neurotic Iraqi wife

I forgot to mention in yesterday's post about a new Thai regulation that has been installed. As I collected the tickets I asked the lady if we needed visas. She had asked me earlier where I was from, and I had told her Iraq. So when the visa issue was raised, she looked at me as if I had just told her someone died. She said Oh God, Im not sure if you guys can go to Thailand after all. I thought to myself, no, please God no, dont let this happen. I asked why with my voice barely heard. She said cuz you are Iraqis. I said yes we are but we hold different passports. Im a British citizen, and my HUBBY is an American one. Then relief washed over her, and she said Thank God for that, then there's nothing to worry about.

Although I too was relieved but I was curious to know if we were holding Iraqi passports why cant we go. She said that apparantely 4 months ago a law was passed in Thailand from banning Iraqis entering their territory. I was shocked. But why? I asked her. She replied cuz they are afraid from terrorists. OMG, OMG, We terrorists??? I couldnt believe my ears. After 35 years of being under the most sinister regime, during which many countries refused visiting visas for normal Iraqis, till now, we are seen as unwanted. We are seen as terrorists. Its a shame really.

I just remembered an incident that happened with me late August. On my way from London to here on the plane, this Kuwaiti man was seated next to me. Im the type of person that hates chatting on planes, I usually take a novel with me and listen to the inflight music. So there I was after placing the blanket on my knees, and have just started reading my novel, the man starts talking to me. I said to myself, Oh noooo, God, I aint in the mood. He kept talking about planes, and that the fuel they use is kerosene, and he went on talking about how airline companies rent the tyres and that its different from cars, they are not purchased etc etc etc...I just sat there like an idiot nodding my head thank god I didnt get a muscle spasm... As if I really give a damn about tyres. I started praying to God to make this Guy get diarreah after eating his curry and would end up most of the time in the bathroom. But I knew I aint that lucky....

I placed the headphones in my ears hoping that he will get the message, did he???No freakin way. He went on and on and on. I just sat there staring at my novel cursing the guy at the counter who seated this weirdo next to me. As I pretended to read, he said" Why are younger people so interetsed in reading western books and dont read for example arabic newspapers to educate themselves?" And he handed me the bloody newspaper, the nerve of him. So this time I couldnt shut up, I said we Iraqis never stop reading news or politics its part of our everyday life. The minute I mentioned the words WE IRAQIS, his face turned into a mushrom and he said"You are Iraqi??? I thought you were Lebanese???"(lebanese???the idiot couldnt tell the difference between Lebanese dialect and the Iraqi one???) Umm, no Sir Im a 100% Iraqi. "Oh but you dont look Iraqi, you look Lebanese". Hmm now I dont know how Iraqis should "LOOK" like, but I always get such remarks.....

He immdeiately turned his head towards the window and tha,t my friends was the last I heard from him for the rest of the journey, phew. LOL. I relayed the story to HUBBY after I arrived, and told him that I found a cure for stopping people from chatting me up, Just say the magic word IRAQI.....Its sad I know, but I guess he was from Kuwait, and in MY OWN OPINION(please dont take it personally), Kuwaities never liked us and never will. They say they do, but truth should be told, they blame us for what Saddam did, they always will. And the biggest proof, is them asking for the Gulf war debt, of which SADDAM the assole is responsible, not the ordinary Iraqis.

As for them opening the borders to give lee way to the coalition forces, they didnt do it for us, they did it for their own good. There's another incident that took place early in the year, sometime in March. I had to accompany my sister to Egypt, she carries an Iraqi passport. As we arrived at the airport, it was filled with people, waiting in long queues. My sister took both our passports to a side office, an hour and a half later we were able to leave the darn airport. When I asked her why it took so long, she said why else???Cuz we are Iraqis darling. I said but I have a British passport. She said apparantely, the guy did stamp our passports in 5 minutes, but another officer came and told him to wait and not give the passports yet cuz "they are originally Iraqis"

That is why, I dont believe in a single Arab or Non arab government that says we love the Iraqi people and we will do our best to support them. If these words carried an ounce of truth, they would atleast simplify things for Iraqis, and not complicate them. I mean in Saddam times people suffered from getting interrogated by airport officials, and now things just became better and Iraqis are being branded as terrorists, Wowww arent we just the most loved nation in this wide world....

How many more countries will ban Iraqis from entering, Umm, I have no idea, but I have gotten hold of an ABACUS and have started my new mission.....So dear ABACUS, Let the Countin' Begin....