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Papier Mâché...
By Layla Anwar
10/26/07 "An
Arab Woman Blues" -- -- - An acquaintance
approached me the other day and suggested I join the world of
media/journalism. Utilize my writing skills and whatever
intelligence I have left, to good use...
Good use? Because the media is good news? And am not only
talking about mainstream media here...
Besides, becoming part of some media - and that includes some of
the “alternative media” also known for its share of blatant lies
- means I will no longer be allowed to tell you some basic
truths.
And I don’t want to miss out on the fun by being clustered and
cooped in some box writing news reports when I can sit here and
spill it all out, without having to be so " objective, impartial
and fair ” about it.
I know, some may think it is very important to get the Truth
out. Big deal.
The Truth is out and knowing the Truth out there is not ENOUGH .
ACTING on that truth is what brings results.
And acting on that truth does not consist of signing petitions
and joining a protest once a year either.
And acting on that truth does not consist of reading articles
and passing them on and filing them in your inbox under the
"truth."
All of this remains words on paper...
Daily, you read words and papers. A bulimia of words and
papers...So ?
Daily, I read thousands of words and write them too...So?
Has it changed anything? Has it improved anything ? Has it given
me and millions of other Iraqis any hope...?
Sadly, the answer is NO.
Why is that?
History shows that words followed by actions moved masses and
produced change.
How come you are still asleep when a Genocide is happening in
your name?
And repeat that word GENOCIDE, until it sinks in deep, into your
thick skulls.
How come you are still asleep when you are regurgitating words
daily ?
How come you are so sunk deep into some lethargy unable to move
yet you go on babbling away about the intricacies of politically
correct definitions ?
So in reply to this acquaintance and his suggestion, my answer
is NO. I will not join any media.
I know you will say because the media manipulates, etc...We are
not being told the truth, we are fed lies, we have been robbed
of what this country - yours - stands for and what our founding
fathers - yours - fought for and after all we are suffering too,
we are overstressed, overworked, underpaid, riddled with
hormones, numbed, etc...etc...etc...
More words again...Delusional words and delusional beliefs.
I have news for you here and they are not good.
You are not only being fed lies, you entertain those lies by
constantly lying to yourselves as well.
The ILLEGAL invasion and occupation of Iraq. Its massive,
irremediable DESTRUCTION. Its untold suffering. Its deaths in
the millions. Its refugees in the millions. Its plundering in
the billions of $. Its rape and torture; physical, geographical,
psychological, social, spiritual...right down to the individual
body. Its contamination with the most lethal chemical weapons in
history; DU, phosphorus bombs, Neutron bombs, cluster bombs,
Napalm...
Its stripping it away from any identity, from its history, from
its roots, from its people...and I can go on and on and on...
ALL of that has failed to MOVE YOU TO ACT.
And that despite your knowing "alternative medias" and reading
hundreds of articles, and joining hands in prayers, and
participating in conferences and giving speeches and showing up
on you tube, and blogging and interviews... and, and, and...
And you want me to believe your lies of how you have been robbed
of the ideals of what your nation stood for ? Who are you
kidding here ?
You are kidding none but yourselves.
Iraq was the golden opportunity that you have deliberately or
stupidly failed to seize. And I call that BAD FAITH.
Iraq was the golden historical opportunity for you to finally
put into practice those ”ideals of your founding fathers” that
you o' so preach about all the time...
But you did NOT. And that is a FACT!
And I will tell you why you did not. Simple. Because you have no
such ideals. You are deluding yourselves.
You have forgotten that your so called "democracy" has been
nothing but a SHAM, a travesty from the very beginning.
And you have also conveniently forgotten that your so called
"democracy" only gave rights to "african americans" in the late
60's. And that is just 40 years ago.
Until then, you were living segregated lives...preaching
“democracy.”
So what ideals are you exactly talking about?
And I can go on and on about your own history but your history
does not interest me...anymore. You do not interest me either.
Nor you, nor your collective or individual stories...
Words and more words...and more words.
Files of papers filled with words, riddled with words like
bullets. And this is exactly what your words ended up as, they
ended as...BULLETS.
Bullets that ripped through us, through our being, our psyche,
our identity, our culture, our very existence...
So spare me your words, articles, news, analysis, research,
theories...papers.
And remember you are not to preach to me, someone whose
ancestral fathers invented the letter and the word and taught
you how to write.
You are nothing but words on paper. And we have become nothing
but a target people riddled with your bullets.
Take your words and your papers and make some papier mâché.
And here is a definiton of what papier mâché means
"...shreds of paper mixed with glue or paste, that can be molded
into various shapes when wet and becomes hard...when dry."
They make boxes out of papier mâché. So make boxes out your
words and papers...and store more words and paper in them.
Or if you feel terribly charitable and want to give yourselves a
good conscience, ship your papier mâché boxes over to Iraq
as...coffins.
Only then can you truly pride yourselves by remembering your
“founding fathers."
And let it go down the annals of your glorious "history" as -
and don't forget to quote me...
"We killed them with bullets, covered them in words and buried
them in paper boxes."
Congratulations to you and your founding fathers.
Layla Anwar, Who am I ? The eternal Question . Have not
figured it out fully yet . All you need to know about me is that
I am a Middle Easterner, an Arab Woman - into my 40's and old
enough to know better. I have no homeland per se. I live in
Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Egypt simultaneously
... All the rest is icing on the cake.
An Arab Woman Blues Blog /Copyrights reserved,
2006-2007
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