The shoes that saved Arab honor

By Salaam Abdul Khaliq, Columnist http://www.infocusnews.net

On April 9, 2003, when Saddam Hussein’s statue was toppled, many Iraqi citizens started beating its head with the soles of their shoes. Most westerners did not pay attention to the significance of this act, but Arabs knew exactly what it meant. Hitting someone’s highest end – the head – with one’s lowest end – the sole of the shoe – is a sign of utter loathing and disrespect. Among the celebrating Iraqis was an aspiring journalist who shared the joy of seeing his country finally free of its dictator. George W. Bush’s vision of a new Iraq represented hope and a better tomorrow. That man eventually graduated from journalism school a few years later and began working for an Iraqi-owned independent channel called Al-Baghdadia. Muntathar Al-Zaidi turned 27 and the words of his journalism teacher were still fresh in his mind, “A reporter must be fair and balanced and must not let his personal feelings get in the way of doing his job.” Al-Zaidi hit the streets of Baghdad and decided to do just that – report objectively with as much detachment as possible. Then the dream of a peaceful and happy Iraq turned into a nightmare of daily bombings, daily kidnappings, daily decapitations and random atrocities – mostly against Iraq’s civilian population. And then the scandal of Abu Ghraib broke out, and the true face of the occupation reared its ugly head. In spite of that, Al-Zaidi kept his cool and for two more years stuck to the principles he was taught. Al-Zaidi knew a man named Ali, a wealthy merchant with three sons and five daughters. Like all Iraqis, Ali was a proud man. After the Americans invaded his country, however, things took a turn for the worse and his business faltered. One day, as Ali drove towards a military checkpoint, two trigger-happy 19-year old American soldiers shot and killed him, his wife and their 3-year old daughter. It was a mistake, they claimed later. Within weeks, Ali’s three sons, all educated young men with bright futures, joined the insurgents and were all killed in Fallujah. Left with no breadwinner, one of the girls was recruited as a suicide bomber and the other three turned to prostitution to make ends meet. Al-Zaidi saw one of them once in the company of American soldiers; maybe the very men who killed her parents and sister. But again, Al-Zaidi’s sense of objectivity prevented him from expressing anything but pent up anger. This was not his fight. During one of his many assignments, Al-Zaidi visited a Baghdad hospital after a huge bombing took the lives of more than 120 innocent Iraqi citizens. He went there to report on the injured. He saw disfigured and mutilated bodies, screaming children with shrapnel wounds in sensitive areas, doctors and nurses running around completely helpless to tend to each and every victim. And then came more ambulances with a dozen screaming children, most with third-degree burns from a phosphorous bomb that hit their school. This too was a mistake, the U.S. military claimed later. . Among them, Al-Zaidi recognized a young girl named Yasmine from his neighborhood. He knew her as a bright and beautiful 7-year old with long straight hair, big brown eyes, and fair skin – as fair and smooth as he had ever seen. Now, that skin was nothing more that a disfigured, charred smoking piece of flesh. The pain was so unbearable for her little body, Yasmine was screaming to God to take her life. Al-Zaidi turned away from the spectacle and started crying uncontrollably. Even in that moment, the words of his journalism teacher still echoed in his ears. “You must not let your feelings get in the way of doing your job responsibly.” On Dec. 14, Al-Zaidi was pre-screened and chosen to attend President Bush’s last Baghdad press conference. After sitting and listening patiently to Bush describe the occupation as a boon to Iraqis and a victory for democracy, Al-Zaidi finally snapped. Throwing his journalism principles to the wind, he took his shoes off, threw them at President Bush and yelled in Arabic, “This is a goodbye kiss, you dog! This is for all the orphans and innocent people you killed!” Al-Zaidi must have had Ali and his family,Yasmine, and hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis in mind. He could no longer listen to the lies of the man directly responsible for the destruction of his country and the death of over 1 million of his brothers and sisters. He could no longer abide by the tenets of a profession that taught him to put up with lies, witness atrocities and then suppress his humanity. And thus, in a moment of calculated madness, Al-Zaidi set new journalistic standards and introduced a new concept to his profession: “Journalism of dissent against overwhelming lies and deceit.” A million articles and editorials could not have been more eloquent than Al-Zaidi’s shoes. No reporter could have said it better, especially not those from the American press corps who gave Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and their neocon warmongers carte blanche to invade and destroy a country without ever calling anyone on the mountain of lies concocted to build the case for war. From time immemorial, Arabs have always been a proud people who valued honor more than they feared death. But in recent times, the ways of the world have crushed their spirits and treaded on their dignity. With a pair shoes, Muntathar – whose name literally means the Awaited One – seems to have made some amends. From this time on, history shall remember that while Arab rulers – whose names it will surely forget – bowed their servile heads and fawned on George W. Bush like Spaniels, Muntathar Al-Zaidi, a proud Arab journalist, unleashed the wrath of his size 10 shoes and salvaged what was left of Arab honor and dignity.