Last night, I saw the documentary film Heavy Metal in Baghdad, which chronicles the plight of a band called Acrassicauda (latin for the black scorpion that is found in the Iraqi desert). The thing about this band that makes it unique is that they are the only heavy metal band from Iraq. In the film, we see the difficulty of being in such a band under Saddam’s regime: having to conceal the true nature of their music, not being allowed to grow long hair and headbang, and being compelled to write pro-Saddam songs. But the reality is that their life as a result of the US invasion is infinitely worse. Their practice space was bombed and all their instruments were destroyed. And with the collapse of the Saddam administration, a lot of the hardcore religious fundamentalists started taking control, promising violence against the band who they accuse of “playing music for Satan.” Their lives threatened by both the US-Iraq war and violence in Iraq itself, they were forced to flee to Syria and eventually Turkey, where to this day, they struggle to survive. All they ever wanted is to be able to play the music they love.
But more importantly is the plight of displaced Iraqi civilians who wanted nothing more than to continue to exist and be with their families and friends. They’re not politicians or activists or terrorists, they’re just people like us. It is said that 3,000 Iraqis flee their country every day, and unfortunately, the number of Iraqi refugees admitted to the US as of the making of this film is around 600. In Syria, Jordan, and Turkey, to where many of the refugees have fled, Iraqis face racial discrimination and are unable to legally work as they are not citizens. The longer this war lasts, and the longer the violence in Iraq continues, the longer the Iraqi diaspora will continue.
My aim in posting this is not to make you feel bad about what you have, because you know I’m not that type of person. My family and I have worked hard for everything we have and are proud of what we have achieved. I just feel that we are particularly blessed with the opportunity to do whatever we want and strive for whatever we want without having to worry about where next month’s rent is coming from. That’s why it disturbs me so much to see people sitting around doing nothing with their lives. Strive, achieve, and enjoy life, because the opportunities we have here in the western world truly are magnificent. You don’t have to change the world, but don’t sit around sulking in misery when there are others who have, as Acrassicauda said, “less than zero.”