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Anis Alamgir
Pages: 317
Publisher: Kagoj Prokashon
Price: Tk 330

Iraq opened up!

If there is a book that works both as a travelogue and a written document for the Iraq war then this will be it. Smooth flowing, precise, incisive and full of anecdotes Iraq Ronangone must be one of the best books to come out this February. Leave the fictions, and step into the domain of reality and keep the saying, ‘reality is often more startling than fiction' at the back of your head. This book opens up Iraq like no other. Covering the social degradation of the Iraqi society in the post Gulf war period of economic sanctions to the days of the intense chaos and pandemonium just after the fall of Saddam last year, this account gives us a thorough picture as to how a country floating in luxury and Petro-Dollar waded into a sea of financial constraint.

In fact, unless one reads this account it will be difficult to make a contrast between the country's powerful financial position of the seventies to the crumbling situation of the nineties.

In the mid-seventies when middle-eastern countries with their fat salaries became the most lucrative destination Iraq was on the top of the list of preferred countries, but Anis Alamgir's account gives us the picture of a nation that is just a shadow of its glorious past.

As soon as he lands in Iraq he finds that there are no mobile phones in the country, taking US Dollars from foreigners on any pretext is a favourite among the local officials and the country has very few Internet facilities. Obviously, the reader is stunned at such a poor projection of a country, which had cradled one of the oldest civilisations in the world.

The tempo of the book builds up from before the war actually begins. Anis recounts his efforts to acquire a visa and a circuitous route that he had to take to end up in Baghdad .

As the account goes like a travelogue, the writer touches each place that he stayed before going to Iraq . Unfortunate incidents at Calcutta airport along with the writer's indignation at being treated unfairly are written without any prevarication. As he lands in Iraq , we get the true scenario of the country- a country ravaged by war, confused by its leader's whims and uncertain about what to do. Anis brings every little detail under scrutiny. The massive inflation ( $100=2 lakh 40 thousand Dinar), the excess interest of most officials to get hold of US Dollars are bared open without any pretence.

The book, like I said before, never stumbles, and the language is so crisp that it appears that Anis Alamgir is actually talking to you.

Each section deals with a particular topic and the tensions mount up gradually as the account goes deep into missile bombing, wide spread devastation, shortage of food, increase in the price of comestibles and eventually the fall of Saddam. The post-war vandalisation is depicted with detail and we see that along with the men, women also took part in the looting.

The general disillusionment affecting the common people underlies many of the conversations that Anis has with the Iraqi people. Though we find that there is a strong support for Saddam, it becomes clear that with the 8 years war with Iran and the Gulf war behind the nation the common people had become so accustomed to destruction that they could hardly do anything else. The account is beautifully supported by colour and black and white photos and in the beginning of the book Anis gives us historical facts involving Iraq , USA , Oil concessions and the long term plan of some companies to establish their authority on oil reserves of the world. Here, Anis astutely refrains from making any personal observation. He tells us how the world and the major global powers have conveniently changed sides and positions over the issue of oil. These events are substantiated by major political changes around the globe. The points given above if looked logically clears any possible ambiguity surrounding the motives of the war.

Be that as it may-Iraq Ronangone is a book that definitely deserves a place in a collection. At the same time, this account is a salute to the profession of journalism. But, we find that Anis was the only journalist from Bangladesh to be in Iraq during the war. Naturally, we ask why journalists from other papers were not sent.

Anyway, riveting descriptions, tight composition, neutral projections of events and at times clear-cut confessions make this a book worth reading. Forget, the novels and get this account-you will not regret it a second. As for Anis Alamgir, this much can be said that he should consider writing more journalistic travelogues in the future he has a natural knack to reach out to his readers.

Reviewed by Towheed Feroze
The Independent, Dhaka