Congratulations to All Iraqis for Winning the Asia Cup!

Posted on July 30, 2007
Filed Under Iraq, Yaaaay! |

It’s a good day for Iraqis and I am very happy for them. It’s nice to see them celebrating on the streets of Baghdad and feeling some rare joy.

Sunday’s dramatic win capped a three-week campaign by Iraqi team, nicknamed “The Lions of the Two Rivers.” Iraqis were captivated and spoke of hope, even as years of violence and sectarian strife have many asking if ethnically and religiously divided Iraq can survive as one nation.

The team’s players do not live in Iraq and earn their wages playing for teams across the Middle East. Because of tenuous security at home, wars and U.N. sanctions, the team had not played a home game in 17 years and must train and practice abroad.

“We are celebrating because this team represents all Iraqi sects,” said Awas Khalid, one of the thousands of Kurds who celebrated the win in the city of Sulaimaniyah in the Kurdish north, where secessionist sentiment has been on the rise.

“This team is for everyone,” Khalid said, as revelers around him waved Iraqi and Kurdish flags and chanted “Baghdad is victorious” in Arabic instead of their native Kurdish language.

The mixed makeup of the winning national team was interpreted by many Iraqis as proof that politicians are more concerned with their narrow sectarian agendas than national interest, thus preventing reconciliation among rival factions.

Comments

One Response to “Congratulations to All Iraqis for Winning the Asia Cup!”

  1. Amjad on July 30th, 2007 7:55 am

    Congratulations to every Iraqi out there, in Baghdad and all over the world. They really deserve to be happy.

    As one of the Iraqis in UK said, “I hope football unites the entire Iraqi nation”. :-)

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