"The Last Iraqi" and what I remember about Ramadan

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"The Last Iraqi" and what I remember about Ramadan

Posted by: $author under Iraq Updated: August 11, 2010 - 6:31 PM

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For six weeks in 2006, I worked in the Baghdad Bureau of McClatchy Newspapers. During that time, a new comedy was taking the country by storm. We called it, "The Last Iraqi," but the real title for the show, which was produced in Dubai, translated from Arabic into "Hurry Up, He's Dead." The show was a testament to the resilient gallows humor of the Iraqi people. It began in the year 2017 with the last Iraqi washing ashore on a beach and each episode followed the antics of the last Iraqi as he tried to adjust.

One of the Iraqi staffers for McClatchy, Muhammed, was living almost full time in the bureau offices by then. It was too dangerous for him to return to his home in Fallujah. The episodes ran during Ramadan and Muhammed, living apart from his family, would prepare his meal to break his fast and we'd sit down at the kitchen table to watch the show. It was a nightly ritual, with him explaining to me what was going on and both of us laughing. For what might appear to be obvious reasons, Iraqis have some of the darkest humor of any people I have come across. I quickly came to appreciate it.

Ramadan is the Islamic month of fasting, which is intended to teach Muslims patience, humility and spirituality. It will be one of my most profound experiences to have been in a Muslim country during Ramadan. My nightly time with Muhammed and "The Last Iraqi" will also be remembered for a TV show that brought, if ever briefly, two people from two different worlds closer together.