Conflicting graffiti, exaggerated media stories, Ramadan and the UN

I remember before I came here I was reading in the papers that previously mixed neighbourhoods of Shia and Sunni in Baghdad were fragmenting and becoming predominantly Shia or Sunni enclaves. Under Saddam, society was much more secular and Shia and Sunni (and Christians) intermarried, lived next door to each other, went to the same schools, built and worshipped at their mosques (and churches) in the same neighbourhoods, etc etc. If this claim of fragmentation were true, it would have been one of the worst aspects of the consequences of the invasion. Upon speaking to Iraqis here, the message I get is that those stories are exaggerated and that, although it is happening to some degree, it's not as much as the papers say.

Ramadan started yesterday and will last for the next 30 days. The authorities are predicting an upsurge in the sectarian violence. It started yesterday with a big bomb at a place where people had gone to get cooking oil. 35 or more dead and who knows how many maimed for life. Even before I found out about that, there seemed to be something in the air that didn't feel right. It wasn't the feeling I was in danger, just generally an uneasy feeling. I wondered if maybe I'd reached the end of the honeymoon period, but today's fine, so maybe it was just something intangible in the atmosphere. Maybe we're tuned in to fear like animals are to earthquakes or eruptions.

I hope it doesn't go too ape shit during Ramadan, otherwise those stories of fragmentation will probably be closer to the truth than they are at the moment.

One of our guys handed in his notice the other day. He's been offered a job in Jordan and wants to get out of Baghdad so his daughters can go to school again. It got me thinking, well if it gets bad enough outside the IZ that more of our staff decide to get out of Iraq, then that will be curtains for my job. So I registered with the UN to try and keep a step ahead of the game. It means my personal history can get checked out by them now so that if I need to find something else in a hurry further down the line I shouldn't have to wait as long. Assuming they take me on of course.

Two conflicting pieces of graffiti. No prizes for guessing which one cracked me up.