Every step I take is a blessing from Above.  Every breath I take is a reminder that I still live.  Every day I open my eyes is another reason to praise my God.

My name is Shahzad Afiq Al Azad.  I am eleven years old.  I live in the mean city of Baghdad; Baghdad, at the current time, is embroiled in war; it is dangerous to be outside.  To do so would literally mean taking your life into your own hands.  We live underneath a blanket of fear because we don't know where enemy troops lie, waiting to pounce upon us like unsuspecting prey.

I am happy to say I still have Mother and Father; howevever, I have lost an older brother, Mahood, and a baby brother, Ali, to insurgency.  Mahood died three years ago; he was thirteen.  If he lived today, he would be sixteen.  As for Ali, he was but two months old; he died in Mother's arms.  I will never forget the awful keening cries she made as she held her mortally wounded, dead baby in her arms.

This war has changed me.  Some people say the Americans are to blame for the misery that's encapsulated our land; I say otherwise.  The Americans are trying to help us become free, and they are the ones who seem to be suffering the most.  The problem lies more in the insurgents, who are bent on destroying any chance of peace or freedom for our nation.

I have grown from a little boy to a near-man almost overnight.  I have seen/heard/smelt things that no human being has a right to; my sleep at  night is often coloured with reaccurring nightmares that I cannot escape from.

So far I have not been injured by any bombs or shrapnel, but what's to say I won't be later on?  Tomorrow?  A few days from now?  As I said earlier, to be outside is extremely unsafe and dangerous; it is better to remain inside, huddled together for safety, and pray to God that He spares us any more heartbreak.

I sometimesm feel God is standing there, Fingers in His Ears; He seems to be ignoring our pleas for help.

Well, I must go now.  Power went out again; no telling what will happen next.  I pray I live another hour, another day, another week, another month, another year ...  God, hear Your people; we need Your help now more than ever ...

~Shahzad Al Azad, Baghdad, Iraq, May 2010.  :(

*to be continued.*