Drinking the Tigris: Last Drink

last morning in Iraq http://www.flickr.com/photos/cykuck/4977748771/

Iraq is behind me for good. I flew out to Jordan then traveled by taxi to the Israeli border and then caught a ride down to Tel Aviv. It feels wonderful to know it's behind me. I'm staying in Israel for two weeks relaxing but also to interview anyone I can find from the Litvak community. In 2005 I started shooting a doc in Lithuania about the Jewish holocaust there. Like Bush League, I want to do a village level survey of what happened. I'm trying to find survivors from Kupiskis (where I worked as a Peace Corps volunteer) here in Israel. I got some numbers and contacts, we'll see what happens. Bush League is my real focus right now but I couldn't pass up the chance since I was so close to Israel.

Drinking the Tigris: Final Reminder

If I needed any reminders of why I'm leaving Iraq this Sunday, I got them this week. Two nights ago our area was hit with a rocket; big one that landed somewhere just outside the base parameter. It's been more than six months since we had incoming. Took me a second to register it, then bail for the shelter. It was only one shot, but a thumper. Tonight is a bad dust storm. Kind of a mix really. A tiny bit of rain mixed with fog and loads of dust. With these storms comes gooey eyeballs, allergies, headaches, and massive delays and cancellations of flights, so the whole rhythm of the air port goes to pot. It's a great time to get out.

Drinking the Tigris: Local Music

Sometimes the only thing I can do to remind myself that I'm in Iraq is turn on the radio. I'm buried deep inside a military complex outside the city. I could be anywhere. The only thing that makes it through to me are the radio stations. Here's a link to an Iraqi hit song posted by the NY Times Baghdad Bureau. The song is by Hussam al-Rassam. http://podcasts.nytimes.com/podcasts/2009/01/22/23rassam.mp3

The lyrics are:

"Hey brother hand me the Brno (Czech made rifle).

I want to fire some shots.

The eyes of my beloved have cast a spell on me.

I am on fire.

Her stare is more precise and lethal than the Brno.

Mr. GMC driver take me to Ramadi, my beloved is in Ramadi.

All men tumble to the wayside with a blink from her eyes.

When she stares at you it feels like being fired at with a machine gun.

You do not know where you are going to be hit.

She's lethal."

The GMC is a reference to the armored Suburbans which are a ubiquitous status symbol in Iraq.

The origional piece at NYTimes Baghdad Bureau:

http://baghdadbureau.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/suvs-and-shotguns/#

Drinking the Tigris: A New Day for America

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cykuck/3728292061/ I feel great. The sun is rising here in Iraq. In eight hours the sun will rise in D.C. and later today Obama will swear in.

George Bush's photo was still up as I entered the Air Force chow hall a few minutes ago. The two young Airmen that watch the entrance every morning are both happy about the political changes, but added a caveat. "There are so many problems he's going to have to deal with," they told me cautiously.

I, on the other hand, think we've already dealt with the biggest problem. His picture comes down tomorrow.

Drinking the Tigris: Coffee

10 weeks on the night shift now. I am wrapped in night. Crushed by 12 hours of fluorescent whitish - green hum 7 days a week. I am a mushroom. An owl. A dung beetle. A big bleary eyed night wrapped marsupial. I know the stars by heart and where they are at all hours. I know the moon's phase and I measure the weeks by it. I forage, growl, drag from the fridge to the phone to the door to the computer to my chair. When I drive I bounce my head on the headrest to stay awake like a fat baby in a high chair. I'm a wreck. The wind outside is always dead except for the cutting vibrations of helicopters when they land. Even after they're gone, there's a constant low frequency vibration in my head and in my hands that I understand to be a call for coffee - I throb for caffeine at all times. I want to take my bones out of my arms, unscrew the caps on the ends and fill them up with the milky heat then shake them like martinis. I'm am a slogging sack of night worms, wanting for light and slow sandy heat. But for now, all I've got is a Styrofoam cup of coffee, twice per night.

I need to go home now.

Drinking the Tigris: Indentured Servitude at BIAP

Finally!!! This is starting to get out or Iraq. My favorite CNN reporter, Michael Ware does a report on labor abuse committed by KBR and their subcontractors in Baghdad, specifically in the airport area where I live. This is something I've been pressing people about for a year and a half. FBI, Border Patrol, State Dept, nobody is willing to take a stand on this. Meanwhile thousands of migrant laborers, almost all from S.Asia are living without full civil rights, no labor protections, and arguably - in debt bondage. All those jobs soldiers used to do: laundry, cooking, construction, water management, trash removal, in this neo-con war is being done with cheap labor out of S.Asia. The guys who work in our cafeteria make between one and two dollars and hour. They work seven days a week, 12 hours a day. In a month they make less than 700 dollars and they have to PAY to get the jobs. Keep in mind, these guys are working INSIDE American bases. These are the guys who put the food on the soldiers plate. How much did they pay to get here? Most have paid labor brokers between three and five thousand dollars. They sell their family farms or take loans from loan sharks in their home countries at usary interest rates. THIS IS INDENTURED SERVITUDE. WRITE YOUR CONGRESSPERSON(S). This is not my America, but this is all in our names.

Bush League: New Shots from Malawi - Vmbuza

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cykuck/3013532141/ Vmbuza is a healing dance. It happens at the traditional healer's compound once a week, usually on a Friday night and lasts all night.

The women play a rhythm with wooden sticks. A couple guys play a second rhythm with hand drums. It's LOUD and it's POWERFUL. The traditional healer led the songs, which I think are partly or wholly improvised and can last 15 or 20 minutes.

The patients dance until they can't dance any more. I have no doubt that it makes people feel better. It makes me feel better every time I go!

Drinking the Tigris: Relief!

What an astonishing moment in our history. From my perspective here in Iraq, while I love the message of hope and I believe in that whole heartedly, mostly I feel relief. Ethan Bronner wrote this in the NY Times from Palestine. It sums it up for me: "But wonder is almost overwhelmed by relief. Mr. Obama's election offers most non-Americans a sense that the imperial power capable of doing such good and such harm - a country that, they complain, preached justice but tortured its captives, launched a disastrous war in Iraq, turned its back on the environment and greedily dragged the world into economic chaos - saw the errors of its ways over the past eight years and shifted course."

Drinking the Tigris: The World is Watching

Just back from Malawi yesterday. A lot to report from there, but on the eve of the election, I want to share this instead: From the Economist:

http://www.economist.com/vote2008/index.cfm

The whole world is holding its breath!!!

Bush League: Shooting THE END

I've been looking forward to this for a long time. I start the trip back to Malawi tomorrow. It'll take five days to get from Baghdad to the village. I'll have a full week to shoot the epilogue for Bush League then Jake and I will make our way to the south of the country. I'm really excited to see everybody and really hoping there isn't much bad news. Gama, the guy who took care of us in the village, died last autumn of HIV/AIDS. I'm a little worried about who else might be sick, or worse.

It's been two years since I started shooting the film. I don't know how much longer it will take, but I hope it doesn't end too soon. I love that place and I've learned a great deal from its people.

Drinking the TIgris: New Shots from Baghdad

Some new shots from Baghdad. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cykuck/3671172034/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cykuck/2911981311/

This, for me, is the untold story of this war. All the labor; cleaning, cooking and washing is done by S. Asian laborers. Their pay is meager. The guys who clean at the Dining Facility work 12 hours per day seven days a week and make, in total, $350.00 per month. If Nike or Coca Cola made a fat profit off their backs the way KBR (Halliburton) does, people would be up in arms. But nobody knows about this, and it's happening at every base in Iraq. In our Dining Facility there are NO Americans serving food. Maybe one now and then. The staff is well over 25 guys per shift and they serve thousands of meals per day. They clean the floors, take out the trash, pour the coffee, they work the registers at the PX, they do everything except fight.

The truth is, for many of these people it's a great opportunity but what I wonder about are their labor rights and how many of them are indentured servants.

Drinking the Tigris: Sandstorm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cykuck/4977627349/ taken Sept, 2008 at 3pm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cykuck/2845752577/

the next morning

Sandstorms here aren't like the ones in movies. The wind doesn't pick the desert floor up to snap it out like a bull whip. It's more like a surprise sneeze. A gust and a squint of the eyes. A diffused red wall rolls in like fog. Then the wait. How long it will take for the billions and trillions of tiny particles, finer than talcum, to find a gentle landing? Last year they only lasted a day. This year, because of the drought in Iraq, they last for days. It sticks to the TV. It fills nostrils and sinus cavities. It fills the windshield wipers. It fills the carpet, and turns the floor of the shower red. It lies across the bed waiting, suppressing its sly joy before it crawls up on your tired face and covers your skin. Finally, it creeps into your consciousness where it smoothers your patience and dries up your imagination. It's in everything. It's everywhere. It creeps and curls and corkscrews and connives its way into every crack and seam in life. It turns the world red.

A Day's Pay for Obama!!! Day 3

Wow! Hey everybody, the ONE DAYS PAY group raised $1075.00 during the last 48 hours! I think this is a real testament to how strongly people feel about the coming election. If you already made a contribution, I'd like to thank you again. If you haven't, don't forget, even a modest contributions of $5.00 really counts! In fact, it's those small donations that have made the difference for Obama this year. If you're strapped for cash, then of coarse, save your money for those things you need to get by. But don't forget that you have lots of people around you who may be indifferent, disillusioned or disappointed with politics. Your words are worth just as much as your dollars. Let them know how you feel, let them know its important, talk about it and let's make sure our less motivated friends and family get out to vote! For Obama!

