Salam Pax: The Clandestine Diary of an Ordinary Iraqi

On Saturday, Sept 7, 2002 a blogger living in Baghdad wrote, "I'm preparing my emergency list these days -- any suggestions are welcome. At the moment I have: Candles, alcohol (maybe red wine), good books, crunchie-munchies. I think that will get me through the bombing quite nicely."

Salam Pax is the name used by an ordinary Iraqui guy who began writing a blog to stay in touch with a friendin Jordan. Just as we watched TV news as the US prepared for war, so did Salam Pax watch the Iraqi news stations. From his family home, right in the path of impending bombings and fighting, he blog a daily record of what was going on in his life.


He describes one of the "spontaneous" street demonstrations for Saddam & it would be funny if it weren't so sad. The media influx adds to the excitement & confusion in the city, "embedding" themselves in the posh hotels. "Human shields" from the US wore t-shirts that were supposed to say "Human Shields" in Arabic, but got it wrong and it actually said something that sounded like a nightclub. Salam was indignant when he found out "that the Human Shields get food coupons worth 15,000 dinars 3 times a day for meals" while the monthly ration for an Iraqi family of 4 was only 30,000 a month. He is very good at describing the indignities with sarcasm & humor. It appears to fend off anger, frustration & resentment.

His daily blogs are so full of information about what's going on during that time -- the ridiculous UN pronouncements, the ex-pats that show up thinking they'll run a new government, the dinar devaluating & scarcity of goods, people leaving their homes but not knowing where to go for safety, the borders closing, the BBC & Al-Jazeera, power outages, the sounds of planes overhead & guns in the street, the fears, the relief & on and on --things that we Americans have no clue about because we have never had to experience enemies bombing our homes. Yet the blogs are full of the his humor, his family members, his favorite music & books. It is surreal to hear him describe going out to buy a CD or getting ice cream in an atmosphere charged with impending doom.

Salam Pax is a brilliant guy who goes about his life amidst irrational chaos. It reminds me of Anne Frank writing about normal teenage girl things amidst the horror of hiding from the Nazis. His final post was June 28, 2003. He later went to work for the "The Guardian" newpaper in London and visited the U.S. as a reporter. (See wikipedia for more).

Every page is fascinating. There is no way that I can do justice to a review. You'll have to read it for yourself. You won't be disappointed. I'd like to see the book required reading & discussed in every high school.