George M. Abouna

Chapter 2

Moving to Baghdad

1939

It was a sad day for the Abouna family when they left Elkosh. It never occurred to them that they would miss their home before they even left! The long journey to Baghdad was set in motion. Under the morning blue sky, fresh blossoms scented the soft winds over the green prairies between Elkosh and Mosul. Another look at the ruins of Nineveh took Mansour centuries into the dark past. Overwhelmed by emotion, for him it seemed as if history was repeating itself! Centuries before, his predecessors had been forced to escape into the mountains when Nineveh was ransacked and destroyed, leaving nothing behind but a few silent artifacts that could not attest to the rest of the world the glory they once had.

Mansour knew that the hardest days were still ahead of him. Along with his wife and his two children, he had to face the uncertainty in a place where he had little help, if any. In the midst of thinking, he reached out for his tobacco pouch, ready to roll a cigarette. He lit the cigarette and took a deep sigh. Looking through the windows he exhaled as if he was trying to blow away all of his worries! The smile on the faces of his children made him keep his worries to himself. He tried to escape thinking about his looming problems as he attempted to focus on the scenery along the route. Unfortunately, there was not much to see! Most of the land south of Mosul is dry and relies heavily on rain. Once the rainy season is over, the land looks like a flat yellow basin, with some hills here and there but no signs of life other than a few small Arab villages scattered along the way, some of which have resting-places for travelers. He could not help but to think about the possibility of failing in his endeavor. Finally, he came to terms with himself.

“It is not a failure if I fall, but it is a total failure if I stay where I fall. I just have to pick myself up and keep going,” he thought.

It was late in the afternoon when the Abouna family made it to Baghdad, a totally different environment compared with the small towns and villages they had lived in. The city had new buildings with modern architectural designs, public squares, statures, neat gardens and wide, clean, paved streets. Stores were busy with customers; many of whom were dressed in western styles. New cars zoomed all day through the streets—a sure sign of life!

Although Baghdad was trying hard to catch up with the rest of the civilized world, many scenes from the past were still evident on its streets. Transport and passenger cars pulled by horses, and in the bazaars, people, horses, donkeys, mules, and even camels mixed together! It was ironic to see clothes and shoes placed in shiny and clean glass cabinets, whereas vegetables, fruits, and dairy products were placed outside along with animal carcasses hanging outside butcher shops exposed to dust and all kinds of insects (a common practice in all third-world countries). No wonder infectious diseases were so prevalent.