Journal Entries
-
- 1
- 2
-
The fall of Baghdad, and some hard questions
Posted Apr 9, 2003
Finally the coalition has the scenes they wanted. The Iraqi people have realised that it's all over; they're cheering in the streets of Baghdad. Pictures are burning, shoes are flying. A fallen statue of Saddam Hussein lies on the ground while the people dance on it and scream their hatred.
I'm reminded of the end of 1989, when the world order that I'd known all my life crumbled in front of my eyes. The borders opening; the Berlin Wall falling; the swarms of people cheering as one government after another fell; the final, bloody fall of the Ceauscescus on Christmas Day. The stories of two of my teachers who were there the night the wall fell, as East German wall guards helped them find chunks of concrete to bring home.
A revolution chosen by the people, for the people. But the Ba'ath regime would never have turned over power as the Czechoslovakian government did in their velvet revolution. Iraq had their Prague Spring in 1991 - how many more would there have been? Has this swift war saved Iraq years of bloody civil war, or opened the floodgates to more terrorism and anger and violence? Do countries have a right to choose their own form of government, and should we have waited until the Iraqis finally turned on their government themselves?
How many lives would have been lost in that situation, and how many are living on borrowed time now?
Wouldn't it be wonderful to find out that our leaders really are motivated by humanitarian concerns, and not petty national interests or dreams of empire? That all the trumped-up excuses for war never happened? That the choices of a far-right-wing clique haven't laid the way for the destruction or sidelining of the UN and international law? That there's now no precedent for any country to invade any other they like without recourse to anyone?
Wouldn't it be fantastic to see the coalition troops swiftly pass responsibility to a democratically elected government, leaving them to organise their own affairs, and to make their own choices without outside interference or coercion? To see that government succeed, without either chance or coup passing Iraq into the hands of another tyrant? To know that we aren't delivering them into the hands of another murdering torturer, to have their screams ignored for another twenty-five years?
All these questions remain to be answered. But that's all for tomorrow.
Today, I'm happy to watch the icons burn and the statues fall, and hope for the future.
Discuss this Journal entry [1]
Latest reply: Apr 9, 2003
Food
Posted Apr 8, 2003
I have got two great big flat mushrooms, fried. Each one is inside a crusty french bread roll. And I have tea, and crisps, and chocolate cake.
*eats happily*
Discuss this Journal entry [10]
Latest reply: Apr 8, 2003
Dentist
Posted Apr 2, 2003
After years of putting it off and not being able to afford it, I finally got to a dentist this morning.
He seems nice, young, not too offputting - I got advised to cut out coke and sweets, which I'm already working on doing, but I wasn't told off. The bad news is that I only have one tooth which doesn't have a cavity in it. The good news is that the treatment apparently isn't going to cost me anything, because I am officially ill. This is great news, and if only I'd known before I would have seen a dentist two years ago.
I have another appointment next week for filling number 1. It's the day before I have to go to the Heath to see my gynaecologist, too. *falls to bits*
Discuss this Journal entry [4]
Latest reply: Apr 2, 2003
Yesterday's anti-war protest in Cardiff
Posted Mar 28, 2003
Anti-war protestors once again disrupted Cardiff city centre on Thursday evening. Despite the pleas of the local police, a two-hour sit-in blocked first one half and then all of Kingsway, besides the castle. The protest was eventually peacefully dispersed by members of the Stop the War Coalition, although some arrests for "public disturbance" (getting in the way of a police van, and refusing to move on when asked) were made.
Although most of the protestors were students, people of all ages were present. The atmosphere was loud and enthusiastic, with drumming, dancing, football, painted children, and even a dancing Tony Blair with a mock missile labelled "Toys R Us". Pale orange, the sun shone down onto white crocuses through clouds that looked like smoke.
Approximately 50 people marched from the steps of the student union, after some initial police objections. The police requested prior notification of future protests, and pointed out that we should be sure to obey relevent health and safety legislation. Eventually the subdued student gathering was allowed to proceed, to the cheers of schoolchildren at a local theatre. Shouting "one week on, the war's still wrong!", they followed a police officer along Park Place and Queen Street to meet the smaller group at the Nye Bevan statue.
The protest began as a gathering around the statue. Trails of bird shit ran down the face of the NHS founder. At first, the loudest shouts came from a Christian preacher, but he was soon drowned out by anti-war chants. More and more people joined the protest, until roughly 300-400 people were present. A US flag was tied to the statue and burned - or rather, half-heartedly melted, since it was plastic. This probably got the loudest shouts from the crowd.
After around 20 minutes, the protest surged towards Kingsway, where a sit-in blocked one half of the road. The police tried to restrain people, but were ultimately unsuccessful and withdrew. They did, however, seem to have learned from their mistakes of the previous week - the sit-in was mostly allowed to proceed without the interference and phony ambulances that had been seen last time. The senior officer present intermittently wandered the crowd pleading with people to move, and many of the police present appeared to be the same ones who participated in the clashes of last week.
Ten minutes later, as nervous civil servants picked their way through the protest and curious onlookers lined the street, the other half of the street was blocked. There was no significant police intervention, although the CCTV camera above probably hadn't seen so much exercise in years. It moved up, down and around for the length of the sit-in.
At 6:30, large groups of police broke off and left around all the routes that could be taken if the protest chose to move. Only two or three were left as a visible presence, but there could be no doubt that there were significant numbers waiting in the wings. It was at this point that the protest headed west to the next junction. Some passersby made their anger felt; one driver tried to drive into a protester, and a pedestrian tore up a poster and shouted "f*****g fascists" at the mainly left-wing crowd before being distracted by two policemen.
At the request of the police, members of Stop the War tried to persuade the crowd to move back to Kingsway, but were shouted down. A police van drove alongside (not through) the protest, and was blocked by a number of protesters who were then mobbed and arrested by police. One woman screamed as she was held down by several officers twice her size and forcibly handcuffed. As she was taken away, the senior officer present protested that he was doing his best. In response to accusations of undue force, he said that all the events were on camera and would be looked into.
As people began to calm down, another protester made an announcement to the effect that if the protest did not move, there would be more arrests and more violence. The subsequent announcement that people should move to the police station to support those who had been taken away was more well taken, and virtually everyone moved back down Kingsway and around the corner.
Two men remained in the box junction. Five or six police officers surrounded them and attempted to persuade them to move, using such arguments as "there's no demonstration left to be a part of", and "you're allowed to peacefully demonstrate, but we want you to do it on the pavement". The two protesters calmly stated their intention to stay where they were until 7pm. With two minutes to go, and without violence, they were dragged away to a police van for disturbance and causing an obstruction.
The bulk of the protest had halted or been halted at Kingsway, and the sit-in had resumed. It was announced that the police would begin moving people on again in ten minutes' time. As a small child stood opposite a police officer three times his size, the protest was dispersed by members of STWC.
Discuss this Journal entry [1]
Latest reply: Mar 28, 2003
Dentist
Posted Mar 28, 2003
Made an appointment for next Tuesday, April 2nd. They're going to tell me off, I can feel it. 
The surgery is only round the corner though.
Discuss this Journal entry [4]
Latest reply: Mar 28, 2003
-
- 1
- 2
-
Vashti
Researcher U180866
Write an Entry
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. It has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships. It contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers."