MY LIFE IN SLAVERY

by ALAIN MASSA

 

Five days have passed yet I see no sun

I have heard water dropping from the sky yet I see no rain

Family gone, friends gone, freedom also gone.

But memory’s steel is not gone.

They have taken my friends from me

My family from me, my freedom from me.

But they will never take memory from me.

 

The ship is ready

I am steel standing steady

Knowing this is not even the start of my life in slavery.

Close my eyes – I can still see my family

Wild sea birds, me and my family

Swimming in the sea

The sun shining so beautifully.

 

But I always came back

Back to this place that’s so dark

Places where I am treated like a wild animal

Just because I am black.

Punched, pushed and whipped

Over and over and over

But I always fight back

I fight for my freedom and the DRC.

Because I am Congolese

I fight for my memories.

 

I know one day my story will be told,

But will it be heard?

What matter what I know? I will die like I was made

I will keep trying up till I make it or get killed.

 

Maybe one day my dreams

Will became a reality

Maybe my life in slavery

Will become just a history

Just a story

My life in slavery story!

 

THINKING YOU’RE SO COOL

by FAITH DORE

 

Sitting up in his room wondering what to do,

Growing up in a neighbourhood thinking he’s so cool,

Blinging with the ice, having all the babes,

What else can go on are you following up with his pace?

Looking so cute hell yeah he looks good,

Having a brain as thick as wood,

Looking so fine hell no she ain’t mine,

Heard she sleeps around each and every time.

Living the life but having no good goal,

Should have had a wife but he’s having a whore.

Looking to the future thinking she knows best,

Moving around like she ain’t bad as the rest.

What else can go on is one going to change?

You should think hard what could happen or what might remain,

Could it be HIV, could it be AIDS?

Making the right moves makes you more cool,

Stop trying to be like others before you become a fool,

Why not try education and start going back to school,

You’ll be on top of the world with all the knowledge, you can rule.

He’s thinking, she’s thinking can I even do that,

Should we just say do you still want to be a spoilt brat?

Having your mind in control with a good goal in life,

Ladies, gentlemen would soon become your husband or wife,

Life is less painful than thinking your cool in a gang being stabbed with a knife,

Thinking on this, is this what you really want to fight?

Nothing is always easy, most things are sometimes hard trying to do what is right,

It never really seems to work out just letting us loose interest in life,

But aiming high for the achievement will get you to a better place,

Trust me! No matter what type of race, just keep up with the good pace.

 

 

POLE STAR’S POSITION

IRENEUSZ MAZURʼS passion is pinhole photography because, as he tells HEADSET ONLINE, itʼs so beautifully unpredictable

 

I come from the Sudetenland in the beautiful mountainous south west of Poland. I always dreamed of standing at the foot of the Himalayas and so I came here where I could earn money much easier and fund the trek. The dream fulfilled, I stayed on. I have been living here for over ten years and feel well adapted though I still feel like a foreigner – but maybe thatʼs just in my head.

I ended up feeling like a river restricted by an invisible dam. I needed new goals and got talked into doing the A level photography at the college by a cousin of my girl­friend who enjoyed the course very much.

I canʼt study without an income so I work as a gardener during the day, which keeps me close to my beloved nature. I would say thereʼs much greater care for the envi­ronment here than in Poland.

I like pinhole photography simply because it is unpre­dictable, like humans. Thereʼs a real sense of deferred gratification in waiting for the image to emerge. And I am often surprised at the effects achieved; working in the darkroom also preserves a continuity and intimacy with the subject matter as it emerges through a processes of care. In digital photography this is just a con­version to 01010101010!

My thematic concerns are the environment – billions of years of evolution are being destroyed before our very eyes. We have become careless in the extreme and it pains me.

At college I have had a lot of creative fun. As for studying at uni­versity level, weʼll see. I donʼt want this to become too serious as it would spoil the enjoyment!

