This is a dedicated writing to the births of the last decade of our children, from an Iraqi who preceded you in experiencing life in this country, a writing that encapsulates much of what you must understand and do later on. Before you embark on your journey in the paths of Iraq, may what awaits you be better than the stations that my generation and the generations before me have passed through.
Thousands of you were born after a difficult period that passed through your cities from north to south, and the world changed after the coronavirus pandemic that accompanied the beginnings of your childhood, just as many protests erupted in your country’s squares.
This is a writing in the form of messages, not advice, so they don’t come to you as if they were imposed from above. It’s a humble guide from the culmination of years and the experience of living in this Iraq.
Four messages, because the number 4 is described as one of the strong numbers, symbolizing love and inner strength. There are facts and events in sports, art, and music associated with the number 4, and those who love this number exhibit leadership traits in the future. In numerology, 4 signifies positive energy for building the future.
The seasons of the year are four: winter, spring, summer, and autumn. Directions are also four: north, south, east, and west. The elements of nature as well: air, water, earth, and fire.
For this reason, we chose to direct these messages to you, investors in positive thinking and commitment to the idea of the future embodied by the number 4.
Message number (1):
The Stele of Hammurabi
Have you heard of it?
Learn to respect the law
From its oldest legislation
In human history…
And do not listen to those who talk to you about tribal revenge
Each of you is Hammurabi of this era
When you grow up, do not approach
Tribal councils for resolution
The law is the cornerstone of your life
Hammurabi of your era will not demand tribal revenge…
The code of laws that Hammurabi, the king, recorded on the famous stele, and in which he formulated 282 legal articles, you are entitled to be proud of. The stele is Iraqi, even though it is now in a land other than yours, and the texts of its laws are Babylonian Iraqi.
After this pride of yours, beware of listening to those who want to involve you – as the years go by – in the circles and mazes of tribal revenges, and those who push you to boast only about your tribe at the expense of your humanity and your Iraqi identity. Learn the meaning of the law, inquire about the role of the state, and do not rely solely on tribal councils.
The tribe is appreciated but it is not a substitute for institutions, and the tribe is a social entity that cannot be abolished, but it does not compensate us for what we learn in schools and what we read in books, whether printed or digital ones stored in your computers and iPads.
Let each of you be a new Hammurabi who defends the law and draws his own stele in his imagination, and remains waiting for the state to have greater power to preserve your security and nurture your dreams.
(2)
A considerable number
Of the generations that preceded you
Were trained in wielding weapons
And became accustomed to carrying them…
Many of them went
As victims of the wars that raged on this land
Discover yourselves away from the Kalashnikov
And all kinds of rifles and pistols…
Five harsh wars have passed through your country, in which many martyrs fell, and mothers bid farewell to their beloved ones in the furnaces of those years. In previous times, students were trained in using weapons, even while they were in their schools. Do not learn it, learn everything except these instruments of destruction. Read the history of your country well and know that weapons were an enemy to every progress on your land, and a means to sabotage every ambition.
Write your rejection of weapons on the blackboards of your classrooms, and express it in any language you master, after your Arabic language.
You and weapons do not meet, weapons and you are opposites, do not forget that, for it is the path of your future life in which you will need many things except these machines, machines of destruction.
Before you, we were inspired by cartoons like “Grendizer,” but even in the midst of our admiration for the hero carrying this name and his brave confrontations with his enemies, the theme song of these episodes reminded us that “This earth, O Grendizer, / A small planet, / Its good flourishes, / Its love soars to vast justice.”
(3)
Do you know how many great names Iraq has?
All of them were young talents
They worked on themselves
They persevered
They succeeded
And today they are the pride of our country
Strive to be significant in the future…
Talent is cultivated in oneself from the earliest childhood, and you are at ages that allow you to experiment and express yourselves freely and spontaneously. You have the choice to be attracted to whatever stimulates your senses and to embrace every beautiful idea that brings joy to your souls.
Talent is an investment in the future, it is your aid and your pedestal to be people of presence and value among your people, your friends, and in your cities. Every great and important name today was talented in his youth, he tested his abilities, and his dreams grew with him until he succeeded. Do not let the difficulties frighten you or the abundance of competitors and the number of successful people before you intimidate you. On the contrary, each of you will forge his path and the experiences of those who compete with you and those who preceded you in their excellence will be a guide for challenging oneself for the sake of deserving existence.
In past decades, every one of them progressed and excelled. Approximately a century ago, the modern Iraqi art pioneer Jawad Salim was born. He was talented like you, and your parents know what the Caesar of Arab singing accomplished and how he reached what he reached; he is also talented since his childhood. And a noble Iraqi amazed the world with her designs, so they called her the queen of curves and architectural genius. She is Zaha Hadid, who absorbed creativity since she was receiving education in Karrada, Baghdad, and specifically in the school of the nuns, a Muslim student among her Christian classmates. This is how your cities are a mixture of coexistence and endless diversity… Many of you have not yet heard of the professor of artificial limbs and one of the most famous orthopedic surgeons in the world, Dr. Munjed Al Muderis. You have not yet learned about his story and how he transformed from an immigrant and a refugee into an innovative doctor helping people, and his name is increasingly shining. So, search for this man and follow his journey and what he is doing.
Should we conclude the writing about the flags of Iraq, which number in the thousands, the living among them or the dead? We cannot, but it is you who will take on the task of searching for more. This is your upcoming work in the coming years.
(4)
Kings and presidents
Have passed through ruling this country
When you reach maturity,
Support only the ruler who serves your people
If so, thank him
And if not,
Protest against him and reject his policies…
Generations, fathers, mothers, families, lived their lives in this spot where there are possibilities of success, wealth, and multiple riches. They all used to ask when they encountered a situation or injustice: Where is the state?.. The state is the question of Iraqis, indeed it is the question of the great and exhausted Iraq. Even after its modern state was established in 1921, this establishment was not satisfactory to all the sons of your country, nor was the republican era that followed it, nor the era you live in today, some details of which are manifestations of contemporary Iraq.
This was the problem of Iraqis with the ruler who governs and leads; once by force, another time by coercion and disappearance, and a third time by relying on others to govern the country.
Let your hands be as far as possible from applauding any ruler, except the one you see possessing national qualities, good leadership, and the characteristics of a role model for his people. The one who prioritizes serving the people over seeking their applause, and who prioritizes loyalty to the homeland over creed, sect, and nationality.
The ruler we want you to support is the one whose image, history, and character you will decide, and whom you will praise for his conduct, not someone else.
