April 5th, 2010
Nina Perez
The Roof is on Fire
“Now my parents get to relive their childhood memories like never before because we've gone back a good fifty years.” Referring to the tradition of sleeping on the roof when the hot weather of Baghdad becomes to much, Riverbend seems saddened by the fact that her culture is diminishing along with the state of her homeland. The exert I chose of the “Burning Baghdad” blog, is simply just a run through of Riverbend cleaning off her roof because it is the most suitable place to sleep when the electricity goes out. Riverbend explains the atmosphere her and her family are living in, and goes into the important of an Iraqi’s roof. This specific blog defies many of the American myths that circulate about her culture as she narrates her days activities.
Riverbend talks about how important the roof of one’s home is to an Iraqi person. Explaining how much planning goes into the roof, she gives a quick glimpse into her culture and shows us a simple custom that I would have never known about. She lets her readers in enough to see that these people are not monsters but human enough to have something as basic as a rooftop to enjoy. Already a “sacred” place, Riverbend explains how in the past year, hers and other families have gotten closer to their rooftops because of how much time spent on it. Sleeping out there because of the heat, looking for the origin of bombs, collecting water, hanging clothes, etc., are many of the activities that take place out there, clearly ranging from serious engagements to frivolous chores. In the text Women’s Lives the effects of war are discusses and one of the main ones has a clear place in this excerpt, the normalization of violence (504). Riverbend casually mentions the things done on the roof. Her list goes from tracing smoke clouds to hanging wet clothes. Something like hearing bombs go off might have been a frightening occurrence once in these people’s lives, however now it is a known a sound that results in a hustle to the open air to see where it took place. I imagine my first reaction to a bomb would to be hide, inside, and the last place would go to my unprotected roof to look around. Riverbend and her family are so accustomed the war happening around them they don’t even really flinch anymore. Plus one can only assume it’s not much a liberation of the Iraqi people if they are then forced to sleep on their rooftops because a lack of electricity and air conditioning along with the many other sacrifices Riverbend and her family are forced to make.
Riverbend tells the story of her day in a definite and calm narrative, but she does it in an extremely educational way. As mentioned before she merely describes her day yet gives numerous insights into her life in Baghdad and makes it so personal. Riverbend is not pleased with the situation in her life, but she seems to have accepted it. While talking about having a clean roof, Riverbend and her family find simple pleasures around them. They drop everything to sit in front of the air conditioning vent when they have electricity and this is the best part of their day. The globalization that has clearly taken place in her home is something they are trying to work around (372). While Riverbend and millions of others long for the days before the “War on Terrorism,” they seem to be almost immune and carrying on. This blog tells the story of her life with this extraordinary situation thrust on top of her and she manages to make it intimate even though she is many miles away for her many readers.
Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. "Living in a Globalizing World" Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 371-390. Print.
Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. "Women and the Military, War and Peace" Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 493- 509. Print.
Riverbend. "Baghdad Burning." Web log post. Blogspot. 1 June 2004. Web. 5 Apr. 2010.
