戦争とテロで荒廃したイラクの「現在」を取材します。

戦争とテロで荒廃したイラクの「現在」を取材します。

“Saddam Hussein,” “Iraq War,” “Islamic State” — such negative words have been used to describe Iraq, a Middle Eastern country. Just watching the news brings to mind only bad images such as “a dangerous country” and “scary people.” But what kind of life are Iraqis actually living now? I’m going to see for myself the current state of Iraq, where war and terrorism were once commonplace. Hello everyone, I’m Kanta Hara. I’m currently at Doha International Airport in Qatar. This is my first time reporting in Iraq, so I’ll first move to Erbil International Airport in the Kurdish Region, and then head to Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. The main purpose of this Iraq report is to trace Iraq’s history over the past 20 years. Therefore, we need to start with the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, known as 9/11. The terrorist attacks were carried out by a radical group called Al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden Bin Laden had a strong anger towards America even before 9/11 The trigger for this was the 1991 Gulf War. At this time, the Saddam Hussein regime of Iraq invaded Kuwait, and a multinational force led by the United States repelled them. At that time, the United States stationed US troops in Saudi Arabia, an ally in the Middle East, but bin Laden felt strong anger at foreign troops setting foot in Saudi Arabia, home to the Islamic holy sites of Mecca and Medina . The hatred for America that was born from this situation eventually led to the September 11 terrorist attacks. After 9/11, the United States first invaded Afghanistan. This is because bin Laden, the mastermind of the terrorist attacks, and his organization Al-Qaeda were hiding in Afghanistan. The United States took military action, claiming that the Taliban regime at the time was harboring Al-Qaeda. Then it turned to Iraq. The US government claimed that “Iraq has weapons of mass destruction” and “is connected to Al-Qaeda ,” and began the Iraq War in 2003. However, subsequent investigations revealed that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and that there was no clear relationship between the Hussein regime and Al-Qaeda. In other words, it turned out that many of the reasons given for the Iraq War were not based on fact. After the Iraq War began, many civilians were killed in airstrikes and urban warfare by the US military. There were also cases where citizens lost their lives due to mistaken bombings and gunfire at checkpoints. These incidents created anger and distrust towards the US, and became a breeding ground for anti-US militant groups. At that time, Iraq was under the Hussein regime, which was dominated by the Sunni minority in the country. The US overthrew the Hussein regime and began to build a new country under the banner of democratization. However , a big problem arose. The US expelled all Sunni bureaucrats and military personnel who were involved in the Hussein regime The new Iraqi government was created mainly by Shiites, who made up 70% of the population, and Sunnis were excluded from both society and politics. As a result, some Sunnis who felt that they no longer had a place in politics or society began to join extremist organizations. Then, in 2014, armed forces who seized the northern Iraqi city of Mosul declared the establishment of the so-called “Islamic State”. This organization effectively controlled parts of Syria and Iraq, and repeatedly carried out public executions and suicide bombings that shocked the world. Many fighters joined the Islamic State from all over the world, and in 2015, the murder of journalist Kenji Goto was widely reported in Japan. However, at the core of the Islamic State were former soldiers of the Hussein regime and exiled Sunni fighters. In other words, the failure of America’s postwar governance created a new threat called the Islamic State. After that, the United States, the Iraqi government, Kurdish forces, and others worked together to recapture Mosul in 2017. The Islamic State lost most of its territory and was destroyed militarily. However, just because the war is over does not mean that peace will come immediately. Iraq is now facing a new challenge of how to overcome the aftermath of the war. For example, former soldiers and child soldiers who fought in the Islamic State, as well as their families, are still living in various places. On the other hand, deep wounds remain between the local residents whose families were killed and their homes taken away by them . People who were once in opposing positions are now living together in the same area. How can they regain trust , reconcile, and live together again? This is one of the most serious and delicate issues facing Iraq today. What is the situation in Iraq after overcoming war and terrorism? Please watch until the end of our upcoming Iraq coverage series. After a two-and-a-half-hour flight from Doha, we arrived at Erbil International Airport in the Kurdistan Autonomous Region. We will have to go through immigration and pick up our luggage, so we will start filming again once things have settled down. Finally, we arrived at the hotel where we were staying in the city of Erbil, where the international airport of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region is located . I actually wanted to film the journey from the airport to this hotel , but it’s 11pm now and Erbil is very developed and there are many lights in the city, but it’s already quite dark, plus I’m suffering from jet lag and did n’t sleep much on the plane, so it’s about 5am in Japan time, and to be honest I was quite sleepy and didn’t have the energy to film any more today. I’m really sorry, but I couldn’t film the journey from the airport to here this time. However, I’m planning to stay in Erbil for another night tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow I ‘ll be traveling to Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, where the federal government is located. I’m going to take a good rest in this city tomorrow, recover my strength, and prepare for the upcoming coverage. I also want to film the journey to Baghdad and the atmosphere of the Iraq coverage that is finally about to begin so that the viewers can get a sense of it. From tomorrow onwards, I will start my coverage of Iraq in earnest. I hope to be able to tell you about the city and other things.
