Mer om deltagarna:
Qasim Sabti är konstnär och föreståndare för gallerikaféet Hewar, en
mötesplats för konstnärer och intellektuella i Bagdad som hållit öppet under
hela kriget och ockupationen. Läs hans berättelse om ockupationen, hoppet
och konsten här.
Läs också gärna mer på hans hemsida.
Fadi Sami Alsaig är företagsekonom i Bagdad och vill bli poet. Han
älskar poeten Arthur Rimbaud: ”Hans dikter är som en bibel för mig”. Läs
hans text om livet och kulturlivet i Bagdad här.
CHATTEN
moderator: Welcome to the web chat! Qasim Sabti and Fadi Sami Alsaig are now online.
khaleda: hi how is it on bagdad . talk about yourself and how you have it on irak
Fadi Sami Alsaig, CBE: Hi Khaleda, Baghdad after the war is messed up. You can't think, you can't leave. You deal with death and destrucion every day.
hi: hi how are you, talk about yours self and how is it on the irak ?
Fadi Sami Alsaig, CBE: My name is Fadi, I am a christian from Iraq. I've studied business manegement. I dream if becoming a writer. I love life but sometimes you find my talk sad - but the situation is so bad. It hurts me so much to see this situation every day and to loose so many friends. So, this is me.
Tor B, Cape Tow: Goodmorning. Internet culture is dependant of speed, access and cost. Here in South Africa it is many times more expensive to use the Internet compared to Sweden. Hence, phenomena like Youtube and file sharing is almost non existent here. How would you describe the culture around Internet in Baghdad?
Fadi Sami Alsaig, CBE: Hi Tor, in Baghdad the government tolerate all websites. Everything is allowed. You can see everything in the internet, especially Youtube. In some countries, like Turkey, Youtube isn't allowed. And there are open conversations about religion and culture in Iraq. And it doesnt cost so much money. Like 40 dollars a month and then you can use it 24 hours a day.
khaleda: hi how is it on bagdad . talk about yourself and how you have it on irak
Qasim Sabti, painter: Baghdad is now more great and the people fell well and the Baghdad night comes back in our memory after the last things that happened in Baghdad and now disappear. For me, I'm lucky to stay in Baghdad and I'm fighting in my artistic way for the best side of our life and we did many expositions in Hewar. I'm really happy to stay in Baghdad and I can say that a lot of artist stay in Baghdad looks like the last men of mohicans .
Nils: Do you believe that what the americans did had any positive effect on Iraq in the short and in the long run?
Fadi Sami Alsaig, CBE: My opinion is: it made the community more open. We can use internet, mobiles, satellites. But...I loose the words... [connection lost]
moderator: The connection to Baghdad is so-so, but we're finding a sollution through phones.
Peter: Hey, i have a few questions. how is the freedom of speech in Iraq? And how is the economi in Iraq? i would like to know because i would be glad to know and we have a schoolproject about Iraq. Thanks
Qasim Sabti, painter: We can talk today about everything and anything but in the past, under the Saddam regime we knew our restrictions.
Fadi Sami Alsaig, CBE: Hi Peter, there isn't any freedom of speech. It's the same situation as in the Saddam days. You can't talk about everything on the streets, like religion. It's still the same. And the economy is very bad. About two million people are without work and hope. Some people are now working with militias because there are no other jobs . And if you want to work in the government you have to belong to a party in Iraq.
Anna: Good morning. So many people left Iraq, how come that you didn't? What made you stay? Second question, how do you think Iraq and Baghdad will look like in 5 years? Thanks to you and to Sydsvenskan for giving this oppertunity to chat!
Fadi Sami Alsaig, CBE: Good afternoon Anna, I am still in Iraq because my financial situation isnt good. I dont have money to leave. The second is that I cant leave my family here. If I leave I have to take my whole family with me. Its so hard. It will cost your house, you have to sell everything to leave. Its hard to get a visa also. In five years, I dont know. I dont know the future. We hope everything will be better.
Raya asee: When we see the artist's belief EMAN ALSHOK again? Do your work in a joint exhibition with her as you told me one days?? Rogue question Does her works more beautiful than yours???? Love and greetings to you and her and To all of you With particular
Qasim Sabti, painter: She is ready to show her art in any corner in this world, and she has more than 50 pantings ready to show, but nobody is interested in art now, and I told her to show her work in my gallery in September. NO I have a really different style. Yes she is my wife but in art she is not my wife, she is my enemy. Thank you Raya and really we missed you .
Roger: hello! Give some examples of absurd things that occur in bagdad today that increases peoples freedom, ability to live a "normal life"...
Fadi Sami Alsaig, CBE: There are some secret things, like the gay community. It's getting bigger and bigger in Baghdad. I have heard this from so many friends here. There are some movies in cinemas about gays. And there are some coffeshops for gay people. I've been to some of them but I can't sit there for more than five minutes =) The funny things, I mentioned it in my diary, they sell porn movies in the markets. In the Saddam time the government was very tough and executed and prisoned the ones that sold porn.
MT: Hello, How do you see upon cultural work in a time and a place like Irak at the moment. What is the potential of culture at times like these?
Fadi Sami Alsaig, CBE: The culture now in Baghdad is idle. No one tries to read or attend shows. All the culture people, the artists, now live outside of Iraq now because people tried to kill them. People here can't write and read because they can only think about keeping safe.
Lisa Magnell: Tell about the cutlure life in Bagdad
Fadi Sami Alsaig, CBE: Hi Lisa, there is almost no culture now. And before the war the culture was choked to death. If you wanted to do a music show you had to sing about Saddam Hussein. If you wanted to do a play in the theatre it had to do with the government. There wasn't any freedom to talk about your feelings or thought. But I'm kind of a indoor person so maybe somebody knows more than me.
