Aliveinbaghdad Videos

The results of Iraq's 2009 provincial elections are in, and while the statistics are clear, the consequences are more difficult to discern. What can be noted for sure is that political parties who campaigned on a stronger central government and a unified Iraq, such as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Daa'wa party, prospered at the ballot box whereas parties who focused on religious and sectarian identities, such as the Iranian linked Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, known as ISCI, showed much deeper losses. Another party in particular who seemed to suffer at the polls was Muqtada al-Sadr's Movement. In the run up to the elections, rumors circulated of secret deals between the Sadrists and Maliki's Daa'wa party, and some even speculated that Sadr's Mehdi Army would once again resume armed resistance. While no violence has yet occurred nor deals confirmed, the Sadrists have announced a plan to appeal the election results with Iraq's Electoral Commission, citing voting irregularities in several districts. Some of the provinces especially highlighted by the Sadrists are Baghdad, Najaf, Kadhumiya and Qadisiyah, all heavily Shia provinces and all provinces that showed strong results for secular, nationalist parties like the Daa'wa. It is in this light that we bring you an unaired interview from our archives. In December 2007, Alive in Baghdad had a chance to sit down with Sayed Hazim Al-A'araji, the top Sadrist representative in the Kadhumiya district of Baghdad. While some of his words may seem like an anachronism with all that has happened in the last year, much of it is worth a new look and a new consideration.

Even through the darkest days of the invasion and civil war, Iraq's candy and pastry makers have endured it all. Some see the profession as just another trade to provide for their family, but many also see it as a creative outlet. Their traditional Zonood Al-Sit and Baqlava draw Iraqis from miles around just for a taste. Iraqi pastry chefs not only put a lot of care into their creations, but some spend years developing specific specialties. The more unique their dish, the more their fame, and fortune, will grow. Sadr City in Baghdad is known especially for its unique creations, with Iraqis journeying from all corners of the country to sample its Zolabya Sha'rya, Kanafa, and Balorya. These dishes don't always come easy though. With Iraq's unpredictable security situation, often times the price of ingredients will rise sharply and suddenly. This not only causes the price of sweets and pastries to fluctuate wildly, but will sometimes even cause whole items to be removed from the menu. Obviously this can be a devastating blow to a sweet maker who specializes in that item. Fortunately for these sweet makers, security has been much less of an issue lately. With the threat of violence relatively diminished, more Iraqis are able to freely walk the streets at night and thus the bakeries are able to stay open longer, often late into the night. In this week's episode of Alive in Baghdad, we take you inside some of these pastry shops to talk to the chefs themselves about what it takes to be a candy maker on the streets of Iraq today. We only regret that it is only video and you can't taste the dishes yourselves. If you enjoy this episode, please feel free to support Alive in Baghdad, and don't forget to check out the latest from Small World News - Alive in Gaza.