So, I’m going to rest in bed and prepare for the interview starting tomorrow. See you tomorrow. I’m at the breakfast venue of the hotel where I’m staying now, isn’t it amazing? Iraq is a dry region, so I wondered if I could eat vegetables, but there are cucumbers like this, and I think this is lettuce? There are also tomatoes and a lot of leafy vegetables. I like Middle Eastern food quite a bit, and I think this is chickpeas? I think it’s called hummus. Yes. There’s chickpea paste and this one is like cheese. It’s probably cheese, and there are types that are just left out, block cheeses like this, and Kiri cheese that you can see in Japan. This one is also amazing. There are a lot of sauces and breads, and fruits. There are also bananas. This time I’m staying there for two weeks, and my schedule is quite packed, so I’m thinking of staying in a nice hotel and taking it easy. I’ll have a good breakfast and prepare for today’s interview. There are many more breakfast options, including egg dishes and meat dishes on this side. I think this is probably beef. It’s something like fried. I wonder how it’s seasoned. I think it probably uses spices and seasonings. There is a wide variety of food around here, and there is also soup over here. This looks like lentil soup. And then this is a bread that is often seen in the Middle East, I think it’s like naan, but there is also a thicker bread on this side, and I think this is honey? It’s a type of honey that has the whole honeycomb in it. There are also fruits over there, watermelon and melon? And probably dates over here. There is also a wide variety of fruits. This is probably apple pie or custard pie? I’m not sure, but there is also a sweet bread like that. There is a wide variety of breakfast options available, so you’ll want to eat here both at lunch and dinner. I was eating breakfast just now, but I usually work mainly in Africa, and there are quite a lot of people who don’t like to be photographed. Especially in Uganda, when I was taking pictures in a restaurant, I was careful not to show my face to the people around me. But this hotel was different. When I was taking pictures of the food, the staff would open the lids for me and say, “I’m going to open this,” or they would rearrange the food so that it looked nice.
They are very cooperative. I was shooting with a pretty big camera, so they asked me, “Are you a YouTuber?” and I answered, “Yes, I’m a YouTuber from Japan.” They asked me, “Tell me your channel!” and when I told them the name of my channel, they even subscribed to it. They were very welcoming, saying, “I’m looking forward to your videos, so please shoot lots!” I’m very grateful for this kind of cooperative atmosphere. From what I had heard beforehand, people in Iraq and the Middle East are quite tolerant of filming, and in fact, many people say, “Take me a picture! Take me a picture!” When I went to Bangladesh before, the local people didn’t dislike the camera and were very cooperative. It’s just my image, but I have the impression that people in Islamic countries are very cooperative with filming. I think I’ll be able to convey various aspects of Iraq from now on, and although I was a little nervous at first, the local people were very warm and said, “I’ll watch your video too!” and welcomed me very positively. I’m looking forward to future interviews. I’m leaving the hotel now and going to exchange my money for Iraqi dinars. I think there are places in Iraq where you can use Japanese yen, but basically, Japanese yen is not accepted in any country. So this time, I’m going to exchange my Japanese yen for US dollars in Japan and then exchange some of it for the local currency. This is my first time walking around town since coming to Iraq, and I’m still on the move, but as expected of the Middle East, it’s a dry area, and the air feels a bit stinging. Well, I was prepared for that, so I feel like “I guess this is how it is,” but it’s about 11am now and it’s already quite hot. I’ll continue taking pictures while taking good care of the UV rays. I’m planning to go to Baghdad from tomorrow, and to cover areas where fierce fighting occurred during the Iraq War, and from next week onwards, I’m planning to cover areas controlled by the Islamic State, so I’m going to prepare well for that. I exchanged my money for Iraqi dinars. 100 dollars is 141,700 dinars. In other words, at the current rate, 100 dollars is about 142,000 dinars. In Japanese yen, 1 yen is roughly 10 dinars. There aren’t many places in Iraq where you can use credit cards, so I’ll mainly use cash this time. This Kurdistan Autonomous Region is also an Islamic region, but they sell Corona beer. The Kurdistan Autonomous Region is relatively secular, and compared to areas such as Baghdad, where I will be going tomorrow, there are quite a few Westerners. There are quite a few Western tourists at the hotel where I am staying . There was a little girl and her mother who seemed to be from Australia traveling together. So I feel that this region has a slightly different impression from the “Middle East = strict” image that everyone has. I just bought a SIM card near the hotel. It’s reassuring to have a