by Garland Roberts

At an evening gathering to say goodbye to one of the CPT Iraq team members, I visited with Rajal.  He is about twenty-five-years old and works as a technician with a U.S. university here in Suleimaniya.  At the party, he told us about his recent drive to Baghdad, where he visited his old neighborhood—his first trip back since he and his parents had relocated to Suleimaniya in mid-2006.

He was shocked by how the mood of the city had changed.  He already knew of the terribly distressing experiences the residents were forced to endure in 2007, how each new day revealed more bodies lying in the streets.  The bloating corpses and foul stench were evidences of brutal, sustained violence.

Now the city is quiet.  He believes it is safe from random attacks and intrusive searches.  However, only about three of the twenty families who had lived before in his neighborhood are still there.  New groups are living in their houses, in his house.  The behavior of the people is more austere.  They seem fatigued and depressed....