Yesterday she was talking about how uncomfortable Iraqis feel about jurnalists being kidnapped in their country:
Iraqis are getting abducted these days by the dozen, but it still says something else about the country when foreigners are abducted. Iraqis have a fierce sense of hospitality that can border on the obnoxious sometimes. When people come to our houses, we insist they have something to drink and then we insist they stay for whatever meal is coming- even if its four hours away. We cringe when journalists and aide workers are abducted because it gives us the sense that we’re bad hosts.
Reading the regular news it is easy to think that Iraqis are backwards, hostile people. Reading Riverbend is like reading about anyone's friends and family. Sure, they get together, eat, argue a little, but who doesn't?
One of her posts detailed a trip through the bombed out city to take an aunt to the cousin's house. Hoping not to drive into a bomb crater, hoping the traffic didn't stop near any angry mobs, hoping the random gunfire stayed random...it's a lot to go through to see family. No one should have to live like that.
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