means of communication while I’m here, and I can do research and respond immediately during my interviews, so I basically use a SIM card when I’m here. The unlimited use plan for one month cost 63,000 dinars for the SIM card and internet data . In Japanese yen, it’s about 6,300 yen. It seems a little expensive compared to the one-month unlimited plan in Japan, but if tourists can buy a SIM card immediately and use it for one month, I think it’s not such a bad option. While I’m here, I plan to use a lot of data, such as holding meetings on Zoom and uploading videos to YouTube, so I’ve successfully obtained a SIM card and preparations are progressing smoothly. It’s a very heavy door… Oh… This is Naoko Takato, who has been active in Iraq for over 20 years. Takato-san, thank you again for your time this time. Welcome to Iraq. Thank you very much. This time, I was invited to Iraq and Takato-san spoke to me, and I decided to interview her. I think there is so much to talk about Takato-san’s activities and life, but can you start by introducing yourself briefly? This year marks the 23rd year since we started providing support in 2003, when the Iraq War began . I currently live in northern Iraq and serve as the representative of the general incorporated association Peace Cell Project. Thank you very much. You have been involved in Iraq throughout the Iraq War, the Islamic State, and even now, and I believe you have been engaged in a wide range of activities. I would like to ask you more about these things at another time, but it is only my second day in Iraq, and perhaps because this is the Kurdish Autonomous Region, it is completely different from the image of Iraq I had beforehand on the Internet, and I can walk around the city normally, and I am currently having a meeting in a fashionable place like this, but do you think the number of tourists is gradually increasing? Yes. I feel that the number has increased suddenly, especially in the last one or two years. At first, it was really backpackers who were hesitant to enter, but recently, as I saw at the hotel today, there are also groups coming from Western countries. When Japanese people hear the word Iraq, I think many people have images of terrorism and war, and while there may be some areas where those influences remain, I would like to convey that there are many different sides to Iraq. From tomorrow, I plan to move to Baghdad, where the Iraqi Federal Government is located, and I think I will see a different landscape from the Kurdish Autonomous Region. I look forward to working with you for the next two weeks. I’m really looking forward to it! I really want to see many different sides of Iraq. By the way, could you tell me what kind of Iraq you want to convey right now? Well, I guess it’s “New Iraq”. Of course, it ‘s “peacetime” with quotation marks, but I think we’ve finally entered a time when we can call it “New Iraq”, so I would like to convey that to everyone. What exactly does “New Iraq” mean? Well, because we are now in peacetime, the cityscape and the appearance of the people are gradually changing. Places devastated by war are being rebuilt little by little, and people’s ways of thinking and values ​​are changing. The government is also changing little by little compared to before. Even though I have been involved in Iraq for the past 22 years, I feel that now is the time when I can finally feel that it has been “reborn”. There is finally an atmosphere that “we can get serious from here”. Of course, we cannot let our guard down. The seeds of conflict are still in many places. But there is energy in Iraq today. I would like many people to see the “New Iraq” that should show us the acceleration of the changes that will continue to occur in the future. A country once devastated by war and terrorism is now about to undergo a major change. I think this is a very important turning point. I would like to share with you the changing face of Iraq. Thank you for your continued support. Yes, I have just finished a meeting and returned to the hotel where I am staying. Until now, Hara Kanta’s YouTube videos have mainly focused on Africa, but as I start my Iraq coverage series this time, I would like you to understand why I am covering Iraq now, and if you understand the purpose, you will be able to watch the videos I will be uploading from now on more deeply, so I would like you to listen, even though it will be mainly about the story. There are three main reasons for covering Iraq this time. The first reason is that I want to know what happened to Iraq after that. I am 31 years old now, and I started watching the news and taking an interest in society around the upper grades of elementary school. In other words, it was about 20 years ago. Looking back over the past 20 years, I think there were two events that attracted the world’s attention to the country of Iraq. The first was the Iraq War in 2003. The other was the rise of the Islamic State (IS), which shocked the world in the mid-2010s. I was still in elementary school when the Iraq War began. Images of the US military bombings were shown on TV, and words like “weapons of mass destruction” and “war on terror” were flying around. Japan supported this war as a nation, and the Self-Defense Forces were sent to Iraq. I was still an elementary school student at the time, and I didn’t understand the difficult things, but looking back now, I can see that Japan was also deeply involved in the Iraq War. Later, when I became a university student and began to take an interest in international cooperation, the threat of the Islamic State began to be reported all over the world. Images of IS, which controlled a vast area spanning Iraq and Syria and repeatedly engaged in radical and cruel acts, were broadcast on the news almost every day. And in neighboring Syria, there was a tragic incident in which Japanese journalist Kenji Goto was captured and killed by IS. I remember being speechless when I watched the news at the time. While Iraq has often been spoken of as a “country of war” and a “country of terror,” I feel that there has been surprisingly little talk about the path Iraq has taken since then . In fact, I think that many people were interested in Iraq when news about the Islamic State was being reported every day, but the reality is that there is almost no information on “what is happening in Iraq now?” After an era of war and terror, what kind of daily life are the people of Iraq living now? How is the country trying to recover? I want to see it with my own eyes, hear it with my own ears, and tell you about it in my own words. That is the first reason why I came to Iraq this time. The second purpose is to remove the labels of “scary country” and “dangerous religion”. For a long time, Iraq has been described as a “country of war” and a “hotbed of terrorism”. I think this is largely influenced by events we have seen through the news, such as the Iraq War and the rise of the Islamic State. In fact, I myself had the impression that Iraq was somehow “scary” and “dangerous”.
But do such images really reflect the reality on the ground? There are more than 2 billion Muslims in the world. Most of them, like us, value their families, live in their communities, and pray peacefully every day. Despite this, what we see on the news is only a very small, extreme image of “extremists” and “terrorism”. Many people living in Iraq never wanted war or chaos. Rather, they are the victims and have been caught up in it. That is why I want to turn my attention to the lives of “ordinary people” there. The smiles, family time, and dinner table scenes that are not often seen in the news. It is in these casual moments that another side of Iraq can be seen. By experiencing the words, expressions, culture, and lifestyles of the people I meet there, I would like to gradually remove the simple and one-sided labels such as “Iraq = scary” and “Islam = dangerous” from myself and from society. By recording this process in the form of a video, I hope to be able to capture Iraq in three dimensions together with the viewers. The third purpose is to convey the image of Japanese people who have continued to stand by Iraq. Even when Iraq was shaking with war and terrorism, there are Japanese people who have continued to stay in Iraq and provide support. This is Naoko Takato, a humanitarian aid activist who appeared earlier. Naoko Takato entered the country during the Iraq War in 2003 and has continued to risk her life to support children affected by depleted uranium ammunition. A decade later, when the Islamic State plunged Iraq into chaos again, she entered Iraq and continued her support activities in dangerous conditions. War, occupation by the US military, terrorism. In the midst of such chaos, people are hurt and lose their place. In the midst of all this, Takato Naoko has made the choice to “stay with the Iraqi people.” In 2004, she was captured by militants in Iraq. Many people may have heard of Takato Naoko’s name through that news. After returning to Japan, she was met with harsh criticism that she was “responsible for her own actions” and intense bashing from society. Nevertheless , Takato Naoko has visited the area again and again, listened to the voiceless voices, and continues to provide support to this day. Although many people knew her name during the hostage incident, I don’t think many people know that she has continued to be involved in the area for more than 20 years since then. What is the reason for her to continue to be involved in Iraq despite knowing the danger to her life? What is the source of her determination and drive? I myself am a freelancer who reports across borders. That’s why I have a lot to learn from Takato Naoko’s beliefs and attitude. And I want many people in Japan to know the true nature of Takato Naoko, which cannot be conveyed by the impression of the hostage incident alone. With that thought in mind, I came to Iraq. Touching the reality of the Iraqi people who Takato Naoko has been supporting should be a big opportunity to shake the fixed ideas we have about the word “Iraq” and change our view of this country. I don’t know yet how many videos there will be in total, but through this Iraq reporting series, I’m sure the image you have of Iraq will change greatly. Let’s take a deeper look at the country called “Iraq” together.