Iraq, Baghdad/Abu Dsheer - This memorial day, as citizens of the United States, and perhaps elsewhere, are remembering the fallen soldiers of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as previous conflicts, Alive in Baghdad asks you to remember the civilian fallen as well. It's been estimated that 1.3 million women have been widowed in Iraq due to war, ranging from the Iran-Iraq war to the most recent conflict which is still going on today. Although its difficult to be certain if this number is accurate, or to know just how many have been widowed in the most recent conflict, Iraq's acting Minister of Womens' Affairs, Narmeen Othman, suggests that at least 70,000 women have been widowed due to the most recent war. However, these numbers are disputed widely, and while a government committee on women's affairs has claimed there are just 1.3 million widows in Iraq, others have reported drastically different numbers. One source in the Ministry of Women's Affairs told an NBC staffer in 2007 that there were 3 million widows in Iraq due to the various wars of the last two decades. Despite this already shocking number, the United Nations news service, IRIN, reported in 2006 that there are 8 million widows nation-wide, with upwards of 330,000 in Baghdad alone. To put that in perspective, if true, it would mean that as much as 6-7 percent of Baghdad's population may be made up of widows, suggesting that the number of children with only one parent left is likely to be double, or triple this, if not more. The primary cause for women to be widowed today is sectarian violence and terrorism. Areas such as Abu Dsheer, Hawr Rajab, and other tumultuous districts that have seen some of the worst internecine fighting understandably have some of the most prevalent populations of widows and orphans. Abu Dsheer has been considered one of the bloodiest conflict areas in Baghdad, due to the influence militias have held there. Abu Dsheer is located in the south of Baghdad near Al-Saha neighborhood. Since 2004, Abu Dsheer was controlled by Al-Qa'eda on one side and the Sadr Movement on the other side, Many people was assassinated due to their sect whether they were Sunni or Shi'a. The Iraqi government tried many times along with Coalition forces to restore security in Abu Dsheer with no success. In 2006 there were many bombings taking place in Abu Dsheer, in addition to the battles between the Iraqi or Coalition forces and the militias. The civilian casualties were very high in Abu Dsheer, and the families living there faced grave financial difficulties due to the bad security conditions which prevent them from going to work or looking for jobs within Abu Dsheer. There are NGOs trying to help the people living there, by providing them with medical and financial aid according to their abilities. NGOs such as Al-Tathamon Social Organization (Social Solidarity Organization) are trying to fix some of the problems in areas like Abu Dsheer. The Organization was created on the 10th of July 2007 in order to help families or individuals whom having medical or financial problems. They also help the families whom lost there provider, like the father of that family or the mother. The Social Solidarity Organization has offices located in several areas such as Kadhimiya, Sadr City, Al-Husseiniya and Al-Nahrawan, as well as Abu Dsheer. Due to the difficulty these organization have finding funding, many such as the Social Solidarity Organization and Al-Yateem Charity, which help the women interviewed by Alive in Baghdad, receive support from the Sadr Movement. Although they claim to have sought financial support from the Iraqi government, both the organization, and the widows interviewed by Alive in Baghdad say they have not received any support from the government. *** If you appreciate the insightful content provided by Alive in Baghdad, which you won t find anywhere else, please consider making a recurring donation, or one-time donation to Alive in Baghdad. You can also purchase Alive in Baghdad T-shirts or DVDs to spread the word!

Baghdad/Sadr City, Iraq - Broken sewers continue to be an issue all over Iraq and Baghdad, and in many neighborhoods are in similar disrepair to those in Shama iya. However, in some parts of Sadr City and elsewhere, citizens are getting support from local municipal councils to repair and replace the sewer system with something more modern.The project in Sadr City to improve the quality of their sewer system involves completely removing the old system, and performing a complete renovation. There were not only problems with the system do to damage from the ongoing conflict in Iraq, but previously there were long-standing capacity issues, and the sewer system is not able to handle all of the homes depending on it.The ongoing sanitation problems are exacerbating risks of cholera, among other diseases. Although at least one outbreak appears to have been successfully contained, with sanitation becoming more of a luxury as the conflict has dragged on. The Iraqi government has declared 2008 to be the year of services, unfortunately, Iraqi citizens seem to have their doubts about the extent to which the government can adequately improve services. ThinkProgress has a poll which paints a dark picture of Iraqi opinions about services of all kinds.At least in sectors 73 and 74, in Sadr City, the sewer system appears to be on its way toward complete renovation. If the Iraqis who spoke with Alive in Baghdad are typical, there is a strong interest and willingness to take the steps necessary to rebuild and improve Iraq s flagging infrastructure.***If you appreciate the insightful content provided by Alive in Baghdad, which you won t find anywhere else, please consider becoming a paying subscriber, or making a donation to Alive in Baghdad. You can also purchase Alive in Baghdad T-shirts to spread the word!

Baghdad, Iraq - Sadr City - In October 2007 the US Military claims it raided 3 locations in pursuit of a Shi'a masterminding a kidnapping gang. Iraqi civilians in the area claimed differently. The Coalition forces claim 49 criminals were killed and no civilians were injured in the raid. Iraqi Police and hospital officials reported only 15 deaths including three children. Another report from the Iraqi Ministry of Interior claimed there were 13 killed and 69 injured. In other reports, the shadowy "Task Force 88" or "Task Force Black" was cited as being involved in this raid. The report from Long War Journal suggested that they were involved due to the United States' claim that the raid targeted the so-called "Special Groups," off-shoots of the Mahdi Army who have defied Muqtada Sadr's ceasefire order and are being supplied by Iran. In Esquire, Thomas P.M. Barnett writes that Task Force 88 was sent into Somalia seeking Al-Qa'eda operatives, with orders to "Kill anyone still alive and leave no unidentified bodies behind." Iraqi civilians in Sadr City expressed anger, frustration, and confusion regarding the raid. Ali Al-Dabbagh, spokesman for the Iraqi Government, says that Prime Minister Maliki called General Petraeus to lodge a complaint, and attacked the United States for killing civilians and using excessive force. None of the civilians who spoke with Alive in Baghdad could explain the reason for the attacks, they claimed there were no fighters for the Mahdi Army in their area, and implored the international media to come and examine the neighborhood themselves. Alive in Baghdad correspondent Nabeel Kamal witnessed no evidence of militia activity in the area while producing this story. The US and Iraqi governments have agreed to investigate the incident further, but as this goes to publish, Alive in Baghdad could not determine any new details or information uncovered by the investigation. *** Alive in Baghdad is running low on funds. Although we are receiving increasing support from monthly subscribers, we need many more of you to help! We depend on you the viewer for our support. Please, if you value this type of in-depth visual coverage that you can find nowhere else, become a paying subscriber today. Make a donation, or purchase a DVD!

