Omar, Iraq the Model

email, 12 octubre 2005

Why did you start writing a blog?

Well, after long years of being not allowed to hear or read what people outside Iraq say, let alone speaking, it was great to know that I could have a way to communicate directly with the rest of the world through my own web page where no one can tell me how to think or what to write.
Moreover, in blogging I saw a way to bridge the gap of information and culture between different communities that usually learn about each other only through the papers and news networks.
Freedom of speech is one of the greatest aspects of freedom and it is one right I am not willing to give up.

Could you tell me about the way that writing it has changed you?

The biggest change I think is that I became more interested in getting the accurate information about any given topic, writing is a big responsibility that requires the writer to go deeper in his readings and to always verify the information he gets to hear or read.
Writing on a blog puts the writer in direct contact with the readers from whom he can learn a lot about subjects he knew nil about.
In general, I believe that blogging can boost knowledge on both ends; the writer’s and the readers’.

Can you define your blog? How many people are reading it? Do you know what kind of visitors are them?

Iraq the Model is basically a page where we write about our daily life in Iraq, along with commentary and analysis on political issues related to the situation in our country. We also try to bring underreported news to the attention of the readers trying to show them the closest image to what is actually happening in Iraq.
- The number of readers who read my blog varies from one month to another but right now the average is a little over 4,000 hits/day, something I am proud of and didn’t expect to see when I started the blog two years ago. Those readers come from almost everywhere, from Australia to Singapore, Egypt, UK, Germany, France and North and South America as well as from Iraq; they come from different backgrounds, some are military, others are fellow bloggers, journalists but ordinary people make the main bulk.


What role does the blog play in your life now? (you answered me so fast that I thought that you are all the time in the net!) Can you explain me how and where do you do it?

Honestly the blog takes a good deal of my time; not necessarily doing posts but also answering e mails, following news and posts on other blogs as well as taking care of the technical part of the blog.
I usually blog from home, at an earlier time before I had my connection at home I used to blog from internet cafés. When I have the chance, I also blog from my clinic.

You talk about liberation and you have said that you want to show the good progress in Iraq and not only bad news. Which progress and which bad news are more important for you?

The media focuses on the bad news only so people tend to think that bombings and murders are the only things taking place in Iraq but in fact, Iraq is a big country and life keeps going on in spite of the hardships.
Economy and politics in Iraq have bee making very good progress, actually faster than any other country in the region but people only get to hear about stories of violence. I am not trying to paint a pink image of Iraq, all I want to is offer the world a balanced image of what’s going on with it’s positive and negative sides.

What are your hopes for the future of Iraq?

To see Iraq live in peace, to get rid of terror and violence and to establish a democratic, secular governing system where law rules and human rights are respected.