For Iraqi Orphans: Artistic, Poetic Justice {UpDate}

(8 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Can we ever give them the real justice they deserve?

That of us bringing to accountability those who, like the dictator of their country we once supported, no questions asked,  gave the orders {on fixed intelligence} to destroy, kill, and torture their family members and fellow countrypersons!

Or will we once again bury our guilt in our apathy and arrogance and watch as others, hopefully, take that Moral Leadership?

For the war-beaten orphans of the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit, this big old shoe fits.

A huge sculpture of the footwear hurled at President Bush in December during a trip to Iraq has been unveiled in a ceremony at the Tikrit Orphanage complex.

The shoe monument, made of fiberglass and coated with copper, consists of the shoe and a concrete base. The entire monument is 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) high. The shoe is 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) long and 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) wide.

The orphans helped al-Amiri build the $5,000 structure — unveiled Tuesday — in 15 days, said Faten Abdulqader al-Naseri, the orphanage director.

“Those orphans who helped the sculptor in building this monument were the victims of Bush’s war,” al-Naseri said. “The shoe monument is a gift to the next generation to remember the heroic action by the journalist.”

“When the next generation sees the shoe monument, they will ask their parents about it,” al-Naseri said.

“Then their parents will start talking about the hero Muntadhir al-Zaidi, who threw his shoe at George W. Bush during his unannounced farewell visit.”

The Kids: Looking at this picture, most were only babies when we invaded, they’ve known nothing but the destruction and hardships of the occupation around them.

This new statue has been erected in Tikrit Iraq to commemorate the shoe attack on President George Bush when he visited the country last year.

Iraqi Shoe Hurler Inspires Art in Saddam Hometown

Shoe of force: Iraqi sculptor creates work to `honor’ man who took aim at Bush

A sofa-sized sculpture – a single copper-coated shoe on a stand carved to resemble flowing cloth – was formally unveiled to the public Thursday in the hometown of the late Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein.

Officials and visitors walked around the outdoor sculpture during the brief ceremony, pondering on its eccentricities – such as a tree poking up from the shoe’s interior.

Its sculptor called it a fitting tribute to the shoe hurler, Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi, and his folk hero reputation in parts of the Muslim world and beyond.

The Baghdad-based artist, Laith al-Amari, said the work honors al-Zeidi and “is a source of pride for all Iraqis.” He added: “It’s not a political work,”

And what do the grownup Iraqi’s think of the memorial:

Daily News

Baghdad-based artist Laith al-Amari described the fiberglass-and-copper work as a tribute to the pride of the Iraqi people.

The statue is inscribed with a poem honoring Muntadhar al-Zeidi, the Iraqi journalist who stunned the world when he whipped off his loafers and hurled them at Bush during a press conference on Dec. 14.

In the Arab world, even showing someone the sole of a shoe is considered a sign of disrespect.

Back in early ’07 I put together a few posts, and photo video’s, of what the possible future will look like and what we may have left the next generations to deal with, not just the generations here in this country but anywhere on this planet.

“Child of War”

Iraqi Kids Drawn Into Jihad

Video: ABC News: Children of War

It only takes a few to show their anger and retaliate with criminal terrorism, that which we wrought upon them, anywhere they choose!

Update:

As the iraqi’s go to the polls today, 1-31-09, and vote we get the example of what the results of ‘Free Speach’ and ‘Expression’ are to their country:

Bush shoe sculpture ‘taken down’

A sculpture of a shoe erected in Iraq to honour a journalist who threw his footwear at George W Bush has been dismantled, reports say.

Foreign media say the bronze-coloured fibre-glass shoe was removed from its site in the city of Tikrit on the orders of the local authorities.

It had been erected in the grounds of an orphanage.

The monument was reportedly taken down just a day after being unveiled in the late Saddam Hussein’s home town.

The head of the Childhood organisation, which owns the orphanage, said she had been told to remove the monument immediately by the Salaheddin Provincial Joint Coordination Centre.