 

 

GREAT EUROPEAN POWER GAMES

by JEKATERINA NEFEDJEVA

Visaginas, a small town located in the north-east of Lithuania, was built in 1975 mainly for workers of the Ignalinos nuclear power plant and their families to live in. More than six out of ten of its population is Russian, the highest per-centage in the country. During the era of the Soviet Union, when internal borders were open, a lot of Russian nuclear engineering specialists moved to Visaginas, looking for new opportunities and a better quality of life.

In 1991, side by side with other former Soviet republics, Lithuania became independent and the nuclear plant came under its control.

But three years ago, Lithuania jumped from one union to another and joined Europe. While this gave Lithuanians a lot of possibilities by freeing up travel, study and work opportunities – Europe needs a lot of specialists which Lithuanians can provide – there is a downside. The EU insisted on the closure of the Ignalinos plant, even though it still had many operational years left.

The EU wants Ignalinos shut because its nuclear reactor is of the same type as Chernobylʼs. There are fears that should there be an accident, the radioactive contamination will be similar to that produced after the explosion at the Ukrainian plant in 1986.

But the planned closure ignores the fact that Ignalinos was taking on board all future eventualities and had worked for years researching and preventing actual risks: nuclear specialists did not see any problems in the plantʼs operation.

Yet the reality of having such a productive energy supplier within the EU has not gone down well with western European heads of state.

Why? Because it is more profitable to sell energy than to buy it. Ignalinos produces about 80% of the electricity consumed in Lithuania and more than half its output supplies the neighboring countries of Latvia, Russia and Byelorussia. And because the energy is cheap, it is competitive.

The plantʼs closure means that Lithuania has shifted from being an energy exporter to an importer. The Lithuanian economy, already under stress, could go into freefall. But no one really cares when it is beneficial for Europe.

The plantʼs closure will have a severe impact on the Baltic stateʼs economy. Lithuania has a population of around three million and 30,000 people, workers and their families, are dependent on Ignalinos for their livelihood.

The EU has announced that the planned closure two years hence will be delayed, but that wonʼt stop thousands from losing their jobs and joining the exodus from the country.

The question is, what will happen to those left behind, people now in their 40s and 50s? Many are highly skilled, intelligent and ambitious people whoʼve worked decades at the plant.

Now theyʼll be forced back on meagre state benefits or they will learn another language, update their qualifications and seek work in a better place. This isnʼt easy to do in middle age and the reality is that many whoʼve emigrated do not continue a professional career but end up as cleaners, babysitters or drivers just to support their families back home.

This is certainly not the dream of going West they had while studying at university.

Finally, what is going to happen to Visaginas is a town of nuclear engineers and highly professional town planners, who built a town in the shape of butterfly, surrounded by millions of pine-trees and some of the most beautiful lakes in Lithuania?

There are hopes it will become a new tourist resort, but no one knows when this future is going to dawn. Without crucial investments it is destined to become a ghost town. The younger generation will leave and only the elderly will remain. The only thing for sure is that the European Union, rather than opening new prospects for its residents, is condemning them to a future of uncertainty and a sense of loss for the good old days.

TESTING TIME FOR SCIENTOLOGY

What is it about scientology that provokes such strong reactions? SASHA THOMPSON finds out

It should come as no surprise that many view scientology in such a negative light. Some take issue with the fact that it was founded by a science fiction writer, L. Ron Hubbard, others with his theory that harmful ‘engrams’ – painful memories – are planted in the brains of ‘earthlings’ and that scientologists must pay thousands of dollars to be cleansed of those negative feelings through church-designed counselling known as ‘auditing’.

Deciding to delve deeper, I paid a visit to one of its churches close by Goodge Street tube. On approaching the building, I came across a smartly dressed man standing next to a table of books. A personality test was on offer to anyone walking by, and he forcefully explained that this was free and that possibly I might benefit from the results.

The personality test is an important part of scientology recruitment and is used worldwide to attract new members. Psychologists criticise the cult for using it in a highly manipulative and unethical fashion, but I pushed these thoughts aside and accepted his offer: I wanted to see for myself.

