Cozy photo
Complexity of a situation
Some of my recent posts and pictures seemed to have caused misunderstandings by some readers.
This is meant as a clarification.
I’m presently in the so-called “Sunni Triangle” – although I have not been shot yet this is still considered a war zone.
The friendly atmosphere on some of my pictures might be misleading.
I don’t enter a sheik’s house for tea or lunch alone or with a single lieutenant; we enter a house with a platoon sometimes added with Iraqi forces. While some of the members of the platoon sit down and take off their helmet, sometimes even their flake jacket, others will stand guard.
When a sheikh was showing me his house I was immediately being followed by an alert sergeant to ensure my safety. There is a bounty on my head, on the head of the servicemen and above all on the head of the interpreters.
The suggestion that I can wear a white shirt or take off my shoes is in these circumstances somewhat ridiculous.
That we are having tea with a sheikh does not necessarily mean that the sheik is “friendly”. Quite a few sheiks are equally friendly with U.S. forces and with those who oppose the U.S. forces.
On at least one occasion we had tea with a wanted “terrorist” but there was not enough evidence to arrest the man. According to the interpreter this man has killed many Shia - just a small example to highlight the complexity of a situation that seems to be nothing but a cozy photo.
None of the Iraqi interpreters or the Iraqi forces will take off their shoes while entering a sheikh’s house; some will not take off their flake jacket.
It is a thin line between ignorance and malevolence but some ignorance is at the end just sheer malevolence.
Arnon
The mark of a true writer is that they are willing to utilize and invest everything in their writing. This is probably the main reason why I consider you to be a writer, regardless of the quality, appeal or significance of your work. It means that your work is infused with the stuff that would otherwise make up your life, and that is saying a lot already. By going to Iraq, you show that you are even willing to put your life on the line.Your trip makes me wonder about the relation between *writing* and *reportage* in your work. I'm thinking that when one is willing to use and sacrifice everything for one's writing, it does not imply that one should seek out situations where that willingness might actually be put to the test, or where one is forced in awkward physical or moral positions. I remember from a while back your visits and talks with representatives of Dutch paedophiles and their political faction, and I am wondering if your going to Iraq is based on the same motivation. Both this war and paedophilia are literally "far out" to most people.
Your frequent travelling reminds me of a short story by Simon Vestdijk, entitled "Het veer". Set in 1348, it deals with a man who travels through Europe while following the itinerary of the plague, which is then taking its toll. If you're interested, you can read it on my site: http://www.cornetsdegroot.com/vw/weegschaal/veer.html
I am curious to know if you would recognize yourself in this guy's mental make-up.
What I am about to ask you, finally, is not a question that you should answer (certainly not while you're there); I am simply offering it as food for thought. Here goes: if writing could be described as using words in order to make something or someone speak and say things that cannot be said by he who writes them in his natural, given mode, - could it then be that instead of adding to your writing, your expeditions to these relatively inaccessible areas of society are in fact more journalistic in nature, and introduce a realism in your work that is antipodal to its very foundation?
Please do not take any offense; none is intended.
Arnon
I am somewhat concerned about the shoe issue. Is there some unspoken message related to taking one's shoes off? Could this entire war have been avoided if someone had or had not taken his/her shoes off at a particular moment? What if the US president had sent a message to Saddam Hussein to the effect that taking shoes off was completely out of the question?Also: what if the West had offered to supply the Middle East with copious quantities of toilet paper? Something sorely lacking in Arab countries, judging by the facilities at Cairo airport. Could that have brought peace (in our time)?
Another off-the-wall thought: if a woman's face can launch a thousand ships, what could her vagina do? And might the West turn this to its advantage? I know this is a strange jump to make, but I am trying to think "out of the box".
Dear Arnon
Please, do have tea and muffins with whoever you want, but just try to avoid sudden death. That would really ruin my day, honnest.Hope your socks have fewer holes than mine.
Love,
Nicolas
Carlos
The whole shoe-thing is going back to comments from readers.As to the question of toilet paper; I have been to a few Iraqi houses but have never used the bathroom there.
