One night back in September when I was in Baghdad, I was watching "The Pursuit for Happyness" with my wife. At about 11pm my cell phone rang. It was a number that I did not recognize. The following conversation took place:

Me: Hello 

Him: If you are man enough, let me see you at the front door of your house tomorrow morning (in a very angry accent).

That was all. He hung up.

It took me some seconds to realize that this was a threat. My hand was shaking. My wife asked me who it was. I told her. She started crying, and saying "I told you we shouldn't have came back. We should have stayed in Jordan".

A million thing went through my mind. I was thinking of who would raise my daughter after my death. How would my mom handle my death…Why will I be killed??

I got a hold of myself and called they guy. The second conversation went like:

Me: Hello

Him: Who told you to call this number (still the same angry voice)

Me: But you called me a while ago, and you said somethings that I could not understand

Him: Was I talking to you in kurdish?? I am telling you, if you are man enough, let me see you at your house's front door tomorrow morning

Me: What are you talking about? Do you know me? Do you know who or where am I?

Him: Oh I know you. You that bastard Omar who hangs out by "Abu-Hanifa's Mosque" in Adhamiya

Me: Uhhhh…..No. I am not Omar. And I don't live in Adhamiya

Him: I am telling you once more, if you are man enough, be at your house's front door tomorrow morning

And he hung up again.

I could not really understand what was going on. Few minutes later, the same number rang on my cell phone and hung-up even before I answered. I picked up the phone and called him again.

Me: Hello

Him: Sorry brother, it was the wrong number. I have nothing to do with you.  And it wasn't you whom I meant to threat.

Me: You f*ck face. You just call around and threaten people that you don't even know. Do you know what my family is doing now because of your phone call. F*ck you and everyone who seeks death in this country.

And this time, I hung-up.

Can you imagine what was that like??

The next morning, my one-year old daughter woke me up as she used to do. At about 9am I lit a cigarette and sat down thinking. I was thinking probably by now, this Omar fellow is dead. How did it become so easy to kill people? I mean what the hell was that phone call for. If they, whoever 'they' are, have decided to kill someone, why would they call him 10 hours before it?

Is it really joyful for them to make their targets suffer their worst fears before they die?

Oh man the human life became so cheap in Iraq. Even cheaper than Hentish.