there is any Iraqi still trust the Americans' being in their homeland, even the most peaceful optimistic……..
more about my daily life events....l
on the second day after the accident,I left my bed in the morning to find a sandy storm; I asked Sunshine to stay home to avoid asthma attack. But she refused (self-willed girl)…After an hour, she phoned; as soon as I heard her voice I expected she had asthma attack. But I was wrong; she phoned to tell me that she was in najma's house because a rocket or a bomb exploded to leave some damages in her school, with two injured girls, and 900 terrified girls….
Mama....

Civil Rights in the Middle East...

Hello Dear readers
I received an invitation from the American Islamic congress, to share in an interesting contest .but unfortunately I can't because of my age (too old to share), they encourage young people in the age of 25 and younger to write about "Civil Rights in the Middle East"…I promised to publicize the essay contest in my blog to see if someone interested to share in this contest, please read this…
Make your voice helpful to others and gainful to you......
Mama………
The “Dream Deferred” Essay Conteston Civil Rights in the Middle East
English French Arabic Farsi
Speak your mind on freedom in the Middle East. Win $2,000!
This essay contest takes its title from a 1951 poem by Langston Hughes: What Happens to a Dream Deferred?. The poem helped propel the civil rights movement in the United States. Today, it will hopefully inspire you to describe your dream deferred for the Middle East, which the United Nations calls the world’s least free region.
The “Dream Deferred” essay contest has two parts: one for Middle Eastern youth (25 and younger) and one for American youth (25 and younger). To participate, all you have to do is write a brief essay (600-2,000 words) addressing one of the questions below. Winners - selected by a panel of celebrity judges - will receive a $2,000 prize, with other prizes for top essays (details below).
Answer one of the following essay questions:
If you live the Middle East...
If you live in America...
1. Why are individual rights important? Explore this question through the impact of repression in your society and in your own life. Describe a personal experience when restrictions prevented you from expressing yourself - for example, when you were afraid to speak out, when information you needed was censored, or when your identity made you a target for discrimination. Consider how civil rights restrictions block a society's creative development, an idea expressed by an 18th Century British reformer: "Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom; and no such thing as public liberty, without freedom of speech."
1. Why should Americans help civil rights reformers in the Middle East? Consider the role outsiders played in the South during the American civil rights movement. Reflect on the challenges faced by today's Middle East reformers, as expressed by a blogger from Bahrain: "We continuously live in abject fear of the rulers and their instruments... If you dissent - and there are many who do - then the wrath of terror is visited upon you and your family. That means no income, no business, no education, no job, and no life. It is a very brave man or woman indeed who bucks the trend." Explore moral and strategic imperatives - as well as the consequences of inaction.
2. How are non-violent campaigns for civil rights making Middle Eastern societies more open? Despite widespread repression, there are new opportunities for expressing yourself and challenging abuses. Identify these changes. Analyze the significance of recent peaceful protests in Lebanon, Egypt, Iran, and beyond. Explain how grassroots movements are making an impact in your society and consider what the next big campaigns might be. Share your own creative ideas for civil rights programs, using new technology and help from concerned Americans.
2. How can you as an individual support the struggle for civil rights in the Middle East? Without waiting for the government to act, consider how you can leverage your freedom to challenge repression by dictators. Reflect on recent technological advances that empower individuals, as well as recent grassroots organizing by people your age across the Middle East. Consider the tools you have access to that American civil rights activists in the 1960s did not. Propose a specific campaign young Americans could lead to help defend civil rights in the Middle East.
3. What is your "dream deferred" - a vision of your society with civil rights for all people? Share your ideas for a future without repression. Describe what is happening in the streets; discussion in classrooms; open criticism of leaders in the media. Consider how equal rights for women and minorities impact everyday life. If you like, answer the question by writing a newspaper article from the year 2010 reporting on a ground-breaking event. Don't be afraid to dream, but make sure to ground your vision with substance.
3. What might the future look like if Americans partner effectively with Middle Eastern reformers? Envision a focused movement and describe it in action: What are its slogan, symbols, and campaigns? What individual rights has it secured? Consider the obstacles surmounted and the factors behind the movement's success. If you like, write a newspaper article from the year 2010 reporting on the accomplishments of this new civil rights alliance. Don't be afraid to dream, but make sure to ground your vision with substance.
GUIDELINES
Make sure your essay clearly answers one of the questions above. Essays must be between 600 and 2,000 words – in English, French, Arabic, or Farsi. Anyone under the age of 26 can submit an essay. Contestants must either reside in Arab League member countries, Iran, or the United States. See the "Rules and Guidelines" page for more information.
PRIZES
There is $10,000 in available prize money.
One grand prize winner in the Middle East and one in the US will receive $2,000;
One second place winner in the Middle East and one in the US will receive $1,500;
Three runners up in the Middle East and three in the US will receive $500 each;
Book prizes will be awarded to additional outstanding essays.
DEADLINE
March 31, 2006
Click here to submit your essay.
© 2006 Hands Across the Mideast Support Alliance. All rights

Harbored Actualities

Hello all
I want to be honest with you , I decided to stop writing ,I thought it's worthless ,and as it wasn't easy for me to have time ,or power in the proper time ,I thought no one will even notice if I stopped , but I received some letters recently that made me consider my decision for awhile , at least till I say what I want to say about the latest events and the escalation of violence in my country ..
Let me start from what happened in Samara.
Samara for me is one of the famous ancient edifices, which is too cherishable to all Iraqis... no one sees it's golden dome and forgets it's beauty ,it's not just hallowed to some Iraqis but also beloved ,I am describing it's dearness to make you imagine how devil is the faction that dared to blew it…
Then the media started to show that the Sunnis blew the Shiite's shrine, they forgot to mention that this shrine lies in what they call them Sunni's land from more than thousand year… and then the subversion started to expand, about 200 mosques in Baghdad alone were attacked savagely by brutes wearing the black , many innocent elders and young men died and thrown in the streets ,others were taken away and not found, my mom described the situation for me , three mosques in their neighborhood were either burned or exploded , while their inmates, like al- imam or sentry, were murdered without mercy ,those MURDERERS did not come after midnight or came swiftly , they came in the midday ,and stayed in the neighborhoods for hours and burned every mosque more than once , they prowled for hours and No police or national guards stopped them . to give you an example there is a mosque just in front of the oil, transportation &irrigation ministries , that mosque was burned three times in one day , three men were killed ,many young men live in that street were beaten and then taken away and the huge NO. Escorts of these ministries did not do any thing to stop them, they were very dominator, just like if they were having an official errand, and that what I believe ….
No Muslim" Sunni or Shiite" can do that, only assassins dare to , they conducted like Al- Tatar….
May Allah bless Iraq and it's martyrs…
Ps: those two vocabularies (which I dislike) "Sunni, and, Shiite" are too strange and in fact intruders to us since the war..
Mama…