or: The Society of Satan
In June 1984 I was gathering my packages of several stuffs which are mostly randoml stretched disarranged alongside the street waiting an actually forthcoming bus, which is accustomed to pass there later than other busses. The time of course is too hard for waiting more. That it is the last of June. Of course Basra and especially Faw district has much hotter summer than other districts of Iraq. Although I was wearing heavy clothes rather to put them inside packages, however, I feel that as a matter of security, but when the night began to darken and the sky was bright by stars, I felt that something was danger and queer so I left the weapon in the side of my hand putting my finger on the trigger, having left a few yards between myself and the road. Suddenly strange idea jumped to my mind; why do I stand there in hallucination? Why I don't forget the trifling opposition inside my soul? Why I do that carelessly? Why do not tell him frankly? Of course he is my friend, and we have living on the same period of youth in the course of brotherhood village, working on the tools at harden days and nights , having swim every last day of summer in the river which is adjacent the farm of his uncle.
One day he called me; please pal, usually his tongue was firing a shell of curse after- curse. Why his uncle didn't approve upon marrying him his daughter!? The matter is too simple then, one quit or two, three or four mats, chickens room containing several parts or chicken-cages always made of mud. In addition to small cottage or zareba for cattle which they are not more than tow oxen specified only for tillage when they put on together in one yoke, and the house mostly is a narrowed space too little to peach the conversation, surrounded by a little space of ground on its backside to store the excess or the extra stuffs such as barrels and water reservoir as well as two or three mangers to feed animals, that's so and so in anyway is a simple life without never modernity of our contemporary days.
He speaks to me as he feels something was being wrong anywhere. The girl whom he loves was at sixteen of age, small nor big of body, her slim flesh revels to us as she was older, because she was too busy, consumed and exhausted up of her nose in the affairs of the burden living style, the only daughter of her father.
He replies to my question as someone who looses the sense of hearing, although of that kept in silence.
Why do that my friend!? The life is not too hard to pick yourself in just totally minute of thrilling purposes or stabbing your hand by such tool of self- torture.
Awhile, awhile we soon reconcile the state between you and your uncle.
You are not a poor man to cover yourself with a limit of personification; you are a great deal of pragmatic to put yourself in confusion, you aren't lost!
Thrive, thrive, and smoke!
I give him one cigarette, while we are dropping our foot to the near cottage beside the river.
If the matter is pertaining to money only, I shall borrow you thousand shillings or more.
Be quite, be quite!
He suddenly sobs in tears as a child. I take his hand while I am striking the stove.
Here is the tea dear pal.
He snatched the cup as a crazy with his left hand, the matter that his right hand was amputated in sudden raid of our enemy at frontline battle-field of south Iraq.
He was with me when the enemy shot their heavy weapons and their arterially had burst upon our trenches.
Two battery missiles burst nearer to me then I see nothing.
The commander shouted to me hurry up, hurry up; they are two thousands or more.
He was there blooded to his mouth, nothing to dress him.
The factor of time is crucial, fatal, and conclusive.
We are there only figures of guardianship of petrol reservoirs and unexpectedly were betoken to the frontline after fifteen days of drills.
The matter is not a game of backgammon. The matter is nation and Home.
I expect that maybe got dying before reaching the nearer hospital.
We shot the fire; however, we had limited ammunitions, but our friendly comrades fired them hardly and correctly when the reinforcement had reached us in the same time and the battle was finished for our favour.
From that time I didn't see him, he was injured and the military law allows him to stay at back units.
In that deepness of thoughts, I heard the engine-voice of a big car scratching the street by their tires. The car suddenly stopped, three men got down saying welcome to me picking up what they could carry to help me and as soon as I ride the car with them.
The car continued its way directly toward Baghdad. I didn't know the time exactly and turned to sleep. No one has asked me where I go until we have passed the check-point. One of the men awakes me to eat our supper in such vacant restaurant on left side of the road.
At the table one of them has been gazing to me in a bizarre looking, with his forehead mostly was frowning; do you know him?
Who is?
The soldier who is sitting back whose name is Ali.
Of course I could not reply, even though I couldn't distinguish him, but his face is familiar. As soon as I remember him, the sort of his eating and the three distinct oriental sores of leishmanias upon his left check
Yes, alright, that's he.
