There are stories about being born in Mesopotamia
There are stories about being born as the war broke out
There are stories about knowing only wars
There are stories about never feeling real happiness
There are stories about believing in God
There are stories about being threatened by “gods”
There are stories about believing in Man's creativity
There are stories about being silenced by men
There are stories about being filled with passion and kindness
There are stories about being never treated with kind-heartedness
There are stories about loving my country
There are stories about my human and civil rights being violated
There are stories about liking technology
There are stories about having no electricity in my house
There are stories about loving and hating the American army
since it eradicated Saddam but occupied the country
There are stories about rejecting occupation
There are stories about abhorring violence
There are stories about disliking politics
There are stories about escaping my country
There are stories about opening myself to the other world
There are stories about being free to write and think now
There are stories about being creative in Canada
There are stories about my peace of mind being destabilized by the diversity of
modern philosophies and world views
There are stories about liking the weather here
There are stories about being unable to forget my home
There are stories about missing my family
There are stories about being scared to come back to my country
There are stories about being unwilling to deny my nationality
There are stories about wanting to conceal my identity
There are stories about my main problem which is my passport
There are stories about hating airports because they are problem stations for me
There are stories about my heart which is shattered between here and there
There are stories about my dream which is to eventually return to my home and
die there
Amir Al-Azraki