“We are alive here before you, but we are dead inside.” This is how the groom of “Hamdania” Revan Ishu describes the grief that befell him and his bride, Hanin, after their tragedy during the fire. “Within seconds” he consumed the wedding hall where their wedding took place, killing him. 107 people were present and about 150 suffered burns of varying severity (according to official data).

The victim groom told British Sky News Network what happened on the fateful night when his wedding turned into a disaster and a huge funeral. Raven said: While dancing with the bride, the hall suddenly became dark and fire rained down on them. Visitors. “Raven” who lost 15 of his relatives in the fire, dragged his “daughter-in-law” who lost his mother and nine others. He grabbed her by force and fled with her through the kitchen door, trying to free her from the ordeal. Fleeing because of the wedding dress, the fugitives rushed from the hell of the holocaust that gripped everyone’s throats. The fire broke out at a wedding hall in the Christian-majority city of Qaraqosh, which adjoins the Hamdaniya region of Mosul, Iraq. It was one of the other Christian cities affected by ISIS persecution of Christians when it captured parts of Iraq (End). 2013-2017).

20 thousand fires. Also death in corona hospital fire

Last Thursday morning, a mass was held in the Syriac Catholic “town church” to pray for the souls of the victims. A report by a government commission investigating the cause of the fire confirmed that the fire was not planned and that 900 people attended the wedding and the hall could only accommodate 500 people. Bursting of firecrackers, construction violations and use of highly flammable building materials and liability to the owner of the hall. The tragedy is the rampant corruption and indifference, nepotism and bribery that pervades Iraq in the absence of “law”, controls and impunity…but the reign of chaos, tribalism, sectarianism. , and bigotry that offers protection to transgressors in exchange for narrow interests and odious bargains. Since the US occupation of Iraq (2003-2011 AD) construction works (public or private) have been known to be riddled with violations…violating established regulations, and lacking “safety and security conditions”. Construction, its materials, electrical connections or providing fire extinguishers. A disaster like this at the Al-Hamdania wedding hall is not new to Iraq and I suspect it won’t be the last. For example, a “fire” broke out at Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital in the capital Baghdad (April 2021), and at Al-Hussein Hospital in the city of Nasiriyah (July 2021), killing 174 and injuring 220 others. They are all corona patients.

Americans… and stir up tribal and sectarian unrest

Despite the end of the US occupation 12 years ago, the situation has taken a turn for the worse. The “occupier” has created a vast platform for corruption and empowered a large class of “spoilers, thieves and agents”. It fueled tribal conflicts, sectarian and sectarian tendencies, and conflicts between all, resulting in the slaughter, displacement and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis in the wake of sectarian and tribal conflicts. This tribal and pluralistic structure of Iraqi society co-existed peacefully under the rule of the late President Saddam Hussein and his predecessors, despite his tyranny and authoritarianism. However, the “Americans”, like any colonists, tried. Arousing these tendencies and inciting conflicts by drawing Iraqis into conflict and confrontation, by falling into the trap of fighting and killing for an identity that has caused huge loss of Iraqi life and property, and continues to do so.

Successive Iraqi governments, despite the democratic form, parties and parliamentary elections, were initially subject to calculations of interests, looting and quotas for factions and tribes, which turned Iraq into a failed state or quasi-state.

Tragically, there is no will to reform the deteriorating political, economic, social and security conditions of the country, and the majority seek to preserve and reap the spoils and gains over the corpse of Iraq, as a people and a state. The Iraqi government washed its hands of the disaster by dismissing several municipal employees, including the city’s mayor, and referring some of them to judicial authorities for investigation. In this regard, Prime Minister Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani visited the city on the day of the funeral of the victims (Thursday) to offer condolences.

Absorbing the public anger and cheap living of the citizens that comes with the tragedies

This Iraqi government’s behavior is typical of the disasters that have been inflicted on civilians not only in Iraq, but in many Arab countries. Accompanying such tragedies. Thus, ministers and real officials escape accountability and punishment. This method of rulers, in dealing with “catastrophes” in Iraq and other similar countries (for example, Libya and Terna tragedy), in the eyes of these rulers, is due to the low value of man. More concerned about the citizen or his (cheap) life. Important to one of these unjust rulers of their people: the homeland and “citizen” are lost, but continue on his throne, the latter is a number, whose relatives can be satisfied with a little money as compensation, there is nothing to prevent an official here or there. From comforting bereaved families with dull words and artificial sentiments that do not bring the dead back to life. There is no doubt that the accused employees and the owner of the wedding hall in the affected city of Karakosh deserve the harshest punishment if convicted. However, would these accused criminals have dared to commit these crimes that led to this painful human tragedy, had it not been for the public and surrounding environment from the top to the bottom of the power hierarchy, condoning these crimes? Answer: Of course not, that is the issue to be resolved. Nothing will change, and the conditions in our Arab countries we speak of will continue to get worse and worse, corruption, neglect, tribalism, bigotry, and nepotism will continue to eat away at our societies, and human beings will be cheap and worthless in such authoritarian government systems. Unfortunately, as long as the fires, disasters and human sufferings paid for by the poor citizen are repeatedly reported in more than one Arab country, he or she will do nothing wrong.

We pray to God for mercy to the deceased, patience to their families and speedy recovery to those injured in the fire.