Travel to Iraq | “The war will end
The leaders will shake hands
The old woman will keep waiting for her martyred son
That girl will wait for her beloved husband
And those children will wait for their heroic father
I don’t know who sold our homeland
But I saw who paid the price.”
These lines by Mahmoud Darwish discuss the unending circle of war and how it defeats time and scars people across generations. The cerebral remnants and memory of that violence is not only heard in their stories but also seen in the way they live.
However, as outsiders, we often make the mistake of limiting their lives to a war that they had nothing to do with. At this juncture, I should probably ask you a question that I asked myself while writing this: what are the first sets of images that come to your mind when you hear the words "Iraq?"
Fire? Rubble? Trucks laden with terrorists? Gunshots? Bombings?
Ankita Kumar, an avid traveller, who has travelled over 60 countries, undertook a two-week-long trip to the country to see whether these images are the reality, and what lies beneath the surface.
Kumar had planned her trip around the Nowruz (Persian New Year) celebrations in Iraqi Kurdistan’s Erbil and Akre on March 21. “The celebrations were magical. The king of Akre also arrived for the festivities that saw people carry mashaals (torches) up and down the mountain, followed by a feast and firecrackers” recalled Kumar in an exclusive conversation with Outlook Traveller.
She landed in Baghdad in a burqa only to find very few women wearing it. “My myths were broken as soon as I landed,” said Kumar. Throughout my hour-long chat with her, if there was one thing she couldn't stop talking about, it was the people of the land.
“They loved India and Indians. From grocery stores and restaurants to tapris (roadside kiosk), Iraqi people didn't allow me to pay because I was a guest in their country,” said Kumar. She also recalled how their idea of India was Shah Rukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan. “They would sing and dance on 'Tujh mei rab dikhta hai' and 'Bole Chudiya' with me.”
Amid all of this, she recounts how she never felt unsafe as a solo female traveller. “It always felt like the people were protecting you. Someone would hold up their hand to stop the traffic while I was crossing the road or another person would walk me up to the place I was looking for,” Kumar said.
The highlight? Meeting Noor, the first female carpenter of Iraq. “She had a 17-year-old daughter and was trying to make ends meet, but she still insisted on hosting me at her place for two days,” Kumar says. Noor, Kaka Mohammed (Noor's colleague), and Kumar, loaded themselves on a truck each morning for two days and went around Bagdhad.
“I accompanied her to get paint, went to her workshop, and ate at cafes,” the traveller said. At many of these cafes, she chatted and played chess with locals and old men who sat with their coffee and hookah. “I experienced a kindness that comes only after being through so much,” concluded Kumar.
“Apart from people, I learned about the history of Iraq—something most media forgets to show when talking about the country,” Kumar said. She discovered that the first ever written language—Sumerian—originated in Southern Mesopotamia or present-day Iraq.
“I also got a tattoo in Sumerian by the end of my trip! Angki is a water goddess who lived in a city called Nipur. Nupur was also a friend who accompanied me for the trip,” said Kumar.
During a stroll through the Al-Mutanabbi Street, where books are left unattended at night, (because “a thief doesn’t read and a reader doesn’t steal”), Kumar learned about the lost intellectual richness of Iraq.
“During the siege of Baghdad in 1258, the Tigris river turned black from the ink of the books that were thrown in the river,” said Kumar. Along with the House of Wisdom, the army led by Hulagu Khan destroyed many other libraries to strip the country off its rich literature and knowledge.
The gates of Babylon, along with more than 1,500 archeological sites that date back to 3500 BCE are also housed in Iraq. “As you walk around, you feel like an archeologist, uncovering facts that no one talks about now,” Kumar said.
“While Iraq is a beautiful country with the kindest people, it is also an example of how the nicest people are the most persecuted,” said Kumar.
“The energy of that place is palpable and it is heartbreaking to see how Iraqis live. I broke down at least four-five times before I left,” recalled Kumar. She also mentioned that the eerie omnipresence of the military and constant checkpoints might leave you troubled and uncomfortable.
An incident from a hotel in Baghdad, in particular, encapsulated the “spirit of Iraq” for her. “It was 3 AM. I could hear screams. I thought the country was under siege or there was a riot,” narrated Kumar. Collecting her senses, she peeped out of the door to be met with smoke. Turns out a carpet in the hotel had caught fire.
“I ran and ran until I was out of the hotel,” she said.
“People doused the fire and in no time everything was normal. They were breaking their suhoor (the meal eaten before dawn during Ramzan). While I was petrified, one of them offered me a watermelon,” said Kumar.
She asked a boy in the hotel, “there was a fire here only an hour ago. How are you all so normal?”
“At least it isn't war,” he replied.
When she travelled to Babylon and Hatra, she saw casings and bullets lying around and bullet holes on the walls. “In Mosul, I saw a bombed mosque and houses being renovated,” she recalled.
While war is Iraq's reality, it is its people’s courage, perseverance, and kindness that has helped them navigate their way forward as a country that has risen above ashes. For Kumar, it has become a journey of a lifetime.
