A Kodak Moment
A senior officer has been trying to arrange a trip to see a mostly intact mural of Saddam (the same one that I wrote about several weeks ago). But something urgent always came up, forcing him to change his plans.
Today was the day. I came along for the ride, because you don't say no to an officer of his rank. There was some other pretext for the trip, I'm sure--but it was really just an opportunity to see some sights and take some photos.
It took an hour and a half of hard driving to reach the town. The same hordes of children from my last visit lined the streets, trying to get our attention to sell souveneirs or just beg for a handout. Someone threw a handful of candy out of a vehicle, and dropped a few bottles of water.
After a couple of wrong turns, we found the mural next to a large, empty field. A man resting in the shade of the wall was politely asked to step aside. We had weapons and he didn't, so there was no argument. He stood a few yards away and watched as one of our drivers took photos of the rest of us, one camera after another.
It was very hot, as usual, but we still managed to attract a small throng of locals, trying to sell us dinars and looking for handouts. They had very limited success--we have all the Iraqi money we want now, thank you.
Just as we were getting ready to leave, a boy who appeared to be about eight years old climbed up the base of the monument and stared at the image of Saddam.
We stopped, halfway to our vehicles, waiting to see what he would do.
The boy took off his shoe, and started beating Saddam on the face. The adults were cheering him on. He seemed to enjoy the attention.
The cameras came back out. I finished my roll of film.
Not such a waste of time, after all.