Baghdad Girl

Blogging Since 2004

Saturday, December 30, 2006

What an Eid!!

Today is the first day of Eid, the day which used to be the happiest to me for years till the war started and there were almost no Eids any more, but this Eid was the saddest, I waked up at 9 am and was shocked when I knew that Saddam Hussein has been executed at 6 am on the first day of Eid, what is this? Couldn’t they wait for a few days till the Eid ends, I know that Saddam has done some questionable things but he was the president of Iraq for 35 years, the man who could make life in Iraq possible and he shouldn't be treated like this.

I left Iraq to keep my self form getting hurt but it seems that it is not working because I am still hurting deep in side...

Sorry for the sad post but I had to say some thing about Saddam's execution, but even so I wont forget to say HAPPY EID.


Yours,
Raghda

posted by Raghda @ 8:37 AM  

27 Comments:

  • At 2:39 PM , Blogger jarvenpa said...

    My dear, I thought it was shameful that Saddam was executed so quickly and on such a day. True, he was responsible for much suffering, but there are many in the world who should share that responsibility. To take his life was barbaric, and casts a shadow on the celebrations of so many--not because he was beloved, but because no one should die so.
    So, what to say? I hope for you joyful celebrations anyway, and safety.
    And someday, true peace in a world in which everyone will know that to kill is not noble, good, or needful.

     

  • At 9:17 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I hope you have a happy and peaceful Eid, Raghda. I also hope you have a happy new year. Hopefully 2007 will be a better year and the start of a safer, more stable Iraq.

     

  • At 9:49 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I agree with you Raghda. I was ranting most of the day about this shameful act, here in small-town Canada. I had no love for Sadam, being a member of Amnesty International during the 1980's, and fully aware of what he was up to. But back then, he was still a convenient friend of American politicians, so no-one chose to listen to us.
    I am sorry that your Eid celebrations have been dampened, but try to be hopeful about the future. Ignore the inevitable trolls who will suggest you should not say anything like this, and will try to change your mind. You have expressed your feelings today, and it is your blog, so go ahead and say anything you want to.
    Peace and joy,
    Fiona

     

  • At 10:12 AM , Blogger Raghda said...

    Thanks Fiona I'll do just what you said, and thanks every one for the comments.....

     

  • At 10:55 AM , Blogger BJFORD3 said...

    As an American, I have never approved of capital punishments. It is brutal and inhumane. Most of our states have abolished it, like most of the world. And our Supreme Court -- after prohibiting it completely for many years in the 1970s -- has been putting more and more restrictions on it. Although I can't say the primary goal of the criminal justice system should be rehabilitation, it shouldn't be retribution or vengeance either. Executions don't deter anyone, and there are other ways to incapacitate people so they are no longer a danger to others. Maybe it helps a bit to know that by all accounts Saddam had reached a point where he welcomed death, which may be why he tried to starve himself during the trial. And it comforted those who feared his return. But what died on the gallows was just a pathetic shell of the man he used to be. I hate pity. I think it's an insult. But I pitied him. From what I hear, present at his burial were some people who cared about him. I am sorry more for your sadness. Nothing is worth that.
    Let's hope there's peace in 2007! I loved the photo of the kitty pile from yesterday! Try not to associate your peaceful happy holiday with the terrible things that have to go along with living in these times. You deserve better! Stay well, my friend!

     

  • At 2:42 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Excuse me !!

    You don't like him that much !! Sadam killed Iraqi people, kuwaity, irani and even Bahraini people ..in very very cold blood ..

    I agree that maybe the time is not the best but .. whatever .. look why you leaved your home !! because of USA !! ?

    No .. it was saddam in the first place .. so .. !! think again

    Happy Eid :)

     

  • At 3:43 PM , Blogger David said...

    Raghda, I am sorry that the Eid celebration was tarnished by the execution of Saddam. I agree with you, they should have waited.

    I can understand that you are still hurting. Iraq, the country that you love, has been torn apart. Some of your relatives and friends are still in danger there. I hope they will stay safe! Also, I hope that 2007 will be a more peaceful year for Iraq!