[Editor's note: This is one of the first entries written almost entirely by Bureau Chief Omar Abdullah, please let us know what you think about the slightly different format!] Baghdad, Iraq - It was heard from many people in Iraq that they were tortured by the ex-Iraqi intelligence, or Mukhabarat, and what is really interesting is that some of the survivors are talking about their torture in those days. What the Iraqi Intelligence used to do is to take people under that name of interrogation so they would keep them in prison cells in unknown areas, and some of the those cells are still being found until today. They are distributed all over Iraq, along with the mass graves that are still being found until this day. Many people are still wondering what happened to the nameless corpses that were found in those mass graves. Some people were kept for over 20 years in prison cells underground. One of the most famous prisons was found after the Occupation. It was built beneath Tahrir Square(the site where Saddam's statue was pulled down on April 9th). The prisoners in there were kept for more then a decade and a half, when the Iraqi people freed these prisoners they thought at first that the Iraq-Iran war was finally over and the Iranians won the war and occupied Iraq! So many torture stories and so many illegal detention stories will be heard from Iraqis being captured by the ex-Iraqi government. This week we spoke with two of them, one of whom the father of correspondent Nabeel Kamal. The main Intelligence Department during the Saddam Hussein regime was near Al-Nasour Square, they used to keep many of the prisoner in that facility, and this number was very large. There were more than fifteen thousand prisoners, some of them were released before the Occupation and some of them were released afterward. Most of the detainees under the ex-Iraqi government were detained due to their different opinions or opposition to the government. For example, if someone said I hate Saddam in a public place, that person will get detained, tortured, or executed. There were also some other reasons like being in a different political party than the Ba'ath party, disagreeing with one of the people close to Saddam, or opposing the draft for military service, and many other reasons. In Baghdad there were lot of Iraqi detainees and most of them were Shi'as, due to the refusal of the ex-Iraqi government to allow them to practice their religious acts. This is the reason that many Shi'as in Baghdad support demonstrations in Baghdad and the Imams of many mosques were detained due to there speeches about Saddam preventing their religious practices. Despite all of these things, there are still many Iraqis who question the execution of Saddam Hussein. These Iraqis cite the problems of the trial, the sudden nature of the execution, and even the concurrence of the execution with the holiday of Eid Al-Adha. Isam Rasheed interviewed two men who spoke about their feelings and impressions regarding Saddam Hussein's execution, and this week we look back at his eventual end, and some of the acts that brought him to such an end. *** Alive in Baghdad correspondents such as Isam Rasheed and Nabeel Kamal will continue to bring stories of daily life in Baghdad, as well as the difficulties of Iraqis living in surrounding countries. Please consider becoming a paying subscriber or making a donation above to Alive in Baghdad, and support our Iraqi staff who continue to work under these difficult circumstances.