Tor B, Cape Tow: Has the war and the occupation created any new cultural and artistic expressions or genres?
Qasim Sabti, painter: There are many artist that change their style according to what happened during the tragic events under the occupation, and we did many activities for that one of important art expressions about Abo graib. I remember a number of artists like Slam omer and Kareem ressan and Ali ressan and Shaddad qahar and Kareem sefo and me did a lot and created a lot of things in our art style.
Hussein: Hello my brother. I wonder how the majority feel about USA still are in Iraq? I want to say much more but I can´t drop my whole anger here. Peace
Fadi Sami Alsaig, CBE: I feel the same anger about the americans, that they are still here. But if the americans leave Iraq it will be much worse. People will kill each other more. And the christians, they are afraid. In Mosul they can't go to the churchs to worship any more. Most of the christians leave Iraq now, there is no chance for them.
Peter: How do you think the future will be in Iraq? I mean about politics, economi, and ofcourse the oil?
Fadi Sami Alsaig, CBE: For me everything is so mysterius. I dont know how the future will be. We can only guess about oil and politics. Iraq is full of surprises. Everything change suddenly here. But if the politics wasnt mixed with religion it would be better. I hope that everyone work within his field: the politican in his field and the religious man in his field.
Klas B: Hello, I'm curious about if you can travel and bring your art to expositions in other cities in Iraq? Do you have connections to artists, say, in Basra? Or in neighbouring countries?
Qasim Sabti, painter: its easy to show my art in all the iraqi cities even Kurdistan, and i did a number of expositions in Paris 2003, and [connection lost]
Paul: In what way do you think the turmoil and chaos affect the creative process in the cultural life of Iraq?
Fadi Sami Alsaig, CBE: It has affected it in a positive way, at least for me. There is so much chaos and destruction in Baghdad. You can write down your thoughts about that, write poems. And it hasn't just affected iraqi people inside the country, also outside the country. There are so many documentaries and songs made about the war, about the american soldiers and how they have suffered.
lekaa sarsam: I do not have a question i just wanted to say we Iraqies here in Sweden miss Hiwar and Kasem ...we wish that we have a place to gather uss as Hewar did. Regards to all and a big hug to baghdad.
Qasim Sabti, painter: And Hewar Missed you alot Lekaa and a big hugs and kisses from here.
Lisa Magnell: do you see any changes coming in the future for the culture life
Fadi Sami Alsaig, CBE: After my visit in the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad I saw how people were starting to create. People there were working like bees.
Raya asee: I'm not with Fadi when he say there's no culture now in BAGHDAD because Qasim with his gallery is still there, shadad, naser, fahmi alqaysi, taha wheb, muqdad abdulredha, raed mohsen, and fadhel mihsen and more and more... So i think its still there. Or how we can't be and we talk now through these and with hajar assistent
Fadi Sami Alsaig, CBE: I haven't heard the news about the culture field. The only person I know from the field is Basim Hajar in Malmö and he was the one who told me about the cultural people who are still working in Baghdad. Sorry about that. And they dont show so much about the cultural life in the news.
moderator: (Unfortunately we often loose connection to our friends in Iraq.)
Lisa Magnell: Do you know any people that been in Sweden and was not allowed to stay here, and what is the opinion of how they were treated in Sweden
Fadi Sami Alsaig, CBE: I heard that some people went to Sweden. Some people got visas, some not. Some went there legally, some not. I think that iraqi people are suffering in Sweden, because they have a difficult time finding work - this is what I hear. My relatives left Iraq many years ago. There situation is good, they live in the US and London. There is no complaining from them =) Except they miss Iraq...
Linn: How does it make a change for you, knowing that people in the far north (Sweden) are concerned about the future of artistic expression in Baghdad? Cheers to you and the newspaper staff for making the connection possible, peace
Fadi Sami Alsaig, CBE: I think its a good chance for people outside of Iraq to understand what is happening here, all the death and the brutal things. It's a good chance for us to make people know how iraqis are suffering. But it has surprised me that people in Sweden are interested. I'm still chocked!
Charlotte: How well are you able to show your art? Have the security concerns decreased when planning events in order to give people the ability to actually experience art? And my last question: art ables people to overcome obstacles and horrific memories of war and other experiences, thus how has art education been affected for children and adults alike? Are materials available or is it largeley owing to families for art to flourish?
Qasim Sabti, painter: Yes I can show my art always, and there is no problem. Now we can show our art inside our houses even, we are free to make our security by ourselves instead of anyone planning something for us. We believe that the culture of life will crash to death and this is the meninges of our experiences. We are return back to the life.
Moderator: We're closing this chat soon. Some final thoughts from our guests from Baghdad?
Fadi Sami Alsaig, CBE: Some final thoughts...I dream about peace, happiness in Baghdad. I hope that all iraqis can live in safeness. I hope my voice is heard outside Iraq. I hope that people enjoyed my diary in Sydsvenskan and that it reflects how people here are suffering. Its an honour for me that people in Sweden have read my diary. So now I will go and have lunch. Later I will watch a movie or surf the internet. This is my life....Bye!
Hussein: Hello my brother. I wonder how the majority feel about USA still are in Iraq? I want to say much more but I can´t drop my whole anger here. Peace
Qasim Sabti, painter: You know dear, this will end someday and at last the USA will leave someday. We've lost many dear ones because of this, but we have a goal in the end, and we will keep fighting for art and for our life. I'm happy to see the USA leave Iraq . And that our hospitality to them comes from happiness rather than hate.
moderator: Thank you so much for all the great questions and answers! For now, we're closing the line to Baghdad.