    I hope that you will be able to enjoy the remaining days of the Eid.

    Take care.

     

  • At 4:48 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Happy eid Raghda w allah yer7am jamee3 mawta almuslimeen ..true he was a criminal but bush is an even bigger criminal and i think bush should be executed for the 650, 000 iraqis he killed in this war obviously no one in power cares what i think lol .. But they made saddam what he was and they only executd him to show or to wave an accomplishment card to the american people the fact that most americans will believe this actually kills me we are not less human than them and we feel as pain as they do ..This month was one of al ash'hur el7urum it is againest our religious teachings for any human being to be killed in this month but wht can we say ?? he was killed by a criminal occupation that has no respect for our humanity nor our religion but as the arabs say " for everyone there comes a day " and i hope in this new year enshallah that this occupation will be kicked out by our people in Iraq ( shiites , sunnis , kurds , chaldeans assyrians ..) "the people" I wish for the Iraqis to unite againset their enemy .... Godwilling things will get better ..I hope u continue to post ur thoughts and never ever be afraid to do so I wish u and ur family and every iraqi family will have an easier year and enshallah hope happiness and stability and the ability to head back home .. Iam Saudi arabian and all the people in saudi arabia are praying for you ..i guess thats the most thing we can do ..

    ............Hessa from saudi arabia

     

  • At 6:37 PM , Blogger Jack B. said...

    I will not pretend to feel sorrow for Saddam's death, Raghda, but I do feel a bit sorrowful that even now anything to do with him has to enter your mind and ruin your holiday. They should have waited for the execution till after Eid at least. Today, tommorrow, next month, next year, Saddam was not going anywhere. I had no idea how hurt people would be about the date until I read Iraqi blogs lamenting what should be a unifying moment (the death of Saddamn) instead into one that divides Iraqis. I have no idea what the govt. was thinking.

    Anyway, I wish you and your family a Happy Eid. Try to enjoy it the best you can - think of kittens! I pray for the best for you, your family and Iraq in the coming year. Bless you, Baghdad Girl.

     

  • At 8:42 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    i am a jewish american girl who was linked to your blog. i must say its very interesting to get some inside details of what is going on over there.

     

  • At 10:48 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    >they only executd him to show or to wave an accomplishment card to the american people the fact that most americans will believe this actually kills me<

    Trust me, Hessa, many Americans aren't fooled by the timing of this ploy (or any of the others the current administration tries to pull), and the percentage not fooled is growing every day.

    I understand why Saddam was executed - it's like Yuri Zhivago said about the shooting of Czar Nicholas II and all his family: "It's to show there's no going back."

    But as Mr. Spock said, "I understand. That doesn't mean I approve." And the rush to do it was... completely unnecessary.

    - \"/

     

  • At 3:16 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I agree with you Raghda, they should have waited......

     

  • At 3:22 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Hi Raghda,
    Happy Eid to you and all your family. I am Iraqi woman from Sydney Australia. I have been here for more than 10 years. I like your blog. I love cats too. originally I am from Samawa (south) but I lived in Baghdad for period of time. I am married now to and have 2 twin girls.
    my personal opinion about the situation in Iraq is that our country is beyond repair. there is nothing can be done to repair the damage that coused by Saddam, Iran, America, ..... etc.
    I wish you all the best and the best future outside Iraq.

     

  • At 10:08 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Dear Raghda, It would have been better if Saddam execution was delayed, but Saddam was a psychopath. Evidence of his psychopathy are the mass graves, the gassing of the Kurds, and attempts to destroy the marsh Arabs by draining their homeland. It always amazes me how many psychopaths come to power. Saddam, Hitler and Idi Amin are three examples that come to mind. We must never idolize evil.

     

  • At 1:07 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    vHyderabad, Dec 30 (IANS) The execution of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein Saturday evoked sharp reactions from people and Muslim leaders in Andhra Pradesh.

    Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president and former MP Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi said if Saddam had committed crimes he should have been punished by the people of Iraq or their elected government. "He was tried and punished the way the US wanted. The trial was big charade," he said.

