By: Juan Pawiroredjo
Rawand Darwesh was supposed to Skype
with students but students interviewed
him over a conference call.
Rawand Darwesh is an alumnus of American University, School of Communication and currently resides in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. He spoke of the situation in Iraq and gave a different point of view as opposed to what he called “The CNN effect.” The CNN effect reveres to the imagery large corporate media companies focus on, in order to get favorable viewer ratings.
It was nice to hear that certain parts of Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, have not been affected by the war. Many people live in peace everyday and still have a very normal life. These regions have however, been confronted with the many displaced people who fled the War affected areas.
Rawand also presented a fresh perspective on the love-hate relationship the Iraqi’s have with the USA. Many Iraqi’s were filled with joy towards the USA when they freed the people from the infamous leader Saddam Hussein. Later the relationship between these two countries took a turn for the worse. As Rawand spoke of the gratitude the Iraqi’s had towards the soldiers of the USA, I couldn’t help but recall the images of joy many Iraqi’s displayed when the retreat of the United States’ soldiers was announced. I guess there are always two sides to every story.
This article was originally posted here.
Check out some photos from the day:
