Description
A series of six reports from the famous Baghdad Blogger – aka: Salam Pax – the man who informed the world from an Iraqi’s point of view about what was going on in Iraq before, during and after the war in 2003-4.
CULT HERO:
He became a cult hero in the US where his website received 6,000 hits a day. He told how most Iraqis were happy with the changes, but expected things to get better much faster. His often highly amusing reports showed viewers what life was like in Baghdad shortly after Saddam Hussein had been ousted from power.
THE HARDSHIPS:
He also explained how rationing, random bomb attacks and occupation by foreign military forces added to the difficulties of daily life. He visited other parts of Iraq, such as Karbala, where he recorded scenes that no one else has filmed – people whipping themselves with chain knives, students talking about what it means to practice this for the first time, the colours and pageantry of the re-enactments all building up to the final mass procession. As Salam waits to see thousands of men bleeding profusely from self-flagellation, he prophesises that there will be a river of blood.
MEHDI ARMY:
He took viewers to meet the Mehdi Army in Najaf & Baghdad. The Mehdi Army are the followers of the radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr. Salam spent a week with the fighters during the August siege of Najaf. We gained a unique perspective of what actually happened there during the siege, the roots of the conflict and the situation now. He took viewers on a trip to the South of Iraq and found a different Iraq beginning to emerge in the marshes.