I was led into the building, where the ‘scientology effect’ was in full swing. People of all nationalities were huddled around talking of their own individual experiences and how Hubbard’s books had helped on their journey to being ‘clear’. Yet it soon became apparent that these were people already working for the Church of Scientology.

The man took me to sit in the ‘auditing’ room. These are separate spaces where tests are conducted on ‘proclear’ people who, like myself, have not been cleansed of their ‘troubles’. I was handed two booklets – one explained how to take what is known as the Oxford Capacity Analysis Test, a.k.a. the American Personality Analysis test, the other gave the questions.

According to the scientology website, “Your personality has everything to do with your income, your future, your personal relationships and your life” and the Oxford test, which would normally cost $500 and up, is offered “as a public service.”

Yet the 200 questions are strangely reminiscent of those you have to endure when applying for certain jobs, stuff such as do you like browsing through railway timetables, enjoy gossiping about work colleagues, find children irritating?

When I’d finished an evaluator took me through to another small booth to discuss my ‘results’. I was shown a graph purporting to represent my I.Q. and ten personality characteristics such as stable, happy, composed or aggressive.

Most of my characteristics averaged between 40 and 80, which I was told was exceptionally good. But, I was informed, the three hovering near the bottom of the scale showed I was badly depressed with a low level of logical reasoning and appreciation. My low scores were “dragging the rest down”. There was obviously someone or something “suppressing” me and I needed to “handle” or “disconnect” from them or it.

The solution, I was informed, was to take two Scientology courses costing £48.50 each and buy the dianetics book, costing £10. At this point I was ready to leave, but I was told that I would be taken to see someone else who could explain scientology to me properly. Sluggishly, I agreed.

After my conversation with yet another advisor, I was aware of the way in which dianetics purports to help a person’s psychological processes. But as an introduction to a ‘religion’, why was I being hit for over £100 upfront, on the spot? Thanks, but no thanks!

On the bus home, it struck me that like every religion a gradual indoctrination process must take place, where the scientologist eventually comes to the realisation that everything that their leader says is absolutely true, absolutely correct. And they arrive at a point where the word and practise of scientology becomes an unchallengeable law. Religion or brainwashing – I know which best describes this pernicious cult.

YES WE CAN…CAN WE?

HEADSET contributors give their slant on

the era of Obama

The Obama victory is of great significance. Maybe Dr Martin Luther King’s dream of a person being judged by who they are rather than the colour of their skin has been realised. His win will promote unity and raise the aspirations of all American youth across racial lines and it could also go some way to heal the scars caused by slavery and the subsequent struggle for equal rights. Yet the weight of expectation now rests heavily on his shoulders. The American public want him to make their country great again, fix the economy without raising taxes, withdraw troops from Iraq and offer free healthcare to the poor. And there’s the pressure to respect the Kyoto Agreement on tackling climate change too – so he’ll have to please most of the people, most of the time. Not an easy task; it was a close election and half the country is yet to be swayed by Obamamania. The relationship between Britain and the States should now become strictly professional and all the previous brown-nosing must come to and end. This would be a positive, as this country would not be bullied into war and meddling in global affairs which don’t concern it. This is a moment that many thought would never be achieved but it has, so if we have all come this far what’s not to say that everything else won’t change? Remember, in January the White House will house its first Black family…

SIRENA REYNOLDS

Regaining the American Dream is the most ambitious promise made by Barack Obama. His powerful speeches and drive for change has made Americans and people all over the world believe in him and the mantra “Yes we can!”, chanted by the crowds when he won the election. The dark shadows of the Bush administration are clearing away and Obama’s election gives a new opportunity for America to polish up its image. The president elect has made a lot of great promises such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and investing in new technologies. And he’s promised to pull the army out of the unjust war on Iraq and tackle unemployment. There’s already great debate in the media as to how he will do all this. But what is clear is that at this point Obama wants to make the public a part of his plan to bring about change. If that happens, America will gain new respect in the world.

