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What It’s Really Like “over There”: Finding The Heart And Soul Of Iraq
(ContentDesk) August 17, 2005 -- Americans have become accustomed to the familiar scenes of destruction in Iraq. Television and news stories tend to focus on the violence and we rarely hear about the human side of this war. How accurate are these images we see on the news every night? What really goes on there?"Iraq is not what you see on the daily news," says Anna Prouse, author of Two Birthdays in Baghdad: Finding the Heart of Iraq. "There are a lot of good things happening there also that people don't know about." An Italian journalist and an emergency medic, Prouse arrived in Baghdad to work at the Italian Field Hospital in June, 2003. Despite the danger and devastation, she ended up staying for fourteen months and through two birthdays. What she saw and heard during her time there has produced a story unlike any other to emerge from since the war began.Disappointed in the international media depictions of Iraq, Prouse returned to Italy to write of the that is not seen in the mainstream media. "Right now, seems like a place where everyone gets killed and no other message seems to get through," says Prouse. "Although I do not deny it is dangerous, I want people to look beyond the chaos to see the Iraqis as the real people they are." She found the Iraqis to be a group of people who are struggling and coping with desperate conditions, filled with dreams
and aspirations for their families and their futures. Prouse fell in love with the people, and came to develop lasting friendships with them. "To know what is going on in Iraq, you need to know the people, and to be able to know the people you need time to let them open up, to rely on you," says Prouse. By spending a year and a half in the middle of a war zone, Prouse was able to gain a unique perspective by observing the Iraqis as they worked alongside foreigners in order to bring forth a new nation. "These people, called upon to cast their ballots, rushed to the polls regardless of the danger that was involved," says Prouse. "Because, unlike us, they are used to danger."In her book, Prouse presents the stories you don't hear in the press: American soldiers sharing Mountain Dews with Iraqi children, the nervous waiting game that takes place every night in the emergency rooms of Baghdad, and the wild volley of "celebratory fire" that was unleashed when Saddam's two sons were captured. Prouse seeks out the heart of that has somehow escaped the cameras. Undaunted by the continuing war and the all-too-frequent bombings, Prouse is currently gearing up to return to to once again work with the Ministry of Health.For a review copy of the book or to set up an interview with Anna Prouse for a story, please contact Jay Wilke at 727-443-7115, ext. 223..
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