Damascus, Syria - Today Iraq s many survivors of car bombings and terrorist attacks have a great number of role models to look to. The Iraqi Paralympics Committee and Weightlifting Federation have come together to ensure that disabled Iraqi weightlifters/powerlifters have as great a chance to compete in the Paralympics as other sports, such as the swimming events.Hayder Fahad met up with members of the Paralympic branch of the Weightlifting Federation before they journeyed to Greece for the European Open Championship. Because of the violence in Baghdad, it has become more and more difficult for athletes of all types to train regularly in Baghdad. Those with disabilities find it even more difficult to navigate the dangerous and unpredictable streets.Because of these risks, the teams have been seeking training locations outside of Iraq. Under President Basher Assad, the Syrian Government has offered visas and facilities to many of Iraq s athletes, including the powerlifting division of Iraq s Paralympics hopefuls. Iraqi weightlifters and powerlifters have been making news not onlyafter the invasion of Iraq but since at least 1960.In the European Open, powerlifters from Iraq went home with three medals and seven qualifications for the Beijin Paralympics in 2008. Thekra Zakri, one of the fourth place finalists who will go on to the Paralympics was interviewed here by Hayder Fahad. She told them their one goal on the team was to win a great achievement for our country. With the vast number of injured and disabled Iraqis across the entire country due to the war, the sport of weightlifting, and particularly wheelchair weightlifting and powerlifting will not be going away soon. Gyms such as Sabah Talib s will be a great asset to Iraqis hoping to train and excel in their own country as well as abroad.Although it is with great excitement that members of Iraq s team will be going on to the Paralympics, they will unfortunately be without one of their beloved coaches. Hassan Ridha Ali, himself wheelchair-bound, recently died from a brain thrombosis.***Alive in Baghdad correspondents such as Hayder Fahad will continue to bring stories of daily life in Baghdad, as well as the difficulties of Iraqis living in surrounding countries. Please consider becoming a paying subscriber or making a donation above to Alive in Baghdad, and support our Iraqi staff who continue to work under these difficult circumstances.

Baghdad, Iraq - The Al-A'mel neighborhood has been wracked with as much violence and unrest as Baghdad's roughest neighborhoods. The Sadr office in Al-A'mel has been an important source of stability and security for many residents of Al-A'mel. As we've reported previously, the Sadr Movement, which is connected to Muqtada Sadr's Mahdi Army, has made a name for itself by providing aid and support to Iraqis living all over the country. The arrest of Sheikh Jassem lead to large demonstrations in the Al-A'mel neighborhood. These demonstrations targetted their anger not only at the US forces in Iraq, but also Prime Minister Maliki and the Iraqi government. Because the Iraqi prime minister has claimed to have control over where, when, and how the US forces exert pressure on Iraqi dissidents, insurgents, and militias, the residents of Al-A'mel directed their frustration at his apparent apathy regarding Sheikh Jassem's arrest. Witnesses gave different accounts of the arrest. Although all claimed that the Sheikh was injured by being pushed from the roof of the mosque after being detained, some claimed this was done by a soldier from the United States, while others claimed it was a member of the Iraqi National Guard. At the time he was arrested, the US claimed that he was wanted in relation to a spate of kidnapping, murder, and torture in the area. Residents told Alive in Baghdad that they were surprised by the charges, as he is well-liked in the community and has been involved with assisting Sunni as well as Shi'a families around Al-A'mel. Sheikh Jassem Al-Hasnawi has also received letters of thanks from prominent Sunnis, such as Dr. Al-Kubaisi, for his assistance in the construction of school buildings in the primarily Sunni Karkh region of Baghdad. Until now Sheikh Jassem Al-Hasnawi has been held by the US forces, leading many Iraqis to question the truth of Prime Minister Maliki's claims of Iraqi sovereignty. At the time of writing, it was unclear when Sheikh Jassem might be released, whether there was any truth to the claims of his injury, or whether he has been officially charged with any wrongdoing. ... If you appreciate our work, please consider making a donation, or becoming a paying subscriber, to support the work of Iraqi journalists. Although we are dedicated to continuing to offer this work for free, it is primarily with the support of our viewers that we can continue our work. Please feel free to contact us if you have any comments, suggestions for stories, or other feedback!