ZUL ZELAMAT

With the election of such a strong minded and positive president, the world expects a better America. And in that country, Obama can be looked up to by black youth as a role model like Martin Luther King. Obama is expected to sort out the economic crises afflicting the world along with the situation in Iraq. At home, the expectations are that he will do something about taxation and unemployment. I think these expectations can be fulfilled. But it’s going to take time and people shouldn’t forget that Obama isn’t God, he’s human and we all make mistakes. The fact that everyone is only seeing the positive is good, but it puts so much pressure on Obama. If he fails, it will be such a big let down.

SAMERA RACHYAL

I have a lot of expectations of Obama although I’m realistic about what, and how much, he will actually be able to do. On the one hand, I think that he will be able to change a lot – Iraq, Afghanistan and the issues around global warming. But, on the other, I see him as just another puppet like Bush. Powerful groups like the arms manufacturers, who make obscene profits out of war, pull the strings. And they use their influence to control the likes of Bush and, inevitably I fear, Obama. It will be very interesting to see how the Gordon Brown and Obama relationship will develop. Bush and Blair were very similar in their views, particularly on Iraq. Obama wants a gradual troop withdrawal and there may be some differences of opinion about the timescale. I’m sure Obama’s presidency will have a big impact on my life. I’m very aware of current affairs and how they are managed by the media and I hope that Obama will maybe change those perceptions. But at the back of my mind I feel as though things will never change – they might even get worse.

SAFFA MAHMUD

There are so many expectations with Obama’s election. Not only is he the first black American president, he brings hope for a change internationally by ending America’s interference in other countries like Iraq. Domestically, the gap between white and black American rights is now surely going to be transformed too. Yet even if Obama does fulfil his promises, America is never going to stop being the world power and it will continue to interfere in other countries’ politics because that is what America does. My country, Serbia, was a victim of America’s interference which destroyed its heart and soul with the removal of Kosovo from its rule.

But the hope remains that Obama will control the world better than previous presidents, not least because we have never seen so many people get involved in his election, particularly the younger generation and many black citizens who in the past would not have voted. They showed so much hope in the arrival of Obama that it is hard not to share their optimism.

KRISTINA TEODOROVIC

Obama is not the ‘typical American’ in that he is both black and has a Kenyan background. This can only be beneficial to the US because he is bringing a different perspective and cultural mix to the White House. Unlike previous presidents, Obama will serve everyone. And if the domino theory is correct, as America changes and develops under his leadership, so too will other nations. Obama doesn’t come across as an angry man and won’t be waging new wars any time soon. Too often in the past world leaders have adopted the excuse that ‘if America is doing it, then it is OK,’ but with President Barack Obama as world leader there can only be greatness to come. Obama is of course a symbol of hope for black people everywhere. They can breathe a sigh of relief, as he is showing that all black people are not the same and shouldn’t be stereotyped. Yet as a black woman, I feel a sense of shame that it has taken so many decades for a black person to be considered on the same level as a white person in order to even run for president. I have to question why have we waited so long. Will it become the norm that black people, finally, will be able to better their lives without having to contend with the constant issue of race? This was typified by some newspapers focusing solely on Obama’s racial background, ignoring the fact that he had to fight for his supporters votes just like McCain did. The main focus should not have been on Obama’s skin colour, but his values and what he can bring to America. But voters saw something newspapers like The Sun didn’t. They recognised his desire for change and his unmatched determination to achieve it.

LEIKISHIA LETANG-REID

Obama’s message of change resonated not only in America but around the world and like many I was glued to the updates as the campaign unfolded, although I’d never been much interested in American politics before. Why? Because Barack Obama is the first Afro-American president. He was able to unite a country that had so much racial division and, to some in America, he was an answer to their prayer that one day they would see their kind holding the highest post in the land. And Obama’s election is proof that the racial divide in America has been bridged. Expectations are high: if Obama is to keep his promises of change, resolving the ongoing financial crisis and ending the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will be the proof. Elsewhere, Obama’s election will most certainly affect the lives of my relatives back in Somalia where Ethiopian troops, funded and supported by America, are still in occupation. Many hope that Obama will bring about the kind of change President Clinton brought about in 1993 when he pulled US troops out of the country following his election.