All the best from Baghdad,

Cy Kuckenbaker

You can make a contribution here!:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/OneDaysPay

A Day's Pay for Obama!!! Day 2

Hey Everybody! We raised $525.00 in 24 hours! That's great. For those who contributed thank you so much. For those who haven't, remember even 5 dollars makes a big difference.

I had the opportunity today to talk with a high level State Dept official who just returned to Iraq from D.C. He had a meeting with Joe Biden, who he says is a great guy. More importantly, he says the buzz behind the scenes in DC is that everyone is scared to death the election is going to be REALLY tight and end in gridlock again. It's going to be close. Get involved while you still can. If you’re broke, no worries. Get out and talk to your friends and family, get registered and VOTE. And, if you've got a five to spare, don't be shy.

All the best from Baghdad,

Cy Kuckenbaker

contribute here:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/OneDaysPay

A Day's Pay for Obama!!!

Hello everybody, Cy here, and I'm really worried. Seven years of George Bush and 15 months in Iraq is more than enough to teach me that I, we, must get involved in our politics and that we really do need CHANGE.

I've decided to contribute all the pay I earn from today, Sept 11th, to Obama's campaign and put my money where my mouth is. The Republicans have been using this day for seven years to keep us off balance and fearful. I want to reverse that and put my day, and my days pay behind something that I believe in. Please join me and make a contribution. Whether its one hours pay or a days pay. We have an extraordinary opportunity before us; lets do everything we can to make it happen! WE MUST WIN THIS ELECTION.

Please follow the link below or go to my.barackobama.com!

http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/OneDaysPay

All the best,

Cy Kuckenbaker

Drinking the Tigris: Old Glory II

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paintedland/2446656346/ I posted on this back in May, here's the latest from JR's Hughto's notes:

Last week I had the LAPD's Major Crimes Division: Anti-Terrorism Intelligence Section follow up with me about this. They stopped by and slipped a card under my door with a note saying "Please call [them] regarding an investigation." After I called, I found out I was the target of the investigation. They wanted to see my negatives, and while they agreed that nothing I had done was illegal, they did insist on coming over to my place before work to speak with me.

So, two agents came by and interviewed me for half an hour. They looked around my place, and I showed them the contact sheet - a roll with 4 pictures of the refinery, the others of innocuous things like my girlfriend and koreatown graf. After running out of nice ways to find out who I was, the agent filling out the forms asked, simply, "So, are you a Muslim?" I laughed out of shock and discomfort, and replied, "No."

They then stood, shook my hand, assured me again that I had done nothing illegal, and left. All told, they probably wasted a day and a half between the two of them on my case, when one well phrased google search could have led them here.

Dominican Republic

My trips usually beat the hell out of me then I go home ten pounds lighter and need to sleep for a month. The Dominican was a vacation. I was there for a week and I loved it. We stayed on the Northern Peninsula the whole week driving around with Fernando listening to local music, eating coconuts and seeing the sights. That place has been blessed with beauty. It's lush and the water is bright blue. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cykuck/2767546654/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cykuck/2775037466/

Drinking the Tigris: Petra

I got another R&R out of Baghdad this month. Woo hoo! I went home, but stopped in the Dominican Republic on the way. On my return to Baghdad, I flew back early and spent a couple days in Petra, which is in the South of Jordan. I'll get to the Dominican, but while it's fresh, a few words on Petra. Petra blew my socks off. What an incredible place. After a year of living in a pen in Baghdad through which I have no connection to the country except hearing the call to prayer on the car radio, it was great to get an impression of the Middle East and the heritage of the region that is authentic and first person. Petra is unlike anything I've ever seen because it's the combination of a manmade wonder and a natural wonder. Just the slot canyon that leads to the Treasury is stunning. The temples and caves beyond it speak to a society of enormous resource and organization that slowly vanished. The Bedouin people who live there now fascinated me. I have never had such an impression; that a person could belong completely to one specific landscape. The Bedouin gave me that impression. They've mingled into the rock and peaks with such natural ease it's hard for me to reconcile. How can a person have no fear of heights? I saw a man on a precipice hundreds of feet above a canyon floor poking his head around and yelling to his friends below. I can't imagine how he got up there without a rope. He was very casually looking for a lost goat. You'll see in the video below a Bedouin girl who thinks nothing of hanging her legs over the edge of a cliff. Incredible.

I hiked for two full days and wore myself down to nothing by the end. I got really excited and should have slowed down. By the second night I was sick. A little dehydrated and feverish, but it was worth it. It's one of the best travel experiences I've ever had. Here's a fun little video of the highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm0No52RLvY&feature=player_embedded