Bassem Mroue

For years to come, the people of Lebanon will remember 2005 as the year of major and unexpected events. Hardly anyone thought that during this year the Syrian army will leave Lebanon or that former Prime Minister Michel Aoun will return from exile or that Lebanese Forces commander Samir Geagea will be freed from jail. It was the same year that witnessed dark and bloody events such as the assassination of Former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri as well as other politicians and journalists. 2005 was a bloody year for me from the first day. I was in Iraq where I had to cover explosions, suicide attacks and shootings that left dozens, if not hundreds, of people dead in January. Few days after the January 30 elections in Iraq I returned to Lebanon hoping to have some rest after nearly two months of hectic work in Iraq. I thought Lebanon would be violence-free after Iraq but it was not. On February 14, a day before when I was supposed to go on a two-week vacation to Egypt, I heard a massive expl...

It was 8:30 a.m. Friday December 23, 2005 when my cellular telephone rang. I picked it up and my friend Naji asked "are you still sleeping?" I asked him what's up and his answer was that the Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. has breaking news about an explosion in downtown Beirut. I told him that I haven't heard anything about such an explosion and did not hear an explosion. Few minutes later I jumped out of bed and headed toward the television and tuned to LBC. "An oxygen cylinder explodes in downtown Beirut," a breaking news tag read. I told myself thank God it is an oxygen cylinder since the last thing Beirut needs these days is an explosion. An increase in explosions in Lebanon in the past months have left most people living in fear. Every now and then rumors spread around the capital about a bomb threat or an expected attack on a major mall. Guards at the entrances of shopping malls and office buildings search people now going in. Guards at public parkings u...

I woke up at 5:30 a.m. this morning and got myself ready for the big day. It is Thursday December 15 and Iraqis are supposed to elect a new parliament. This is the second time Iraqis elect a new legislature after the January 30, 2005 vote for the interim National Assembly. Today they will chose a four-year parliament, which will be called from now on the Council of Representatives. At 6:30 a.m. I left the office with my colleague K and headed toward the City Hall. There were no cars in the streets except for security forces because the Interior Ministry had banned movement of cars for three days staring December 14. The airports and borders were also closed for three days. We drove slowly with the flash lights on until we reached the Khilani Mosque near Sinak Bridge in central Baghdad. One of the many policeman in the area waved for us to stop from a distance and got closer to us carrying a pistol in his right hand. He looks at our press passes then searches the car. The man then said ...

It was Sunday December 14, 2003. I woke up in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and was very sick. It must have been the kibbe, which Mosul is famous for, I ate the night before. I must have been suffering from food poison. At about 12 p.m. my colleague Shaz came to replace me as I was heading back to Baghdad for a day or two before going back home in Lebanon. Shortly after Shaz arrived I left with my colleague A toward Baghdad. The trip took us about four hours and we passed through cities and towns such as Beiji, Tikrit, Samarra until we reached Baghdad. On the way we heard a rumor that Saddam Hussein was captured. The first thing we did when arrived on the outskirts of Baghdad was ask anyone about the news. A, an Iraqi who is known as al-Lubnani or the Lebanese because he says it was his dream to be born Lebanese, asked a traffic policeman whether he heard that Saddam Hussein was captured. The policeman replied "that is what I heard." In Baghdad we turned on the radio, sinc...

Iraqis are getting ready to vote and Thursday's December 15, 2005 ballot battle is expected to be brutal. Politicians are openly criticizing each other and posters are being torn on the streets. Going on a tour in the streets of the Iraqi capital, you feel the fierce competition between candidates. Blast walls that fill the roads of Baghdad are now decorated with elections posters of politicians promising Iraqis security, stability, prosperity and bright future. What makes this week's elections interesting is the expected strong participation of Sunni Arabs after boycotting the January 30 2005 elections. Turnout among Sunni Arabs was very low then after many of them responded to calls by their leaders that they should not vote as long as the country is under occupation. When I used to ask Sunni Arabs in January whether they will participate the answer from most of them was a big NO. Today it is the opposite. I went for a drive in Baghdad and was surprised by the amount of poste...

السلام الوطني المقترح شعر : اسعد الغريري الحان : كاظم الساهر توزيع : عمر خيرت سلام عليك على رافديك عراق القيم فانت مزار وحسن ودار لكل النعم هنا المجد أم وصلى وصام ، وحج وطاف بلاد السلام فبغداد تكتب مجد العراق وما جف فيها بلاد القلم سلام لأرض تفيض عطاء واثرى ثراها دم الشهداء فهذا حسين وذي كربلاء ، الى العز صار لسانا وفم عراق العلوم ونهر الادب ستبقى تراثا لكل العرب وتبقى الى المجد ام واب واكليل حب لخير الامم باور وبابل عهد انتماء ، لأهل الحضارات والانبياء تشرف بحمل اسم رب السماء لتبقى اعز واغلى علم