MOHAMMED HASSAN

In a nation that was founded on genocide and then built on the backs of slaves it was an unexpected moment, shocking in its simplicity. Barack Obama, a good black man, said he would bring change to Washington and the majority of the country liked the idea. The racists were present throughout the campaign. But they are no longer the majority and we will see their flame of hate fizzle out in our lifetime. Of course, a black president in the White House is of historic significance and not to be underestimated. But I have concerns not only for the new president’s safety but how he is going to improve America after the Bush administration brought America to its knees, faced by adversaries in every corner of the earth. Yet now Americans – whether Hispanic, Asian, white or black – believe they can get back the America they were proud of and loved so well. They are tired of fighting wars for the Bush junta to gain control of important, but declining, natural resources. Their hope is that Barack will pull the troops out and create dialogue with groups and nations dubbed terrorist by the media, which has never raised questions about the corrupt governments in power in such countries. These issues have to be faced immediately and resolved. Will real change happen? Of course it’s great that a black man could win the election and promise a transformation and, hey, maybe he will make America a better place. But presidents don’t control the economy. Bush, a front man for all his dad’s friends who were pulling the strings, certainly didn’t. And who’s to say Obama isn’t going to be controlled by the illuminati, just as George Bush was?

CHELSEY BETTS

The election of Barack Obama as President came after the most lengthy, expensive – and exciting – election in decades and its significance goes way beyond America’s shores. Obama’s youthful looks and memorable speeches brought out more voters then ever before: young and old, black and white all voted for the man they believe will deliver the change he has so often promised. Like many, I hope he will deliver. Eight years of Dubya wrecked America’s image because of the wars in Iraq and elsewhere and these must end. He could also help sort out the financial crisis, which he has made his number one priority, and bring down the violence plaguing American society. But, as an Obama supporter, I question the level of expectation placed on him to deal with all these issues. By the time of the next presidential elections in 2012, I do not think he will have fulfilled many, but I do believe he will do his best to change the country for the better. In Britain, I think his win can encourage more people from different ethnic groups to try and realise their aspirations their dreams. And it could lead the way for more running for parliament and, some day, the leadership of a major party and the country.

BERNARD SHEERAN

Looking at what the Bush administration has done to America and the impression it has left across the world, it is no wonder the American people are looking for a change of direction and what better way to do it! But are they expecting too much? Or is it too little, too late? Obama has already said he will be looking to reverse many of George Bush’s policies, but can he make a difference to an economy that looks to be on its knees? Many Americans are now daring to hope that their loved ones will return from war and that climate change issues will be looked at more realistically and seriously. If there are to be changes, then everyone must be patient. Obama will need to be elected for a second term in office because there’s no quick fix – four years is just not enough.

ABUL ALI

Obama represents all the people and all the races, that’s why his victory was celebrated all round the world. Obama has raised the confidence of black Afro-Americans and become their role model. A positive of his foreign policy is the withdrawal of US soldiers from Iraq and the closure of Guantanamo Bay and his plans to transform the health care system to make it affordable to every American is welcome. Obama’s victory was a crushing one for the Republicans but I don’t think the new Democrat rulers will make any significant changes to the good relationship between Britain and the US. But his election will be a motivation for black people in this country to think that one of them could be Prime Minister in the coming years.

SAIKOUBA CEESAY

Obama’s speeches are truly inspiring and just what Americans need to start believing in their country again. The US has always pushed the idea that it is a land of freedom and opportunity, yet what this election showed was the opposite: for many Black and Hispanic Americans it was the first time they had voted in their lives. I was struck by a woman aged 103 who’d voted for the first time in her life. She wanted change, she said, and was so proud that the first time she voted was for a black man. Now, this comment could be taken in two ways – she voted Obama because he’s black and no other reason or, like most Americans, she’s tired of being dragged into wars she doesn’t want and suffering in the country. I believe she voted for change and if it comes in the form of a black man, all the better. Minorities in America have never had it easy, so this was their chance to show the world that they are ready to stand up and be counted as Americans,

NARIMAN OMARNUR

It’s been a long time coming. At last America has a black president and it couldn’t have come at a better moment – ‘crunch’ time. The world needs change and Barack Obama is going to make the change that everybody is looking for. The expectations of the American people are an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and better health care. For Blacks in particular, it will mean more self-confidence and the belief that finally they will be living in a nation where Martin Luther King’s words, echoed by Obama during his campaign, ring true: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.” And his election could see more black people in Britain’s parliament and more courage to strive for the jobs that they want.

JUBRIL ADEWALE

Obama has had this saviour like image placed on him and he has been compared to great American leaders of the past. I only hope he can deliver the promises in his policies for change. During the next four years, he will probably get a lot of criticism for his methods and strategy compared to a white president. Black people are often only portrayed as being successful in music or sport and that’s what he will be up against.

DAYNA NEMBHARD

The fact that Barack is the first African American president makes this election an historic moment, which may change the way politics are played out in the US. But, as a Mexican, his triumph comes with many questions. In my country, there is a saying that when America catches ’flu Mexico gets pneumonia and the question being asked back home is whether he is really capable of helping America in an economic crisis which is having such a negative impact beyond its borders. This is where my worries really start. Obama is taking on the leadership of a country undergoing an agonising period and a population that has to change the way it lives and consumes. It’s also a population that is expecting Obama to deliver positive changes in a period of just four years. But are the people who voted for him really aware of all his policies, do they really know what he has planned for the economy? Or was the vote for change simply a desperate move in desperate times?

ADRIAN DURAN

KABUL TIMES

by SALAHODIN MAJID

The day Iʼd been waiting for finally came when, after seventeen years away, I got off the plane in Kabul, my native city.

Iʼd been contacted by some journalists from German television in Hanover, where I then lived. They wanted to make a documentary about Afghanistan and they were looking for an Afghani interpreter who spoke Dari and Pashto as well as good German. I fitted the bill – Iʼd lived in Germany since the age of 12 so I have a fluent grasp of the language.

Was I interested, they asked. Of course I was – how could I turn down the opportunity to travel back to my country, meet my unfortunate people and smell my own countryʼs air again?

That was how, a month later, we met on a wonderful spring day in Frankfurt airport to catch the Kabul flight. For the first time, after so many years, I saw the name Ariana, the Afghan airline, on the departure board. The sight made me weep and there were other Afghans nearby who seemed to have the same sort of emotion.

There were a lot of nervous look­ing people on board, because of the Taliban regime, but they were happy too: at long last they would meet their relatives again. After a 12 hour flight, we got to Kabul – a dream came true, I was back in my homeland.

When I got off the plane I was sure that I was home. It just smelled like Afghanistan.

But as we drove into the city, it was like a shattered picture frame, with pieces scattered everywhere and the houses, building, hospitals – everything ruined. Pain and suffering were etched in the faces of every man and woman we came across.

In the spare time from my translat­ing job I managed to visit the school I had attended and there I met some of my classmates, who were now teaching there. As I talked to one of them, I could see from his expression all he had gone through. But he was staring at me and evidently couldnʼt remember who I was. So I introduced myself and said Iʼd been in his class. He was astonished and invited me to his house that night. “Do you recognize me now?” I asked. Yes, he replied, and he remembered that I used to sit next to Ajmal, who was my best friend at the time.

That night, when I caught sight of his house, it seemed perfectly normal. But inside was divided into a warren of small rooms and he lived in one with his wife, four children and sick mother. There were some old bedding and no light and there was one candle, which he lit.

