A DAY IN PRISON

The last couple of days have been pretty great!

On Thursday after work, the interns Cody and Michelle and I went to see X-Men: First Class

I have got to say, it was quite enjoyable, and is ranked at best superhero movie since Dark Knight (though it still doesn't hold a candle to it). Friday was a day to ourselves. I spent the morning reading and studying Hebrews, and the afternoon at Matt Willingham's discussing the resurrection and watching Arrested Development.

Today, Saturday, all of us interns went to the Amna Suraka, which is translated to Red Security. It is the prison where Saddam Hussein held and killed thousands of Kurds. It was overtaken by Kurds in 1991 and remains in the same condition as it was when it was captured with tanks left broken and buildings riddled with bullet holes and destruction

shattered mirror memorial

 The first room we walk into is this 80 ft long hallway decorated with shards of mirror set into mortar. It was beautiful. The ceiling was covered in strands of tiny little lights that reflected infinitely in the mirrors. Aesthetically it was incredible, symbolically it was powerful. Each of the 182,000 shards of mirror represented a kurd killed, and each of the 5000 lights represent a village destroyed in that last campaign against Kurds.

We then jumped around on derelict tanks and artillery. It is a lot of fun, climbing up on a tank and sitting atop the barrel of an iron monster. They are gigantic, and hot. I burned my hands a couple of times on the metal just sitting there baking in the sun. But later tonight it hit me like a superheated shell. I was sitting on an iron monster. A piece of machinery used to kill countless people. Used to spread terror and pain. And the only joy that comes is knowing that it can never be used for that again. Knowing that it is broken, and that is won't ever be fixed.

me in a tank....

Next we walked down into the basement of one of the cell blocks. It was once a room where men were tortured and women were raped. It had been filled with red lights and photographic prints of the atrocities committed by Hussein. Very similar to the concentration camps, there were piles of bodies horribly disfigured and abused. Children dead. It was sobering, and haunting. In the next building we saw the remnants of what once were prison cells. Now all that remains are bullet holes, fire damage and prisoners' carvings on the walls. War is glorified and desensitized by film and video games greatly. This was a great opportunity to see this. People argue that it doesn't. But it definitely does. It took me 5 hours from leaving the Amna Suraka to realize that. The entire time I was there I was enamoured with bullet holes and the aesthetic nature of the buildings after everything that had happened there.

A photo of bodies being dumped on the road, featured in the basement of Amna Suraka

Prisoners cell in Red Security Prison

Afterwards we left Amna Suraka we walked a few blocks to a grocery store/restuarant/coffee shop where we had lunch. Cody and Ryan and I discussed possible large scale awareness projects (one of my goals for this trip). We keep coming back to something that shows that Kurd, Arab, rich or Poor, are the same, and suffering in the same way.

We then took a walk into Parki Azadi which means Freedom Park. It was originally the grounds where Saddam would hold public executions, but after the Kurds took over, they built a park celebrating life and freedom over it! Such a testament to the progress that can be made! The park was beautiful and very expansive. It featured a monument listing the names of the individuals executed there, a large pond and tons and tons of grass and trees. The interns sat and hung out in the shade (greatly welcomed in the heat), and we all agreed that it didn't even feel like we were in Iraq. I guess the creators of the Parki Azadi achieved their goal.

The memorial to executed kurds in Parki Azadi

Today was overwhelming. When I left the prison, at first I saw no hope, only death and pain. But now looking at where we are years after Saddam's fall and almost 5 years after the inception of PLC, I see so much hope, so much love. The vision of PLC is to wage peace and mend communities at odds. This can happen, and is already beginning to happen. There is a future for this nation. There is a future for this planet. It begins rooted in Love, and grows into Peace. I am so blessed and excited to be a part of this movement of restoration.