Inside Iraq - McClatchy Newspapers

I believe that the buses are mini mobile societies where a journalist can find stories.

Only 6 days after the occasion of World Press Freedom, Iraqi media witnessed a new violation against freedom of speech.

I received few Iraqi cartoons by e-mail from Iraqi groops; below are two of them.

How far will corruption – and therefore distrust take us? Has the issue of a student's campus ID card become a national security risk – because of corruption?

     "Down with Real Madrid" and "Down with Barcelona" are some of the mottos which became so familiar for Iraqis to be seen on walls recently instead of those against the government, some parties or the occupier.

Iraq is the most dangerous area for journalists. We are considered wanted targets for the enemies of freedom of speech.

At the bureau, we got an invitation to witness the return of 701 archaeological pieces from Syria, so our rotating reporter, Shashank and I went off to the museum. It was a strange experience for me.

I'm sure every employee likes to use the shortest road to reach home on one condition, the short way should be safe.

   A month ago a friend of mine his wife was kidnapped and he hadn't heard of her ever since.

My friend Nawal has two very nice daughters, and had three very nice sons. She is a housewife and her husband an electrician. One day their world blew apart.

Have you ever heard about delightful image in Baghdad, well let me show you this image, hopping that you will like it. These days the street of Baghdad witnesses moving graduation parties of university’s student that we called Zaffa (wedding) parties, it is not like usual wedding but it is graduation ceremony in Iraqi way.

Sadrists killing and being killed. All of them Iraqis.

In Iraq, to find a good employee who listens to you and does his job perfectly without asking for a bribe is the biggest and the greatest miracle. In fact, I thought for a long time that such governmental employee had perished with the Dinosaurs but it looks I’m wrong.

To attend a wedding party and celebrate a great victory of liberating your own land out of the enemy are great things, but those two things weren’t enough to make me and my family happy.

"Please let me marry her and then kill me" – those words torture a man who has no regrets but one.

It looks that facing fears is always better than hiding from them. Yesterday, I applied this wisdom and I found out that it's very accurate 

The Basra events which witnessed the clashes between the Mahdi army and the Iraqi security forces made me notice something which I considered it as an extra ordinary matter besides the real disaster of having Iraqis killing each other.

Yesterday was my turn to do the violence duty but I was called early morning by our office manager. He told me to go to Sadr city to do some work. I had no choice but to accept the mission.

When I started repairing my home, one thing led to another – as usually happens when anyone starts repairing their home.

I still remember that date of April 7th in 1976 when I was in the first year of elementary school.

My friend and I decided to go Kadhimiya to visit the holy shrine of Imam al-Kadhim; by the way my friend is Sunni. We intended to go in the early morning to avoid the traffic jam and also to return to work before the morning meeting. According to plan, we left home at 6 am headed towards Kadhimiya city which was blocked yesterday because of the Sadrists' sit-in.

Ali our correspondant in Basra told us, "Her son was killed – her only son.

Yesterday I received an SMS from my best friend. She was telling me that she regrets that she ever knew me at one time and she didn’t know anyone of my heart cruelty. I was shocked while I was reading these strange words but when I finished reading, I laughed for a long time. It was April Fool.

Despite the curfew announced on Thursday for two days and then prolonged it till further notice, I decided to go to work on Saturday as I fed up of being away of my job and being stuck at home for six days ,three days before the government's announcement of the curfew.

It had been my fourth days in the office. I couldn’t go home since I came on Wednesday. When I tried to go home on Thursday afternoon, I couldn’t find a taxi because of the violence wave that swept Baghdad neighborhoods which pushed the government to announce curfew.

The word democracy is normally used to express the people’s ruling or role, but in Iraq this word is losing its meaning.

Iraq and the whole Islamic world. In this sacred day, most Moslems go to mosques to have Friday prayer at noon ,but before and after the prayer lot of things are to be done which people want to do and they can’t do in the other six days of a week.

Five years ago, I was, as all Iraqis were, worried about the expected war which would take place whether we like it or not.