The handover of power (that should be in quotes) is coming at the end of June and the violence seems to be increasing. The cities where most of the recent fighting has occurred (Najaf, Kufa and Fallujah) seem to be calming a bit, but Baghdad has been the scene of multiple kidnappings and roadside bombs this week. In the north, Mosul is a hotbed of assassinations and mortar attacks and there have also been attacks in Kirkuk and Erbil over the past week.
“In the northern city of Mosul, an interpreter working for coalition forces was killed Wednesday when gunmen fired at her with machine guns as she was walking in the central part of the city near the university.”
“In another development, Salah al-Zidani, brother of the informant who led U.S. forces to Saddam's sons, was killed Saturday by gunmen in Mosul, witnesses and hospital officials said. U.S. officials have not publicly confirmed who turned in Uday and Qusay Hussein, but many people in Mosul have identified him as Nawaf al-Zidani, who collected the $30 million reward — $15 million for each son. Nawaf al-Zidani has not been seen since Saddam's sons were killed in July.”
There simply is no better website for Iraq updates than http://www.usatoday.com. These guys beat everyone in reporting the country-wide happenings. While I do monitor CNN, BBC and the Globe & Mail websites regularly, I often find out about events on the USA Today site even before I hear about them locally. And they are accurate. Deadly accurate!
Is it just me, or are there an awful lot of daily reports of 30 Iraqis dead and one US soldier killed after a battle in … insert town here … Now I do understand, somewhat, the Palestinian point of view. After all, there is basically no hope for that country with Israel annexing it house by house. But Iraq has a rich future. Their oil alone guarantees it. So what kind of dorks face that sort of odds when all they have to do is wait a few months and the US will be gone. Enough editorial. I am a techie and techies see things in 1’s and 0’s. It is either mass fanaticism or some cultural thing that is beyond my comprehension. One thing is for sure. There is no way anyone can insert any level intelligence into any of it.
I had occasion to move the night table in the Palace Hotel the other day. What was behind it made me move it back rather quickly and vow not to move anything else. The most disgusting thing back there (that I could identify, anyway) was an old one of those brushlike things that one uses to sand corns and callouses off one’s feet. There were a few small empty bottles a la minibar, and other wreckage from guests long gone. I’m not moving any more furniture and I am certainly NOT providing any pictures.
I have settled into a bit of a routine here now, in spite of a week or so of very bad sleep. Jet lag or work-related stress is to blame. Heather has become used to random calls during her day (my night) just to chat and her patience with me is laudable. I didn’t actually spend a lot of time at home, since we traveled for most of my leave. Perhaps that is why, nearly three weeks into this contract, I feel like it has been months since I was home.
The departure of several of the old-timer expats in the past few days has left a void. I am not much of a social butterfly but it was reassuring to have a dozen people who have been here as long as I. Now that number is dwindling and new faces are taking their places. The project is badly behind schedule in most areas, due to various stoppages in work and lots of politics. Our new CEO has his hands full. I am supporting him as best I can but the situation is not good. More and more of the project duties are falling into my department as staff competence and internal policies start to lag. My departmental resources are limited while we wait for 4 new project managers and a project admin to join our team.
When I returned from Canada, I brought with me several of
those souvenir bottles of genuine Canadian maple syrup. They have been a big hit
with the people who have received them. They are a bit pricey (Heather bought
them for me in the airport after fruitless syrupless? searches
all over town), but they are worth their weight in gold. The label on the only
pancake syrup they have at Zagros proudly claims in English to contain "1%
REAL Maple Syrup". I won't guess at what the other 99% is but if past
experience is any indication it could be anything from water to used motor oil.
Zagros Department store is next to the Palace Hotel. It is as close to being the Wal-mart of Sulaymaniya as any place I have found yet. They always ask “dollars or dinars?” after every purchase. One’s change is a mixture of the two, which can be a bit confusing. I bought two big knives there quite recently. One is a bread knife for slicing up buns for my jam and peanut butter sandwiches. The other is a wicked looking T-fal blade that fits into a self-sharpening sheath. That one I have to take home when I go. I am not sure why I bought it, but it called to me… “Steve”… “Steve”…
I am arranging an “It’s Just Another (Spring) Working Day” celebration for tomorrow (Monday). It’s the middle of the work week. I’ve arranged to have over 500 flowers in 40 urns or vases made up and delivered and they should arrive today. Tomorrow I am ordering drinks and pizza for everyone in the building. The Kurds seem to find it tough to understand why there should be a celebration for just another day, but in typical Kurdish fashion they embrace the idea once they hear the concept. I love them. Still there have been a lot of confused looks and shaking of heads. It should be fun and for well under a grand, it’s a lot of bang for the buck. At home 85 pizzas, the flowers, the drinks, and small gifts (laser pointers for all!) would set a company back a lot more than that. I hope it goes well and a good time is had by all.
I’m not counting days left yet, but suffice to say it is less than 7 weeks until contract end. It should be an interesting remainder of the tour. Heather and I are already planning our next trip to BC and south to California in the dreaded Winnebago. After all, it is a new season and I have three new CAA towing calls to use up!
Take care everyone,
Steve