An Iraqi couple finds love amid the shattered glass

In the Monitor's latest check-in with the Methboub family, romance is blooming despite the proliferation of bombings.

from the February 27, 2007 edition

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The father of a small neighbor boy who used to play constantly in the Methboubs' cramped living room, was murdered at his job as electrician at the Doura refinery less than two months ago. The surviving family members moved to Syria.

Another neighbor, who makes and sells tea on the street, was killed in a blast five months ago. And a carpenter died in another blast, but his family has not moved out.

Lights out, again

As the Methboubs discuss such events, the generator in the hall outside splutters, its fuel gone. The room plunges to darkness. The family is borrowing electricity from a neighbor's generator; their own, a gift from son-in-law Ali, died due to overuse.

The darkness reminds the Methboubs of another recent evening.

The day after the large explosion a month ago, the mostly Shiite community rallied with candlelight vigils after curfew. The Methboubs were there.

"They lit many candles on the whole street, to challenge the terrorists," says Amal. "Because light is better than the dark. Light is the good people. And darkness is the terrorists."

But the bombers continue to make their presence felt here. Two weeks ago, Zainab took her baby son Fahad, born last July, to a hospital near their house to get treatment for a breathing problem.

When she was there, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle blew himself up. The shock of the blast broke hospital windows, wounding some, and damaged the X-ray department – where the mother and son had just been. Zainab and Fahad were still in the hospital when the blood-soaked wounded began to pour in.

"I couldn't stand it, so I ran away to our home," says Zainab. "I was scared and shaking. I was expecting another explosion."

Mrs. Methboub feels the weight of this environment and is ready for her daughters to marry, and, hopefully, move to safer locales.

"I love my daughters, but in this situation, the girls should go to their husbands' houses," says Methboub, who has complained in the past that Fatima's refusal to marry was unsustainable. "When I am older and feel weak, I want to be finished with raising my family."

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