By Cathy Breen
Voices in the Wilderness
Baghdad

My fifth day back in Baghdad. So much is happening here. Reconnecting with so many friends and hearing their stories, the constant flow of people coming and going and all of the visits and first impressions make it a real challenge to try and carve out a space here to digest and reflect. Some of us were “just sitting around the kitchen table” in the early morning hours yesterday, when Michael Birmingham shared some thoughts that became for me and others a truly deep reflection.

Is it important for Voices to be in Iraq at this time, and if so why and in what capacity? was the topic of discussion. Is it important enough to risk one’s life for?

Michael was beaten up on the street since his return to Iraq after the occupation. He said that afterwards he was “absolutely petrified going out on the street.” He knew it was perfectly right to be scared, to feel fear, and he said “You do learn to live with it. Is our fear of dying so bad that it makes this (being here) not worth doing?”