I met Mike when sectarian strife exploded in Baghdad in 2006. That was not his real name, of course, but it was what he went by in his job as a translator for American soldiers.
Mike and I spent severalĀ evenings chatting at a coffee shop on the vast Camp Liberty complex. He was a smart well-spoken man with Antonio Banderas looks. He told me about his life in Iraq before the war. He taught computer science at a small Baghdad college and ran a photo processing shop.
He told me about the hope heād held in 2003 after the ouster of Saddam, after which he worked as a security guard for Kellogg, Brown & Root. Eventually he found a job as an interpreter for the U.S. Army.
But things did not progress the way heād expected and his homeland seemed on the verge of civil war.
The Georgia Army National Guard unit I was embedded with was then patrolling the streets of southwest Baghdad. Sometimes, Mike would peer out the sliver of a bullet-proof window in the back of a Ā Bradley Fighting Machine and look for a small stucco house on one of the main thoroughfares.
Over coffee one day, I asked him why he staredĀ so intently through the glass.
āAsra,ā he said.
āAsra? Who is that?ā I asked.
She was the woman he adored. They shared dreams. Of going to Sulaimaniyah to see snow for the first time in their lives. Of getting married, having children.
He bought American shampoo for her from the PX at Liberty. She had long, thick hair, he told me.
Sometimes, he broke Baghdadās curfew and snuck into Asraās house late at night. They knew they could not be seen together.
But he could no longer do that.Ā They knew their love could bring them serious trouble.
Mike was Shiite and Asra, Sunni.
Mike was unwanted as a Montague in the house of Capulet.
Mike wished Asra would stand on her balcony when the Bradley thundered past her house. But she didn’t step outside anymore. It wasnāt safe.
A month earlier, the bombing of a Shiite mosque in Samarra worsened the sectarian violence in Baghdad. I remember seeing bodies strewn on the streets of the capital.Ā I could see that many had been tortured or mutilated or shot in the head, execution-style. Revenge killings soared. Neighborhoods in which Sunni and Shiite lived side by side went one way or the other. Thousands of Iraqis were driven from their homes.
I have been thinking of Mike a lot lately as I watch the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) insurgents battle towards Baghdad. I fear there will be all-out sectarian war. Sunni against Shiite. Blood spilled on the very soil where the division began with the killing in 680 AD of Muhammadās grandsons in Kerbala.
We may never know modern-day Iraq again. I can see how borders might get redrawn. I am not necessarily opposed to that ā the lines, after all, were drawn by the British to serve colonial interests and Iraq was, in many ways, an artificially assembledĀ nation. But it is heartbreaking to see the carnage.
ISIS makes al Qaida look friendly. There have been reports of crucifixions, mass executions and beheadings. The atrocities make Iraq look like Yugoslavia on speed. That’s how Middle East politics expert Gareth StansfieldĀ described the situation in a recent National Geographic interview.
I wonder if Mike and Asra were ever able to be together, start the family they wanted. I donāt have any way of contacting him anymore. I wish I did.
He told me once that it made no difference to him that Asra was Sunni, though her family didnāt see it that way. He saved a huge chunk of his American paycheck every month to build a house for Asra and himself in aĀ Baghdad neighborhood that was then still very mixed.
He knew he was fighting the odds. He told me it would take a miracle to realize his dreams in a country fraught with war. But he wasnāt going to give up — he still believed in love.
I wonder if he still feels that way.
Evil Reporter Chick 
Thank you for posting that beautiful and tragic story. My heart goes out to everybody over there.
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I’ve always wanted to write a love story set amidst the war of Iraq, but never have got it through… I need help, please!
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I’ve always wanted to write a love story set amidst the war of Iraq, but never have got it through… I need help, please!
I’ve made up my mind like it would be in India and iraq
similar to this Romeo Juliet story…
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Beautiful story but not all have the endings we expect.
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I liked this terrible insight in your every day Irak held by a beautiful writing. Gosh I like so much Internet when it draws my out of my close neighbourhood so gracefully.keep on telling stories. Thanks.
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Very well Written
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Beautiful piece. Thanks for sharing!
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Reblogged this on PROEXPERIENCIAS and commented:
Stories
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Reblogged this on freeverse92 and commented:
Love in between war
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I love this article,its heart touching
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Reblogged this on tedsuya and commented:
CINTA TUMBUH DIMANAPUN
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This is such a heartbreaking story. Thank you for sharing it.
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for whatsapp status visit cutewhatsappstatus.wordpress.com
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wow truly sad just yesterday i was watching the Romeo and Juliet Bollywood version it was intense and just sad
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We currently living through the 3rd world war. I hope that future generations never make the same mistakes we have.
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At least in your words their love story lives on, preserved against time and war by memories anchored in print.
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What a beautiful story. Great insight into the Baghdad world.
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Interesting
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Reblogged this on abdulbha.
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What a story. I hope it ends happily. Or ended happily – if they made it to Sulaimaniyah, they would be much safer.
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It’s amazing to see how something that we take for granted in the Western world, dating or seeing someone, can be so difficult in countries with turmoil. Thank you for sharing this story.
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Reblogged this on krm180 and commented:
There is always a hope .. ā„
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I couldn’t imagine how is this story cultivating hope inside my heart.
Iraq is realy in trouble due to sectarian strife .
I really enjoy your post
ThanQ and keep it up ā„
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Yet another example of intolerance interfering in the private lives of individuals…and the ever uphill battle to overcome it.
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Reblogged this on lets go fly a Kat.
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Reblogged this on boringme29's Blog and commented:
God , this describes what happens in Iraq.
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Ilive in iraq in baghdad ,ilove your story
Thank u^^
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What a tragedy that so little has changed between the time of Shakespeare and now.
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It takes courage to believe in love like that!Admirable. My heart weeps blood for the people who are innocent and fall prey to socio-political screwed up policies or sectarian fanaticism. Live and let live,people .For heaven’s sake
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this is so awesome, thanks for this publish
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Reblogged this on Alouette and commented:
Such a beautiful story. Reminds me of my own grandparents during the strife between Britain and Ireland.
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This was a great read!
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This was beautifully written. Thank you for sharing it
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Reblogged this on idreesali and commented:
Karbala, a place never forgotten
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Lovely piece. Very vivid
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Beautifully written. Tragic and heart wrenching. I pray for Mike and Asra and the many others like them.
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I hope they beat the odds and are together. This is my prayer for them. What a lovely romantic man to give of himself in that way. True love. Thank you for sharing.
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The way you wrote this is just so..Beautiful.
I’m sure they’ll find a way, I’m sure everyone will one day one way.
Thanks so much for making my day though.
Keep sharing. ^^
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Reblogged this on The Largest Independent Fashion news Blog.
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Reblogged this on A teenage girl trying to be a light in a dark world..
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Reblogged this on Conversations I Wish I Had.
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Reblogged this on chiarians4acure's Blog.
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Nice post ,informative , not quite the usual one we read elsewhere .
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tragic but noble
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Reblogged this on The journey: Journalism between tomorrow and yesterday and commented:
The kind of stories we don’t believe in. The hidden side of events. Only because when the words of love are spoken (in this case, written down), silence becomes the best companion.
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Written beautifully!
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What a beautiful story! I hope Mike and Asra are somewhere safe and live the life they have dreamed of.
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love always bring cry.
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Reblogged this on Endless Real Story and commented:
loves & lives
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Great, said it all!
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I am not from Iraq but I have witnessed a love story where I was Sunni and she was Shia. Her family was extremist… And so it ended. But I hope this story has a different ending.
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