Development

A lot of folks here have been asking me if I think things have changed since I was here before. And the answer is of course yes and no. I have been surprised by some developments- I walked into the Provincial Council to see an almost completely renovated building with an entire new wing of offices. There was a time when we considered suggesting to the Council that they abandon the building. I was sure it was going to collapse and I remember sitting through many meetings on the verge of a seizure due to the horribly flickering lights that alternated with the air conditioner as they fought for what little amperage was flowing through the corroded wires that snaked along the floor. The streets of Baghdad are strangely more 'normal' now that I remember. Curbs have been replaced, parks have been rehabilitated, plants are being watered. Kids walk to school, women carry shopping bags, cabs loaded with passengers race by. Blocks where I remember piles of trash and barbed wire have clean sidewalks and trimmed bushes. And yet. Yes- suicide bombers, death squads, mortar attacks and kidnappings. Maybe I am a political officer, maybe I am a therapist. I spend most of my days speaking with Iraqis about how they are coping. Part social scientist, part spectator. It would be utterly fascinating if it weren't so tragic. How a society copes. How humans deal. A brother dead. A father taken hostage. A wedding. Thirty neighbors blown to shreds down the street. A new car. Thinking about law school. Worried about terrorists. Worried about a bad haircut. A friend of mine told me the other day that the conflict tearing his country apart is not Sunni vs. Shia, it is the past vs. the future.