BAGHDAD - November 23rd, 2006 was the second deadliest coordinated attack against civilians to date. The media covered the death toll and impact on property with graphic imagery. Unfortunately as with every previous attack, the impact on civilian survivors has not only been ineffectively covered, it appears to have been covered not at all. A Google search for carbomb survivors nets only one story on the survivors of a car bombing that is easy to find. That is Alive in Baghdad s story Car Bomb Survivors, No Longer Statistics, on November 26th, 2006, just 4 days after the carbombing discussed this week.Approximately 250 civilians are believed to have been wounded, but still alive, on November 25th, 2006. According to Reuters, via ABC News Online, Doctors say many of the wounded have serious injuries and are unlikely to survive. Three of these wounded include Shams, her mother, and her older brother Ghaith. Shams was just a year old when her family was driving through the Al-Hay Market on November 23rd. Her mother moved to protect her from the blast, her brother Ghaith was wounded with shrapnel to his back. Although Shams was saved, her mother wasn t so lucky. She died from burns all over her body soon after reaching the hospital. Shams lived, but has been disfigured and has lost her sight. Her family has traveled to Iran, Jordan, and Syria seeking answers to her condition. Shams is luckier than most, as her family could afford this. However, she was not lucky enough to find an answer. Shams story, although perhaps particularly poignant, is one of many untold stories of daily life in Baghdad. Human Rights Watch produced a list of major terrorist attacks on civilians from 2003 to September 2005, this documents a short list of the attacks, but doesn t tell what happened to the survivors. They describe the various victims of these attacks as well in their full report. Like most attacks, the information reported on the November 23rd triple bombing was disconnected and even contradictory. The death toll reporter ranged from 138 people killed, to 161 reported by MSNBC, to the confusing report of the Independent, which listed 140 dead in the title, but claimed 145 killed in the first sentence. The final accepted toll, was reported by the BBC as a much higher 202, but still 13 shy of the 215 eventually claimed as the correct number.*** Small World News show Alive in Baghdad is the only place to find personal coverage of Iraqi life, produced at the street level. CNN, Fox News, and ABC are all paid for through subjecting their viewers to advertisements. We have been looking for sponsorship, but because we will not allow sponsorships to impact our coverage, unlike the mainstream press, we have as yet been unable to secure an ongoing sponsor. We are asking our viewers to make one-time or ongoing subscription payments to support us. Without your donation, we may have to close our doors.

This week we look back at a tragedy that claimed more than 1000 lives. In 2005, Sunnis from the Adhamiya district saved dozens of Shia pilgrims from drowning in the Tigris. As the Iraq conflict is further cast in terms of civil war, it is important to remember the instances of unity among Iraqis. Although recently a bombing killed more than 500 people in an area dominated by Yezidis, a little known religious group in northern Iraq, the Al-Aimma bridge tragedy has been the worst single event in the war. Last year we brought you a story from Sami Rasouli, who told about Othman Ali Al-Obeidi, who is famous in Iraq because he had a Sunni name, but his father's name, Ali, is traditionally a Shi'a name. Othman was on the Iraqi swimteam and died saving Shi'a pilgrims from drowning in the Tigris. The second anniversary of the tragedy has just passed, so we are again remembering Othman and the other brave Iraqis who stood against sectarianism. Other media agencies are falling over themselves to discuss the onset of a civil war in Iraq. It is important to take these discussions with a grain of salt. That is not to say sectarian violence, ethnic cleansing, and general chaos, insecurity, and disorder are a daily experience in Baghdad, they are. But the violence may be more organized than now discussed. Just over a year ago, Der Spiegel reported on the experience of another man living near the Al-Aimma Bridge. He made it clear that the violence is not the crazed killings of madmen, but organized political violence. Othman Ali and many other Sunnis and Shias alike banded together to save their fellows. In just over one week General Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker will be brought before the US Congree for testimony about the progress of the "Surge." The journalists, pundits, politicians, and arm-chair diplomats have already decided what to say about Iraq. The country has descended into civil war and reconciliation among parties is unthinkable. But perhaps they don't know so much about Iraq. Glimpse of Iraq has very clearly demonstrated why Othman Ali Al-Obeidi provides such an important yet simple insight into the Iraqi experience. We'll be bringing you more stories from the other side of the Iraqi experience, in our own response to the Surge report, throughout the month of September. Please consider making a donation or becoming a monthly subscriber to support the important work of the Iraqi journalists who make Alive in Baghdad happen.