Later I found out they only had one chicken from which they were taking eggs and they had killed it because of me. That made me upset and I was even more so when he told me, hesitatingly, that Ajmal had been killed with all his family. He tried to comfort me: “Thereʼs no point in being upset,” he told me. “I also lost three of my brothers. You were one of the lucky ones who moved abroad while you could. You did not wit­ness the tragedies and humiliation of people murdered more viciously than Vietnam victims.”

It was one of the most tragic nights of my life and I will never forget it. But a consolation was the Afghani music everywhere I went, which had been banned during the Taliban regime. It was what I used to listen to and indicated that some still had hope; at least they had some time to listen to music, despite all the difficulties and the war. Every step I took, I thanked God that despite eve­rything I was witnessing, I was still very glad to meet my people

The interpreting job took me to those parts of the country which I had never seen before: Mazari-Sharif, Jelalabad, Herat, Maymana and many other cities. On one occasion, I interpreted for the Afghan president Hamid Karzai and his cabinet. My first impression was that he was very calm and relaxed – he seemed a perfect gentleman and genuinely interested in where I was living and what I was studying.

At the end of six months, I felt Iʼd helped gather enough material to produce a documentary about the different peoples of Afghanistan and this was screened shortly after our return on German TV. It got an excel­lent response from viewers.

Looking back, I had the impression that despite the suffering of the Afghan population and what they have been through, the warlords are still taking advantage of the situation by using the support from the West to line their own pockets.

And Afghanistan remains a coun­try of broken pledges: five years ago the Minster for Water and Energy Ismail Khan was asked during an interview when electric lighting would be restored to Kabul. His answer was in a yearʼs time, but still thereʼs no electricity – just one small example of empty promises and lies.

Even so, the Afghan poor still have hope and one of my enduring memories of the trip was seeing kids splashing about in a muddy pool. One day, I hope, theyʼll have a decent pool and will swim happily there.

WHY?

by IZZATULLAH KHAN

Monday. When I wake, I go to the window. On the road, I see a man and boy walking rapidly toward the city.

I open the door to the pigeon cage and let the birds out. The sun is shining and I run out to play with the rest of my friends. The morning goes quickly and I hurry back home to eat.

Then I take my net to the lake and a few hours later return with some fish. Itʼs time to go out in the village, everyoneʼs back from work and weʼre chatting and joking with each other. Then itʼs mosque and, after prayers, we sit on the bank of the river.

In the distance, on the road by the river, I see a man leading a black cow by a rope, followed by the child. Itʼs the same two I saw in the morning and I realise theyʼre heading back from the city and theyʼve bought a cow.

I watch as they approach and suddenly realise thereʼs another person, face covered and with an AK-47 on his shoulder, passing in front of us. Heʼs heading toward the city and walking a bit faster then normal. We donʼt pay much attention and soon go back to our conversation. But after the man passes the bridge the road goes downhill so for a few moments I lose sight of him.

Suddenly, his head shows up by the ruins of Ali Khanʼs house. I canʼt see too well in the dusk but I can just make out the father, the son and the cow approaching the same blind section of the road. Then the gunman opens fire. The sound of the AK-47 makes the air scream and the birds take off from the trees, followed by a momentʼs silence.

I see a man on horseback galloping towards us, his face as white as death. He tells us the gunman shot the man and is now fleeing towards the city. Everyone is in shock.

We run towards the blind spot in the road and there I see the young boy. Heʼs lying on the ground and his clothes are soaked with blood. Heʼs holding a pigeon and the bird is drenched in blood too. He could be anywhere between 9 and 12 years of age.

I want to go up to him, but my feet wonʼt move. An old man pushes me aside. The boy is dying and after he breathes his last, the old man starts praying. Then, with a handkerchief, he binds up the lower part of the boyʼs face.

