When i write, i forget all my worries - Anne Frank

This is my first official post and i'd like to make it a tribute to the all the Iraqi bloggers, especially one girl whose blog i follow regularly, Najma Abdullah... A 16 year old Iraqi in a war torn country, who wishes to voice out and let the world know the condition of the people there.. As you read her blog, shivers go down your spine. The extent of damage, destruction and death that surrounds the people there is overwhelming and as you read the words "i don't know if i'll come back home alive", a silent prayer you wish to voice out, hoping somewhere along the way, as it reaches Him, it will be heard and answered. There is also a slight hint of relief everytime you see the person writing a new post, knowing that they've kept up their spirits and they live.

There is goes.. a salute to those who brave the odds only to let the world know. As a student of the media, my learning often revolves around these three sentences, which are the three commandments of journalism, "Let the people know, create awareness and monitor the working". These have been told to me so many times over the last two years that i've scrutinised almost all pieces of writing that way, tearing them apart, the way a journalistic critic would. And these people have captured the most renowned moments of citizen journalism that could ever be done.

Najma reminds me of a book i read not long ago, 'Anne Frank - The diary of a young girl'. Anne Frank's diary is a book that would haunt the whole world, reminding us of the inhumane-ness of the holocaust era. Similarly, this more techno savvy 'diary' gives us a good look into the life of that young girl. Maybe thats what she had in mind when she started blogging. Maybe we'll never really know... The truth is always never black or white but a shade of gray

She is indeed 'A Star from Mosul'