HW 27: Experiencing War in "Baghdad Burning"

The book "Baghdad Burning" is written by Riverbend. The First Feminist Press at the City of University of New York in New York published it in 2005. "Baghdad Burning" takes place in Baghdad, Iraq during the invasion of the United States in 2003. The author and main character of the book, Riverbend, lives in Baghdad during the time of the invasion, and she is submerged in the chaos of the war. Riverbend is a young 20ish year old Iraqi citizen that lives with her parents and her brother. Beginning in August 2003, Riverbend begins writing on her blog online to show the rest of the world how it really is for an Iraqi to live amidst the United States invasion of her country that later becomes an occupation. By reading this book, you will learn of a first hand account of with it is like to be an innocent person in a war. Riverbend explains how difficult everyday living is from not knowing when the electricity will come on to hearing bombs that are destroying her city and killing innocent men, women and children. The benefits of reading this book are that stereotypes of Iraqi's will diminish and we will learn that we are no different than the average Iraqi person. We feel pain, happiness and loss in the same way regardless of what part of the world we live in. There are disturbing and unsettling images and situations that Riverbend describes with detail in her blog posts. This creates the challenge of having to read something that is hard or painful to hear but at the same time it is necessary to be able to grasp the concepts that Riverbend is trying to explain to us. Although Riverbend may say things that we do not like or that we disagree with, it is important to keep an open mind while reading so you are able to get the full experience of "Baghdad Burning."