The U.S. Invasion, March - April 2003
Friday, September 2, 2005; 5:30 PM
Amal Salman is an Iraqi girl living in Baghdad who turned 14 during the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Washington Post staff writer Anthony Shadid first visited the Salman family in March 2003. During the war and the ensuing conflict, Amal recorded her family's experiences in her diary. She shared copies of her journal with Shadid. These are translated excerpts of Amal's diary.
In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate.
My name is Amal. I have a happy family made up of nine persons: three brothers, who are Ali, a soldier in Mosul; Mohammed, an engraver; and Mahmoud, a student. There are five sisters: Fatima, who helps my mother at home; Zainab; Amal; and my twin sisters, Duaa and Hibba. I am very proud of my mother because she is a great person, who works to bring us food because my father died when we were young, back in Ramadan in 1996 in a car accident. We moved to an apartment on Feb. 1, 2003. We feel very sad having had to move from our house, which we loved, and in which we were raised and spent some beautiful years. Now we are in a nice apartment. . . . We do not want war in Iraq, the land of civilization and prophets. War will be torture. You can see sadness in the eyes of children, and fear. My mother is crying, afraid for us. War separates people, the people we love, and we are worried about the war and the destruction that comes with it. We are supplying ourselves with water and scared that water and electric power will be cut off. Duaa and Hibba are praying to God all the time, to avert war. Fatima feels hopeful that war will not occur. At 8:30, my mom baked a lot of bread for us, so that we will not be short during the war because bakeries will be closed. We keep asking why is there war in the world? Why? . . . Praise to God for everything, but I wish there wouldn't be a war.
1 comment:
this is sooo cool.
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