    "We are not saying that he should not have been punished but the question is who has the right to punish him. Certainly not a country which invaded Iraq," Owaisi told IANS."This is a murder of justice. Bush has proved that he is the Hitler of the 21st century," and also said "It is Bush who should be hanged for killing thousands of people in Iraq and Afghanistan," and Owaisi added "If Saddam committed crimes against humanity, the crimes committed by Bush across the world are equally heinous. If he has been hanged for his crimes why Bush should go scot-free?"

     

  • At 6:26 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I'm back,
    there is a comment here that kinda disturbed me as the owner of it is speaking from somewhere I cannot point out in a polite manner ..it is apparent that he is running around our point we did not say do not execute saddam or execute him we are saying that to do so under a criminal occupation is wrong and is not a victory, especially on our religious holiday and it was done in a very degrading inhumane way (killing him at the same time as the sheeps ?? yeah 5 and 6 a.m is when we sacrifice an animal on eid)..no matter what he did he is still human and if you actually cared about Iraqi lives or any human life for the matter u would be protesting on ur sreets right this minute for the millions of Iraqis who died from ur country's sanctions and its criminal war hundreds of thousands died in this war ..u are still speaking of saddam as if he is still active , truth be told the man died long before his execution. Ur president on the other hand isn't any better than him and he still walks this earth ..as a matter of fact compared to bush saddam was an angel ..i always thought he was a criminal but truth be said he did not die the death of a coward ..anyways the point is if ur american and ur giving ur views on saddams death because " u care " about human life i suggest u speak up or scream! about what ur country has done in Iraq they have used chemical weapons and " mass murdered " Iraqis ..when a bomb strikes it doesn't choose whether to kill a child or a man ..a shiite or sunni a christian or a muslim it just takes life ..if ur sentiments have been hurt by Saddam - yeah i guess in ur brain the fact that he was arab makes him more criminal than ur white Bushy boy - then i suggest u check ur biases and start crying ur heart out over the babies that died in Iraq and still do and over the women raped and the children demonized and the men whom have lost there will to live ..

    ok thats about it have a nice day

     

  • At 6:58 AM , Blogger BJFORD3 said...

    Hi, Raghda. I hope you're well. I haven't been able to access your blog for several days. :-(
    I don't really understand the last comment by Hessa. I just want to point out that it is a very fundamental principle of all civilizations that people have a duty to revolt against a government that doesn't serve the common good (the will of the people). I don't remember seeing people in the middle east protesting in the streets when Saddam was President for 35 years and exterminating his own citizens. Why? Because the people being killed were Kurds? Most of them just sat by and did nothing -- or left and went to America or somewhere that they could have a better life. Roadside bombs and suicide bombers are also bombs that kill indiscriminately. And those are not tactics used by American troops. I NEVER think that any war or any execution -- or sacrificing any animals, either, for that matter (because, after all, they do have souls, too) -- is a good idea. But the reality is American soldiers are sacrificing their lives to help the Iraqis have a better life. If the people of Iraq could run their country in a decent way, they wouldn't need so much help from other countries. But I think they are learning and that it won't be such a bad place soon. I'm really sick of all the killing and arguing about it. I really am. Oh yeah, Hessa, I'll "have a nice day". Hope you try to, too, because it sounds as if things aren't going too well for you, are they?

     

  • At 1:21 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

     

  • At 1:22 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

     

  • At 8:57 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    This is addressed to Hassa

    I am not a Bush suporter and I am not an American, even so I cannot agree with your statement; "I think Bush should be executed for the 650,000 Iraqi he killed".

    Did he really kill all of them ?

    Maybe one or two Iraqis killed some other Iraqis without in any way being involved with Bush.

     

  • At 1:06 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I am sad to notice the lack of knowledge of people posting on this blog.

    The court that sentenced Sadam to be hanged was not American, nor was the court that approved the sentence.

    The American Ambassador ask that his hanging be delayed 10 to 14 days but was refused by the Iraqi Government.

    Al-Maliki, himself admitted that he was the one who directed that Sadam be hanged on the morning of his death because he didn't want the families who had members killed by Sadam to suffer through the Eid period.

