I’m watching the BBC evening news. I’m sure Rupert Murdoch wouldn’t be too impressed by that (see previous blog entry) but he’ll just have to stop being a cry-baby and deal with it. But I digress…
I’m seeing scenes of Iraqi people having fun, gurning for the cameras, vandalising pictures of Saddam Hussein and helping the US marines topple that huge statue. One of them even has a David Beckham T-shirt on. It’s inspiring to see them finally feeling able to express their true feelings about the regime, rather than having to wear the mask of expedient political submission.
Thought #1… despite the obvious elation, the number of people seen celebrating on the BBC footage was probably in the hundreds, rather than the thousands. Is this because the majority of people have more moderate, even pro-Saddam, views? Or is the majority anti-Saddam but still, after years of oppression, too frightened to show their views openly? I also wonder whether the effective but not-exactly-clinical military assault on Baghdad has left a large number of people cowering in cellars, wondering if they can trust either side.
Thought #2… if the jubilation in the streets does reflect a majority feeling among Iraqis, I hope we (loosely referring to the full spectrum of western organisations and governments) don’t give them cause for future disappointment. Sooner or later, they’re going to need to examine these liberating new ‘western’ values in more detail. There’s a great potential for cynical exploitation in the name of freedom. The Iraqi people deserve to enjoy the best of what modern first-world life can give.