As I look away, I see the father. Heʼs dead too and I can see his brain sticking out of his scalp. His face is unrecognisable, but in a matter of minutes people gather around who are able to identify him. They load the bodies on to a horse and cart and take them back to the village

It is getting dark and I walk back home, totally stunned. When I reach our house I go straight up to my room and try to sleep, but I canʼt. My mind is full of images of the childʼs last moments.

And I keep asking myself: “Why? Why? Why?”

NOT JUST THE OIL

What other treasures are being extracted from Iraq,  asks ANWAR Al-BADRI

While wandering around the British Museum recently, I was drawn to the Assyrian collection. There are some fantastic artworks from the ancient worlds of Iraq, Egypt and Greece on display.

But what surprised me was that most of the exhibits come from Iraq. Why, I asked myself, are these works here, who brought them and is it legal to do so?

As an Iraqi from one of the country’s most ancient cities, I couldn’t help but pose those questions.

Of course, the Iraqi government isn’t exactly in a position to demand the return of any of its art treasures at the moment. Very soon there might not be any left in the country to steal anyway.

Since the outbreak of the Iraq war, many sites have been destroyed by US and coalition forces and some of the oldest sites of civilisation have been looted.

Satellite images show the extent of the damage suffered since the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, when for a brief period images of looting made the headlines. But not anymore. Why? Abdul Zahra Talaqani, of Iraq’s Ministry for Tourism and Archaeology has explained that: “Iraq floats over two seas: one is oil and the other is antiquities…The American forces, when they entered, protected all the oil wells and the Ministry of Oil . . . but the American forces paid no attention to Iraq’s heritage.”

On the fifth anniversary of the invasion this year Digital Globe, a company specialising in high resolution space imaging, conducted a survey of Iraq which revealed that looters have torn up huge areas of the country.

According to American commentators, this looting has been organised to fill private and illegal collections in the West.

Hundreds of thousands of coins, statues and paintings and bronze pieces and many other archaeological works have been stolen from these sites, which confirms that the looting is not random but something more organised.

The French magazine Archaeologia states that no archaeological destruction on this scale has occurred for at least 1,000 years. Some of the most important cities in Sumerian civilisation such as Um Alkarad and Umma have now effectively vanished from the face of the earth.

American and coalition troops have also wrecked priceless archaeological remains in Iraq’s ancient cities.

In Babylon, souvenir hunters have damaged the remains of the famous Ishtar Gate by stealing brick reliefs of dragons and military vehicles have ripped through parts of the 2,600-year-old Processional Way leading to Nebuchadnezzar’s Palace.

As I left the British Museum, I saw an advert for the Babylon exhibition coming up in November. On display there will be exhibits from British, French and German museums including some of the great treasures of Babylon. But there will also be a section on its tragic recent history, ” including its subjection to damage through conflict.” Uncomfortable viewing.

For details of the Babylon exhibition, go to http://www.britishmuseum.org

MY CHURCH END

by ALMIS ABDULLAHI

If I were to write openly

Like I wann’ grow the world to see

Then I would advise you to run with me.

Change comes before the eye could see

But now the eye could see

All that be

Have we the community found inner peace?

New buildings can’t answer this for me

Though they can make outside look good

Make us proud of where we’ll be.

In my society

There are

Native Whites

Black Africans

Black Caribbeans, Eastern Europeans

Indians, Pakistanis

And thanks to Bush and Blair Afghanis and Iraqis.

Need for speed

My Church End stay close to me

I’m about to go deeper than history

The complexity of cultures

To tell you something we could all capture

Senseless

The twist is in the sentence

You’ll be approached by a mistress

Be seduced but don’t lose your interest.

The land is older than the Church

And the wooden one that could have been a church

The roots of this area run deep

Even I can’t get rid of the plastic flats one despised

I feel like they’re wiping my memory

What does this mean?

A new start or am I losing

Should I let go or should I be holding?

Transfixed in the transaction mode

Makes it harder to accept the mood.

Let go

Sooner or later we all have to go

Be who you are

Don’t be from where you are.