Two Peas in a Pot

I came to the realization that because I am not a U.S. citizen I was never really that interested in the post 9/11 events. I knew that the twin towers had been destroyed by terrorist and that the U.S. was going to go to war with its attackers. Other than that I didn’t really care, I didn’t need more information because it did not really affects any of my family members.  As shallow and narrow minded as it sounds, worrying about the problems of the U.S. was not at the top of my priority list.  We had problems of our own in our country; corruption, poverty, power outages and inflation. The U.S was simply another country that was going through a rough time. In my mind I thought, “the U.S. is a world power, they can take care of themselves”. Only now I understand the true extend and repercussions of 9/11 and the War on Terror.

This blog has left me speechless and appalled. Reading Riverbend’s accounts of life in occupied Iraq was an awakening experience. What really sadden me though are the violent replies to her blog. Her account of the occupation does shed a negative light of the American army and its actions in Iraq and I do understand why some people would feel insulted by it. However she is simply saying something that not everyone wants to hear because it is easier to ignore it. Is she the first person to question the American occupation? No. Is she saying that all American’s are evil and stupid? No. Is she claiming to be right? No. She is simply stating what she perceives and what some Iraqis think. I do agree with her. Americans should have never occupied Iraq and they do not know what is best for Iraq. No country should ever occupy another in order to “restore order” because they do not understand it in the first place. They wouldn’t understand the culture, the economy or, the mentality and thus fail to establish a government that can actually be successful. This is not the first time the U.S. has intervened in a country in an attempt to “restore order” or “liberate an oppressed” country. A similar situation happened to us in 1965. After the assassination of our former dictator Rafael L. Trujillo in 1961 there was a power struggle for the control of the country. In 1965 with threats of dislodging another government and revolts U.S. troops invaded Dominican Republic with the justification of preventing the birth of a “New Cuba”. However this occupation just led to more bloodshed and the installation of a new dictator (he was not considered a dictator because election were being held but he ran un opposed for 16 years). I am not saying that the U.S. had bad intentions (even though their intentions are unclear) it is just too much of a cultural difference to be successful and in the process it is doing more harm than good.
I also found how much I can relate to her accusation of Americans being ignorant of the culture. I don't know how many times I have gotten remarks like "I didn't know you had electricity!", "I though you guys lived in tree houses", "I thought all Dominicans were Black". I would love to be joking about this. but I am not.