Baghdad Burning/Riverbend in raided house

*Title updated* Imagine how it would be - you are at a birthday party for your 16th year old cousin - you are sitting late at night visiting with the family - -
The light goes out - and all of a sudden, the cell phone signal goes away - you try the land-line - it is dead -- you remember last time it happened - your neighborhood was raided - -

You wait in the darkness - listening desperately for the sounds you know are coming -- heavy footsteps - yelling - clanging at the gates - -

and next the soldiers are in your house -- looking for what??

It that does not give you an idea of where Iraq is today - nothing will --

more after the break --

Do read the whole post from Riverbend -- here is the link

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/...

The Raid...

We were collected at my aunts house for my cousins birthday party a few days ago. J. just turned 16 and my aunt invited us for a late lunch and some cake. It was a very small gathering- three cousins- including myself- my parents, and J.'s best friend, who also happened to be a neighbor.

The lunch was quite good- my aunt is possibly one of the best cooks in Baghdad. She makes traditional Iraqi food and for J.'s birthday she had prepared all our favorites- dolma (rice and meat wrapped in grape leaves, onions, peppers, etc.), beryani rice, stuffed chicken, and some salads. The cake was ready-made and it was in the shape of a friendly-looking fish

then - -

We clattered downstairs and found J. and the aunt bustling around in the dark. "What should we do?" T. asked, wringing her hands nervously. The only time I'd ever experienced a raid was back in 2003 at an uncle's house- and it was Americans. This was the first time I was to witness what we assumed would be an Iraqi raid.

My aunt was seething quietly, "This is the third time the bastards raid the area in 2 months... We'll never get any peace or quiet..." I stood at their bedroom door and watched as she made the bed. They lived in a mixed neighborhood- Sunnis, Shia and Christians. It was a relatively new neighborhood that began growing in the late eighties. Most of the neighbors have known each other for years. "We don't know what they're looking for... La Ilaha Ila Allah..."