One of the most useful and moving sources of information for understanding the impact of the Iraq war on the civilian population has been Baghdad Burning, a blog by an Iraqi woman and apparently former computer programmer. The last I had read on the blog was back in April of this year, when Riverbend announced that her family was leaving the country. I’ve been checking the blog every few weeks since then, and the silence made me fear the worst.
Fortunately, there’s a new post. It’s dated September 6, though I’m pretty sure I’ve checked the site since then and seen nothing. Apparently Riverbend’s family has made it to Syria.
Skulls in the Stars 
I had not read her blog prior to this. The last entry was moving. I can’t imagine being in her situation. I am very attached to my childhood home as well as my maternal grandmother’s house. She moved out of that house over 20 years ago, but I still dream about it.
I think it is too easy for us to forget that there are people living in fear for their lives every single day in Iraq. Real people with real lives, real families and very real emotions. It becomes background noise in the sound bites of the evening news. As long as we are safe and warm, we don’t care about anyone else.