    You may hate president Bush but he did not hang Sadam.

     

  • At 10:44 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

     

  • At 9:16 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I cannot comment on the timing of the execution of Sadam, but it was something that justice cried out for.

    I will not go into the terrible things he did to his own people since the late 1960s, nor his lavish lifestyle he enjoyed while so many of his own people starved. This has all been reported over and over.

    All I can do is hope that this opens the door to life improving for ordinary Iraqis. In hindsight, with the benefit of the time that has passed, I think that it has. Families are beginning to return to Baghdad, which is a good sign, and the security situation in the capitol is improving, although slowly.

    There are many things I would like to say to those who have said terrible things about my country (the USA), our motives in this war, and about our President, who is duly elected to make decisions on foreign and military policy, but I will keep those comments for another forum.

    The idea behind this war, that establishing a representative republic in Iraq, with a government elected by the people, living in an environment conducinve to prosperity, can bring peace, and a hope of a better life, to ordinary Iraqis, is a beautiful, honest desire to help. Our nation NEVER, and I repeat, NEVER targets civilians intentionally. PEROID. We are not happy at all that innocents have been killed in the fighting. It is a terrible tragedy.

    But a far greater tragedy would be for the United States to turn its back on suffering people. "With great power comes great responsibility". We are using our power to HELP the Iraqi people, as shown in the work our nation does every day to build schools, to build clean water systems and to help train an Iraqi Army and police force that exist to PROTECT the Iraqi people, not to bully them into complacency or obedience.

    Innocent people, good, decent people, have been killed accidentally by US troops in Iraq. That is the sad truth. But where is the outrage towards those who have intentionally targeted little kids, people who daily seek to hurt as many innocents as possible in Iraq, without the slightest regard for those left behind to mourn?

    War is a terrible thing, and so is tyranny. If we, the free people in the world, were to ignore the suffering of those who cannot gain their liberty on their own, we would not be deserving of freedom itself.

    My apologies, Raghda, for these comments here, but I felt the other side of the coin be shown. You and I amy not agree on these points, but I do have a sincere desire to see the lives of Iraqis made better. I know that it is a terrible time of immense suffering, but sometimes strength and fortitude come from such pain.

    I wish you and your family and your friends and your people and your kitties the safest and brightest future, Raghda. The long, hard road is not over with yet, but now there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Be brave, strong, and keep writing!

    bropous

     

  • At 10:59 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Dear Raghda,
    I stumbled on ur blog today and it got me captivated. For the past hour I have read ALL your blogs in the archive starting from when you were 13. I come from a land of Gandhian Principles and needless to say wasn't happy when the war started. But your blog re-inforced my view that what was carried out was not exactly in the best interest of the common Iraqis.

    Many a times media only show what they want the picture to be. I would like to congratulate you to have taken the pen (or rather keyboard!) as means to communicate what you have been thro' and the real truth scenario. I would like you to jus continue what you always did, put all the lovely thoughts together by putting up what you love the most - cats and hope that the world will one day realize that every kid that grows up in different parts of the world are all similar in flesh, blood and innocence and as much as the color or language or geography may differ the likes (cats) and dislikes (war) would always be the same...

    Keep bloggin' , take care & God bless!
    - echoin' the thoughts of billion others in this world.

    PEACE.

     

  • At 11:35 PM , Blogger Melissa Murphy said...

    Saddam should have been killed MUCH sooner, and MUCH more painfully.

    The End.

     

  • At 2:13 AM , Blogger Brian H said...

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

     

  • At 5:52 AM , Blogger syd w said...

    Raghda,

    I would like to apologize for everything you have gone through. As an American, I feel ashamed of the things we have done. I did not support this. I wish the American people were given REAL access to what is happening in Iraq. Bloggers like you are so important. You and proof that despite nations, religions, and politics we are all human and just want safety, our homes, and compassion. I hope that peace can be achieved. I hope more Americans get the chance to see what I see. Stay safe. There are Americans who care about you and I will do my best to learn more and try to help. I admire your bravery.

    With love from New York,

    Syd

     

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