At the end of July Oxfam released a report detailing the humanitarian crisis in Iraq. It was only the international community that needed this report, Iraqis know well how their country is falling apart around them. Neighborhoods such as Adhamiya lack even the most basic social services.Social services, such as water, electricity, and sanitation have been on the decline since the fall of Baghdad saw widespread looting and a general collapse of Baghdad s infrastructure. In areas that have seen ongoing fighting and a general lack of security, services have never fully recovered. Even in those areas that might have shown moderate repair previously, the flight of professionals and random destruction is removing any achievements.Now its been announced that Baghdad is again running out of water, but more desperately this time than ever before. Just days before this article, CBS reported on a drop of good news from American Steve Frost, who is helping to repair water pumps in one area of Baghdad but, by his own admission, once finished these pumps will only, be able to supply water to approximately 20 percent of the local area full time. In the baking summer heat, Iraqis take to sleeping on their roofs, electricity is too scarce to run air conditioners.Further highlighting the difficulties of life for men working on the garbage and sewage problems in Iraq, in July MSNBC described how, Nearly 500 garbage collectors have been killed since the Iraq war began. Many are young. Some are just teenagers. If that isn t hard enough to stomach, according to this commentary in the Daily Star, Dr. Abdul-Rahman Adil Ali of the Baghdad Health Directorate has warned about the serious consequences of a defective sewage system. In some of Baghdad s poor neighborhoods, he said, people drink water which is mixed with sewage. Alive in Baghdad will continue to work for you, providing insight into all manner of living in Baghdad. But we can only continue if you give us your support. We must maintain an array of staff in Iraq and the region in order to bring you a wide variety of in-depth stories about the Iraq crisis. Please make a donation and help us to continue.

Last week the revered Askariya Shrine was bombed a second time, and the mosques' two minarets were destroyed. This act has brought renewed fears of sectarian violence further damaging the already tenuous national fabric of Iraq. Yet some civilians are defying the curfew, in expectation of coming violence. However, this has produced a misconception of Iraq's security. Sectarian Violence has been nearly constant in Iraq since February 2006, and actually began to show a steady rise in December of 2005. While dead bodies and execution-killings grab the scarce space provided in our daily newspapers, these are only the most extreme conclusion of Iraq's problems with sectarian violence. This week we look at one day in Baghdad, February 1st, 2007, when a neighborhood's calm was ripped apart by a hail of mortar and possibly rocket-fire. These events happened just as the "surge" was beginning. According to FinancialTimes.com via MSNBC, General David Petraeus said there had not been any "real substantial achievements" in terms of political reform and progress. General Petraeus' assertion also fits with what we continue to hear from our correspondents and other contacts on the ground in Baghdad. Just last week, Bureau Coordinator Omar Abdullah reported chatting via Yahoo Messenger with friends who were hearing mortar-fire nearby at the same time. These events took place some four months ago, but similar acts are a daily experience for Baghdadis. The use of anonymous assaults by mortars and rockets are even more common than carbombs, death squads, IEDs, and the like. In certain Baghdad neighborhoods, such as Adhamiya and Hay Jema'a, a veritable rainstorm of mortars or rockets has been experienced. This issue appears to more often target Sunni neighborhoods, but certainly this violence goes both ways.The anonymity of such attacks results in yet another particularly difficult issue in a tribal society. When the aggressor or guilty party is not instantly obvious, collective punishment is too often deemed the acceptable response. With little focus on this type of violence, its difficult to see how reconciliation between Iraqis can be possible in the short-term.For previous videos depicting the dangerous impact of these weapons, please see Adhamiya Family Describes Katyusha Attack, Another Rocket in Baghdad, and of course most recently, Mortars & Rockets in Iraq.

This week we bring you two stories in one. There are ongoing problems in Baghdad's neighborhoods of mortar and rocket attacks. This facet of Iraq's sectarian violence is not as massive in a single act as many of the carbombs, suicide attacks, and IEDs, but is just as important to understanding the nature of the conflict. Last year mortar attacks become more and more frequent, and now they are often referred to as one of the "weapons of choice" by Iraqis, in regards to the increasing sectarian conflict. They are not extremely accurate, but their range enables them to be launched by attackers from afar, with a much reduced chance of reprisal. The first video in this piece looks at an attack at the end of last October. Due to difficulties with translators and obtaining videos from Baghdad, sometimes it takes awhile for us to put these videos together. We decided this piece was still very relevant after an attack of a different kind struck our correspondent, Isam Rasheed's house in March. Isam's house was struck by a mortar, while he was working on a co-production between Alive in Baghdad and BBC's Newsnight. Mortar attacks are still happening even now, and despite the renewed security program, they don't seem to have receded. Even the construction of the controversial Adhamiya wall, which may be successful in deterring carbombs and other localized forms of destruction, will likely not defuse the risk of mortar or rocket attacks.

