This blog post was published on March 11 2012. §
Iraq police and officials lost in “emo” explanation
No need to add new things about the killings of Iraqi teenagers with “emo” hair cuts (and today on the BBC). A story widely covered by the mainstream media and even explained in details by Scott Long, former Human Rights Watch member (here, here and here), but there are two things ignored by the media:
1– The existence of “Community Police”:
A policing body inside the Ministry of the Interior, which we never heard about before and despite the “polished” explanation on the Iraqi Interior Ministry website, I think this something similar to the Saudi Mutaween (religious police) with more “civilized name”.
2– Lost in the “emos” explanation:
Police and officials scramble to explain the “emo”. Head of the security committee in Kadhmiya district said:
The “emos” are devil worshipers, homosexuals and vampires drink blood of each others. The head of the so-called “Community Police” denied the previous accusations, but interestingly he said:
We will obtain the required permissions to follow-up this case, the police and the Ministry of Education are cooperating to allow the police to enter the schools to “contain” the “emos” (or is “contain” a polite word for arrest these teenagers?).
Worst, this confusion is not only in Iraq, Arab newspaper came with strange headlines. UAE newspaper Al-Bayan: Dracula’s Descendants in Baghdad. Egyptian Al-Wafad: Surprise: The Confirmation of the existence of vampires in Iraq.
Sadly, not a single political party (religious or secular) defend these teenagers or even asked to investigate their death for the fear of losing their popular support or what’s left of it.