He is the writer and the correspondent of the military newspaper. I know him well, I have often read for him, he is an excellent writer of the military affairs, and had got more than one reward; always he endures the burden of others, has participated in each remembrance occasion.
I had sent him many letters before I was returning back in the last permission.
There was no email through computer at that time; we usually write our messages to send them by hand or through military posts.
The last time I met him after we had finished the last battle. Of course we had to pick some pictures for reminiscence in every rejoicing occasion.
Are you going home? Ali asks me.
No; not, this time.
Do you still service in the same unit?
No, right a way I have got an order for another unit in North Frontline.
I will miss you.
Sorry to say that, but the military exceptional circumstances will prevent no longer -more and more attachment with civilians.
Deep sorrow to miss you Ali, I shall take the next military caravan for North Zone.
I didn't altogether have to spent talks when I traveled, and only my questions are concentrated about the way and directions.
The next man who is in two-third of his age began to ask me unfamiliar pattern questions.
Do you marry?
Yes, of course I had two sons.
Do you drink?
No, no. usually that's not my course or habitual range since I was single.
Do you have special duty?
I didn't replay, knowing that these patterns of throwing questions will reveal unwanted result.
Will you spend the night at hotel?
I think yes, since I know exactly I hadn't relative there.
He gave me one cigarette, and after awhile he utters series of laughters objected with a series of dry cough, and continued his speech.
My house is in the central part of town and is nearer to the shops, you can find canned- foods and what the warrior wish to store for difficult circumstances.
Alright Sir, I will get permission after seven days of arriving, and then I don't need more.
I think you will need additional supplies to protect yourself against cold; winter is there in very depression of situation.
Thank you, no matter; I think I do need nothing.
He keeps in silence for a moment, but suddenly he breaks the rule when the car stopped as the gas was run off at a few yards of gas station.
Did you not check it? Are you a newer in service?
The man sends me a gesture to stop his chattering.
But the last stood on his foot as a crazy shouting and cursing.
I stand between them in order to prevent expected quarrel.
Please allow me to smash his head or twist his arm.
The matter was cancelled and after two minutes we are at the gas station.
I made conciliation between them after drinking cups of tea at the cafeteria.
Please; don’t smell a rat, he is a goodhearted kin, we are the men of difficult duty.
Yes, of course replied the troubled man. Resuming our journey, the two- third on age requests me to obtain three sandwiches from the drawer under my seat and he starts to eat continuously without stopping, once in a while he cranes his neck outside the door and bantering to everything.
At last we got inside the city, and began to separate in different ways, but before I went few paces he catches my hand and swears to be his guest.
Followed the way together as he decided, having little refreshment before sleeping and at morning he does the hospitality in all its right phases.
I didn’t ask him of his name and his family, but a week after of my arrival to the new- unit I received two letters were signed by "Abed Alhussen Alawy".
Of course he is Shiites follower. I find it is suitable to visit him again or invite him to visit our city in North; we are still friends although the conditions and the general state of country are not as preceding days.
I proceeded in my new duty ambitiously to investigate the advantages that are pertaining in my shoulder.
Working slowly and deliberately to guess the difficulties which maybe faced me.
Otherwise I have done more prospected matters with our commander captain and days after days the relation becomes more reliable and dependable, although he didn’t ask me such question about my past background, but he knew that I am graduated from high school.
I have visited the area since I was working in a group of endemic diseases program in which we put bases of controlling the malaria endemic disease there, and then I was enforced to learn the ideological approaches of their language and custom.
I had built in my mind many ideas and strategies in how to overcome the obstacles for a person who is never working there or is strange there.
The winter is there characterized by windstorm or snowstorm, associated with heavy rainfalls and thunderstorm.
When we got to a new area the weather is too cold and worst, the time as I remember is at late afternoon in one days of February, and anyone should try to find a shelter to sleep or rest because the area is uncovered, deserted from any means of rest -establishing and moreover the wind, the rain, the wetted earth, the wetted sky.
I grasp some stones and mud to prepare a shelter for night as a bedchamber, additionally there are no trees to cut or anything else to set fire.
