Mourning the 21st January 2021 Baghdad Attack.

Today the 21st of january 2020 Tayaran square in Baghdad was struck by a twin suicide bombing that killed 32 people and wounded more than a hundred. The attack comes after 2 relatively quiet years in which suicide bombings were rare. Two years ago in January the same place was targeted by a suicide bombing. More than 30 people died in that attack.

The way the media reports on these attacks reduces the victims to numbers. They don't have faces no names nor a family that is shattered, which leads to the public being synthesized. People are used to associate Iraq with death and destruction. They want the public to get used to the images of our misery, our country burning, and our children dying. But we will never get used to it. We will always feel the pain. We always will.

When we hear of an attack we stop at anything we are doing at the moment. Nothing matters anymore, we forget about the petty problems of daily life. At these moments Time stands still.

We start thinking of our relatives and friends that might be victims of the attack. We will call each other to check upon each other. After finding out that everyone you know is safe, it hits you: 32 lives of your fellow country men and women were taken away and countless others were maimed.

How many families were torn today?

How many children were orphaned?

How many men and women were widowed?

How many parents lost their children?

How many people had their beloved ones brutally taken away?

The first attack:

The first attacker feigned that he was in pain and fell to the ground asking the people around him for help. When the people around approached him to offer their help he blew himself up.

The second attack:

The men and women working and visiting the market are ordinary people. People who have to work hard and push around carts to feed their families. They are what we Iraqis call “3la bab Allah” These brave people rushed to help the victims of the first attack. This is when the second attacker struck.

Dear Iraqis, dear fellow country men and women,

We are all mourning for our people.
For today we have lost our beloved ones.

Dear brothers and sisters,

Hold your heads high and console your hearts for your beloved ones were martyred when they had the best intentions and purest of hearts.