TSR Iraqi Society

I would also say pre....and I say that as a kurd...

simply as things were better with saddam, the decadence and stupid excesses of now were not there, the people were better, kinder to their "fellow man" if you will, and not only that, but ALL of iraq has become so much more dangerous, even though you won't hear that about the north....it geniunely is much more dangerous

its a case of better the devil you know, and the fact that with him, many of todays problems would not exist

Why not? I'm based in Syria, but Iraq is only a few hours away. Wouldn't mind seeing Baghdad...

Yeah. Yes I am.





It will cost me a fortune if I ever go on a world trip. I'm not exactly a fan of rough living...

Awesome, let's go. How comes you're based in Syria?

I genuinely don't understand this. The Kurdish region is booming economically, we have freedoms that we never thought we'd get and it is now safer in the north. It is safer than many western cities - no bombings and we don't have gangs in Iraqi Kurdistan.

I don't know enough about the rest of Iraq, but what problems are you talking about? I think there is one major obstacle facing the Kurdish people in Northern Iraq today and that is the corrupt government. The region has massive potential, there is massive foreign investment, we have stupid amounts of oil and the land is stunning so we now have the opportunity to create a large tourism industry. We are on track for independence if we really want it (there will of course be drawbacks to this). None of this would be possible with Saddam in power.

Besides, even without those, the stories told to me by my relatives and parents about life under Saddam - fathers picking up limbs of their dead children, jets screaming overhead dropping bombs and men burried under avalanches while trying to hide in the mountains, makes me astounded that any Kurd can sat that life was better under Saddam. I hope the rest of Iraq one day follows in the success the Kurdistan region has had (so far).

Studying Arabic there. God knows why

He wasn't just referring to the Kurdish region. As an Iraqi he is looking at the general welfare of Iraqi citizens, whether they be Kurdish or not. The dangers that the everyday Iraqi faces in some of the most dangerous parts of Iraq, the sectarian violence and government corruption that is tearing today's Iraq apart at the seams did not exist.

Saddam was not a nice man. Saddam is dead. For how long are we going to use those years as a reference point to justify the current problems? 5 years? 10? Decades? As we speak, Iraqi civilians (men, women and children) are getting shot at and murdered whilst they walk or drive to work and to school. We know of so many families who have had to flee Iraq in recent years, leaving behind their homes and their families because their sons and daughters have received countless death threats. Why? Because they had 'Sunni' names. And they were the lucky ones. What do you call all this? It's barbaric, and certainly not 'progress'.

Ooh, that's cool. I wanna learn! How are you finding it?

I was arguing against a viewpoint, that Iraq was a better place before the war. I do not agree with that and so gave my opinion.

As for the rest, of course Iraq has much room for improvement - conflicts between different sects are indeed something that needs to be adressed but under Saddam it was much worse. Death rates are falling, and soon enough Iraqis will get themselves out of this mess. I hope the rest of Iraq becomes a better place to live in, but if I'm completely honest, my main concern is for my family and people - Kurdistan is a better place now, and I believe at some point we will have an independent nation. The younger generations in Kurdistan are progressively becoming more and more detached from the rest of Iraq, most cannot even speak Arabic. I personally think it's inevitable.

S'alright. At the risk of negging, Syria is a hole. Syrians in general are complete throbbers. At least, the shabaab are - the older generation are pretty decent. They bang on about how awesome Syria is, how historic, how great the country is etc... It gets a little old, especially when it's balls!

The Syrians are worse than the Egyptians in terms of trying to rip you off - At least the Egyptians are upfront about it, the Syrians pretend that you're all matey before taking your money.

That said, there is a minority of decent Syrian shabaab, and I have the great fortune to be friends with several of them. Unfortunately I live in the Old City, and the shabaab who live and work in the Old City are markedly different (and a lot worse) than those in the New City.

The friendliest (and most genuine!) people I've ever met are the Iraqis, the Kurds and the Omanis (definitely the best and most friendly, generous and decent people in the Gulf). Everywhere else I've travelled or lived in the Middle East tends to be full of Arabs who very sadly propagate the stereotypes. I've never met an Omani or Iraqi I didn't like, I've only met one Kurd that was a thieving bastard, but the number of times I've had angry words or worse with a Tunisian, Egyptian, Jordanian, Lebanese, Turk or Syrian...



NB. This is speaking from a general point of view, and one of (little) experience. Don't hate!

S'alright. At the risk of negging, Syria is a hole. Syrians in general are complete throbbers. At least, the shabaab are - the older generation are pretty decent. They bang on about how awesome Syria is, how historic, how great the country is etc... It gets a little old, especially when it's balls!

The Syrians are worse than the Egyptians in terms of trying to rip you off - At least the Egyptians are upfront about it, the Syrians pretend that you're all matey before taking your money.

That said, there is a minority of decent Syrian shabaab, and I have the great fortune to be friends with several of them. Unfortunately I live in the Old City, and the shabaab who live and work in the Old City are markedly different (and a lot worse) than those in the New City.

The friendliest (and most genuine!) people I've ever met are the Iraqis, the Kurds and the Omanis (definitely the best and most friendly, generous and decent people in the Gulf). Everywhere else I've travelled or lived in the Middle East tends to be full of Arabs who very sadly propagate the stereotypes. I've never met an Omani or Iraqi I didn't like, I've only met one Kurd that was a thieving bastard, but the number of times I've had angry words or worse with a Tunisian, Egyptian, Jordanian, Lebanese, Turk or Syrian...



NB. This is speaking from a general point of view, and one of (little) experience. Don't hate!

We don't.

IMO, Iraqis are the best people in the ME. Aside from what you've said about the Arabs, Iranians will kiss your ass black and blue if you're white, and look down on you if you're not. But it's all fakery. Turks are rough.

We don't.

IMO, Iraqis are the best people in the ME. Aside from what you've said about the Arabs, Iranians will kiss your ass black and blue if you're white, and look down on you if you're not. But it's all fakery. Turks are rough.

Yeah..I have to say that, out of all the Arabs I know, the Iraqis are genuinely the nicest. Maybe it's just because I have something in common with them, I don't know. From the Jordanians I've met, I'd agree with you on that.

Do you know any Armenians?

My mum is from Mosul and my dad is from Baghdad.

A separate society for Maslawi mothers and Baghdadi fathers?

S'alright. At the risk of negging, Syria is a hole. Syrians in general are complete throbbers. At least, the shabaab are - the older generation are pretty decent. They bang on about how awesome Syria is, how historic, how great the country is etc... It gets a little old, especially when it's balls!

The Syrians are worse than the Egyptians in terms of trying to rip you off - At least the Egyptians are upfront about it, the Syrians pretend that you're all matey before taking your money.

How many stars on the hotel are we talking?

I don't know any Armenians sadly, but I'll never say no to broadening my horizons!

yes Turks are rough what hypocrisy bla bla bla

Four and up. That's good compromisation on my part...

Well of course in your opinion I would totally agree, although temper it by saying that the Omanis are amazing people too, and certainly as high in my estimation as the Iraqi people I've been fortunate to meet.

Haven't met enough Iranians to form an opinion tbh, but I'm thinking of picking up Farsi next year. That or Kurdish...