The captain had passed in front of me; calling what you do? We are about to depart for a new duty and you must be there.
Only the jeep car hardly could reach the target area or the unanimous goal.
Others were late three hours or more.
Of course the time is night and intensively black therefore it could be hardly to see or move.
No shelter then or firewood, even if they are found, they are wet.
Every one of us began to shiver; the temperature is less than zero.
What I do then? Only the" napalm" substance is there, so let's burn little of it.
I could see by my naked eyes one of them throws himself in the middle of fire as a result of coldness.
The captain notices the map and utters; pointing for such areas are familiar and knowable for me, but in mistakenly he named them.
Do you Sir; Mean so and so?
But, tout! You are wrong, please give me the map.
That's X and that's T names of certain mountain I knew them.
Are you sure? Yes I am certainly sure.
We had finished our duty in less than forty hours.
There are guerillas often we called them the dissenters and not as nowadays nomenclature or naming.
The term terrorist and terrorism for instance never had we hear in past times or remote pasts unless our country was occupied by USA in the last period of occupation processes held by West.
They express the term when someone refuses the false democracy that they pretend or claim or for someone had enthusiasm on his religious or homeland.
They deny the patriotism or they excuse by any term or fragile argument to occupy other nations and by last they do to confiscate their rights and their ownerships.
What are the difference then between the "lie and truth", between the pure facts and the misled pretence?
Hereinafter we know or have to know there is no benefit of occupation. If not kill us, legitimately will claim to invest our wealth and our economy, whether reasonably or unreasonably, whether lawfully pretence or unlawfully by force.
The thoughts deeper and deeper evinced on my real position in that time of -changeable and inconstant weather of winter in North, however, the politically position or the general state of publics who live there indicate suggestions or near suggestions to point out what is in their introspection of reasons and ideology.
One who deceives you more than one time what do you considers him?
One who stand in broad of daylight at the side of your enemy or maybe played -the tug of war- to be in daylight with you and at the dark with your rival, what is the name you choose to name him or what is the ID which identifies him?
When these ideas had jumped inclusively to your mind under ultimately unmerciful sky and weather without shelter, without restfully enjoyment, without opportunity to read, to recommence your study, to resume your finance position, to build your own house, to get marriage, to pursue your affairs in general, and could not find the answer of any question or reasonable satisfaction on your own ideas, or maybe you could not satisfy yourself to endure all these times and conditions, what could you feel again?
The matter is homeland not more, and all ideas will be in wrong if you couldn't save your country.
Whether you are forbidden to claim the clear thoughts here or elsewhere, but you may not abandon the superiority of the true soul.
That's I call them the "Society of Satan" or the Devils because they knew the truth even in their deep introspections of glimmered facts, but they stand always in opposition state.
I think those patterns of people who truly should merit the term of terrorism of our nowadays.
Why then who stands against the lies and tendentious hearsay being unrespectable in so many societies?
Is it the fate or the un-construed ways of life directions? Or: where in elsewhere- by God- you could find the society of truth, mercy, kind, and trustable?
Generally I could do what I respect for in dignity and the lawfully living matters and affairs, but do I; haven't negligence elements on many inherited duties here or there?
The matter is too simple for someone who tries the easy and the comfortable life whether is it lawfully or not.
The trifle matter or idea does nothing in its first presence, but maybe it occupy the first solution in most things.
As that one who lost his arm, his fiancée, his home, and even lastly his mind.
Riding a bus again to my house solely just as a mad person without job, without dream, frustrated in both soul and body to find the youths violate everything is sacred, plucked out of their honorable society values and in vain and vilified manner destroyed what the valiant had built.
No matter if I hadn't dream
The matter is shoe or spoon
To be prisoned or just jailed
The idea of course is not mine
Whether I was sincere or liar
But, the confusion of course is theirs
Truly I was imprisoned without jailer
In last few days I have resumed—
The right opinion of their discourse
Not to save the money as he thinks
But, to get the job in our society—
To build the broken wheel of their economy
When the owner felt to escape
Driven back to see the nettle—
Built its nets inside the shrubberies
Where the sparrows had just to sleep
Given back forcedly to their nest
Picked the flower which is wet
Slowly had chanted do rain!
Are you the donor of heat؟
