Something I'd like to work on is helping link everyday Americans with everyday Iraqis for informal chats and dialogues. Even though the United States has waged a war in Iraq, very few Americans have ever met an Iraqi and have limited understanding of Iraqi history and culture, myself included. I'm American and I met someone from Iraq for the first time about a year ago - about four years into the war in Iraq. I lived in Washington DC, so you'd think I would have had more opportunities!
The day went like this: two Iraqis, one man and one woman, visited our office and I was asked to take them out to lunch with one of my colleagues. I was curious to meet them and wondered all morning what they would be like. How would the woman be dressed? How would the man treat me since I was a woman? All I knew was what I had been watching on TV and reading in the press, and these were the first questions to come to mind.
When we met, I was quite surprised to see that they were...completely normal and more like me than I had imagined. As we walked to lunch, we talked a bit about their life in Iraq and how the violence has affected their families. We stood in line for sandwiches, and as we waited, the man suddenly turned to me his eyes wide, pointing to the street and saying "Minister of Defence!" As I turned to look, there was Donald Rumsfeld walking down the street right past our sandwich shop. We all fell silent. I waited to see what the Iraqi man would do. For a moment, I expected he might leap across the street to confront Rummy or worse. But he just stood, staring with a perplexed look on his face. Then his face went sad and he turned away. This was afterall, the man who was mostly responsible for the situation in his country. We all returned to the previous conversation.
Since then, I have had the opporutnity to spend time with many more Iraqis. I've listened to their stories, gotten to know them and I believe there must be a better way to protect America and help them create a better life. This is something that I hope the next President will do - take time to meet with the citizens of the countries on whom US foreign policy is having the most direct, and in some cases, disasterous, impact. Hopefully, with this website, more Iraqis will have the chance to talk with citizens from other countries, especially Americans.
I met an Iraqi woman and her children, as they and my children were splashing in a fountain at the FDR Memorial in Washington, D.C. on a warm evening, September 10, 2001. We did not exchange names, but she told me she was a school teacher on vacation from Baghdad. We were there to show our German exchange student this wonderful tribute to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Of course, the next day, the world changed. I have often thought of this woman and her children since. I wonder what has happened to them.
Cynthia Gratz Campbell October 8, 2008 - 8:20amPost new comment