Much was made of the looting of Iraq's National Library, after the fall of Baghdad and the collapse of order in the capital. Less is known about the role of small private libraries and how they continue to provide some of the only access to scholarly material for Baghdad's intellectuals and academics. Hameeda Al-Bassam, a disabled Shi'a woman, describes her work as a librarian, as well as the difficulties she faces, not only as a woman, but also as someone bound to a wheelchair. Iraqis such as Hameeda have dedicated their lives to providing and rebuilding these bastions of scholarship in Baghdad. Iraq has a long history as a center of learning and scholarship, but after the 1991 Gulf War Iraq's academic sector faced growing difficulties. It became nearly impossible to obtain scholarly magazines, the latest textbooks and scholarship, and even pencils and other necessities for learning. Not only is Hameeda's work difficult given the increasing attacks on scholars and academics in Iraq, she is also part of a growing population of disabled Iraqis, adding just one more difficulty to the dangers of living in Baghdad today. In the coming months we will be taking a deeper look at Iraq's academic institutions, internal displacement, and the way checkpoints are carving what was once a large cosmopolitan city into small enclaves and ghettos of sectarianism. Please consider a donation to support our growing team of correspondents in Iraq. For more information on Iraq's libraries, see this section of the American Library Association's website.

Sadr City is rarely described in the press, except to discuss its crushing poverty or the violence of its neighborhood militias.Dr. Haseeba is a well known and well regarded doctor who lives in Baghdad. She has been on television many times talking about her work as a doctor and the situation in Baghdad.She has a clinic in Sadr City and has worked as a medical doctor for 40 years in Baghdad. She has seen many things, having lived and practiced medicine through three wars and much political turmoil in Iraq.She discusses the difficulties of travel to her work as well as some of the strange diseases and medical abnormalities that have shown up since the first and second American invasions of Iraq.Please consider making a donation to support our work, we are in the process of looking for ads and trying to secure additional funding sources, but until now our work continues to be entirely viewer-funded. Please consider making a follow-up if you've donated in the past. As we've said before, this project is our full-time work, and it costs 2500 dollars per episode. In order to expand our work and provide more detailed and diverse coverage of daily life in Baghdad, your assistance is needed! For more stories about medicine, healthcare, and the medical impact of war in Iraq, see these stories:Baghdad Children's HospitalFamily Deals with the Legacy of the Gulf WarIllness Takes no Break for War

We're often asked how the AiB correspondents are able to do the work they do under the conditions they face.? Today, Isam shows us what happened back when we blogged about him and his family winding up in the middle of a battle between Mahdi Army militia members, and United States and Iraqi military forces. Isam wasn't acting as a journalist on this day, he was just trying to take his pregnant wife, who had gone into labor, to the hospital.? Despite the necessity of the trip, Isam and his family still found themselves risking their lives.? Back in August we brought you a story about a family in Adhamiya whom had a rocket fired at their house.? These are the kind of random acts of violence facing everyone in Iraq, no matter where you go or what your profession is.

As the threat of death squads continues, Iraqi civilians have taken security into their own hands. This week Isam Rasheed takes Alive in Baghdad viewers to Adhamiya, in the middle of the night, where three men guard a civilian checkpoint in the neighborhood.They'll tell you about their work, their hopes, and fears for their families.The US and Iraqi governments might call them terrorists, they consider themselves to be doing whats necessary to keep their homes safe.Please consider making a donation to continue this work. For information about donating email us at aliveinbaghdad@gmail.com or see the donation section of our website.

Recently Alive in Baghdad had the fortune to receive an exclusive interview with Saleh Mutlaq, the head of the Iraqi Front for National Dialogue.His party is the second largest Sunni party in Iraq's parliament, with 11 seats.Although I haven't met a single Iraqi aside from his fellow party members who had a good word to say about him, he is an important figure in the Sunni section of Iraq's daily politics.In this short clip he talks about life in Baghdad today, and the essential problems facing Iraq's future, particularly the ubiquitous presence of militas.Please consider making a donation to support our work and help pay the salaries of our Iraqi correspondents on the ground in Baghdad.You can make a donation at http://aliveinbaghdad.org

Here is some footage of life in Ruweishid Camp, as promised,There are no interviews in this segment, just an assortment of clips attempting to provide some insight into the conditions refugees in Ruweishid have to deal with on a daily basis.Please let me know how you feel about this format, providing short segments of b-roll to give insight into the lives of those in the Middle East, particuarly refugees and others impacted by the invasion of Iraq.