Baghdad Burning's Fifth Anniversary

10/22/12 - Last year I forgot this and after reading the first paragraph again of this young woman's last post as what she said has become even more important - well because it was Syria her family fled to along with hundreds of thousand other Iraqi families as well. The paragraph -
Syria is a beautiful country- at least I think it is. I say “I think” because while I perceive it to be beautiful, I sometimes wonder if I mistake safety, security and normalcy for ‘beauty’. In so many ways, Damascus is like Baghdad before the war- bustling streets, occasional traffic jams, markets seemingly always full of shoppers… And in so many ways it’s different. The buildings are higher, the streets are generally narrower and there’s a mountain, Qasiyoun, that looms in the distance.


We all know what Syria is like now. I do not think this girl made it nor her family. If she has this is one person I would very much like to meet. Amazing stories and insight this young lady had. What this country has done to literally millions around the globe is beyond despicable. They are crimes against humanity and I will always want those responsible to be held accountable!

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The third year has gone by and the message remains the same and the light will stay on in the hopes this young lady and her family survived what our country did to theirs. I want to hear the rest of her story and as long as this blog exists this will be the post for October 22.


A post from a year ago with the same feeling as then maybe more. And the light will remain on for another year.

One year ago today was Riverbend's last post. Many of you have read her posts I'm sure and I for one looked forward to every new one. As things deteriorated in Iraq her postings became less frequent and her family made the decision to leave Iraq for Syria.

I learned so much from this young women things you wouldn't find anywhere else. A perspective of life in Iraq that was so very negatively affected by our invasion that was close to normal before our intervention even with Saddam at the helm.

Just wanted to acknowledge this date. The light and the link stays on in the hopes that she is okay and that the next time I visit there will be a new post. That would make it a good day if that happened and hope very much it does.