Santa trumps Islamic State in Baghdad
Iraqi security officials are on high alert against Islamic State attacks during the holidays, but Iraqis appear to be going about business as usual.
Father Christmas has been spotted in various locations in Baghdad, hanging out at a coffee shop or at the entrance to a huge mall, where people gather around him and a Christmas tree, posing for pictures.
“In a city like our city, you need to live for the moment,” said Mahmoud Musawi, a father taking pictures of his son Adam in front of the tree. In Musawi's eyes, “There’s nothing that guarantees I’ll be here next year to add color to the life of my son, so I want to live it to the maximum.”
The scene at the mall says a lot about how much the people of Baghdad thirst for bits of normal life in a city that has for decades been considered an icon of death.
Amir, an employee at one of Baghdad’s few five-star hotels, was busy putting up New Year’s Eve party decorations at his workplace, when we met. “Every year, we celebrate Christmas and the New Year. This is not new here at the hotel. What is unusual is the way ordinary people are reacting to the season. Maybe it’s their way of showing their rejection of all sorts of extremism.”