Potatoes? No, it’s soup. Rice soup. Not potatoes. The batter is… rice? Yes, it’s rice wrapped around minced meat and fried. Wow, you won’t know until you try it. Is it something like a croquette? I see, I see. So, this is chicken. And this is rice. This flat one is also a soup, but this is Mosul soup. Yes, this one on this side is… Mutabbal. Eggplant paste. Eggplant paste, yes. And hummus. Chickpea paste. I love it. This is yogurt. And these are olives. Wow, this is so luxurious, thank you. And this is Faslia? Faslia. It’s stewed vegetables in Arabic. It’s vegetable soup. It’s like tomato soup. It looks delicious. It’s so luxurious. And this… is this pickles? Yes, it’s pickles. Wow, it’s really luxurious. Thank you very much! With so many varieties, it’s hard to decide where to start… but let’s start with this soup! It’s apparently similar to a croquette, but the batter is like rice and there’s minced meat inside. Let’s eat! Mmm, wow, it’s delicious! Look inside. The outer layer is made of rice, and it’s chewy, but also has a crispy texture. There’s plenty of minced meat inside, and it certainly tastes similar to a croquette. Delicious! The next thing I’m curious about is the eggplant paste. It’s covered in olive oil… do you eat it as is? Do you put it on bread? Oh, since I’m here, I’ll tear off a little… and this is khobs. This is khobs bread. Japanese people might think it’s similar to naan, but the dough is much thinner than that. Now, dip it in this eggplant sauce… and pick it up like this… it’s difficult… Okay, let’s eat. Oh, it’s delicious! It’s hard to describe, but it has a strong eggplant flavor and goes great with the olive oil. It goes well with the bread dough. It’s delicious. There are many other things I want to try, but Iraq is a country with a really wide variety of cuisines… and what’s more, I realized after coming here that I really love Middle Eastern food. For now, I think I’ll go back to Iraq with a weight gain of 2-3kg (laughs). I plan to continue to do lots of food reviews in my videos from Iraq and share various aspects of the country. I hope you’ll look forward to the food-related content as well. I just heard from Takato Naoko that recently, this place called Erbil has seen an increase in the number of specialty restaurants, like craft hamburger shops, and really delicious pizza places. The reason why such restaurants have increased in number in the past few years seems to be related to the refugee crisis that has occurred over the past decade or so. As you may remember, around 2015 or 2016, Many of you may have seen the news that many refugees from the Middle East fled to Europe across the Mediterranean Sea . Italy was especially well-reported as a place to accept refugees. People who lived as refugees in Italy and other countries encountered delicious pizza there, and when they returned to Japan after the situation in Iraq settled down, they started their own pizza shops using their experiences and knowledge they learned in Italy. Also, it seems that in the past there was not much of a culture of keeping dogs in the Islamic world, but as people who lived in Europe as refugees came into contact with the pet culture there, the number of pet shops and pet-related goods have recently started to increase around Erbil. When you hear the word “refugee,” you tend to have a one-sided image of poor people who were forced to leave their homes by war, but they learned many things during their refugee life, brought them back to their home countries, and are using them to create new businesses. I thought it was an impressive episode that showed such resilience. Now it’s 4:30 a.m. the next day. The plane leaves at 7 a.m., so I’m still a little sleepy, but I want to head to Baghdad. I’m going to get in this taxi and head to Erbil International Airport. The sky is gradually getting brighter. It’s still around 4:40 in the morning, but the sunrise is surprisingly early. I’ve just entered the airport, and the checkpoint at the entrance to the airport was very strict. Everyone got out of the car and underwent a body check, and the inside of the car was thoroughly searched. There is a checkpoint in front of the airport in Uganda, where I often go, but it’s not that strict because it’s in Africa. But here it was quite strict. As the threat of terrorism still remains, it seems that the checkpoints and inspections are solid as a countermeasure against terrorism. So, I arrived at the airport, and from here I will travel by plane. Passport control (immigration). Yes, I’ve finally finished checking in and immigration, and I’ve calmed down, so I’m rolling the camera again. By the way, there is a nice cafe behind me, and I have more than an hour until I board the plane, so I think I’ll relax here and have a coffee. As expected, the security check when entering the airport was very strict, and when I entered the airport by car, I got out of the car once and underwent a body check, and there was also a luggage inspection. After that, when I entered the airport with my body and luggage, there was an X-ray inspection, and even after I passed the immigration check, my luggage was inspected again before heading to the boarding gate. The security is really very strict. Although things have calmed down a lot in Iraq, the risk of terrorism has not completely disappeared. Important facilities like airports are likely to be targets of terrorism, and if a terrorist attack occurs, many people will be affected and economic activity may stop. That’s why airport security is so strict. So, I still have about an hour to spare, so I’m going to relax at a cafe and head to Baghdad. How long does it take from Erbil to Baghdad? The escalator isn’t working. Oh, you’re right, it’s dangerous. It’s not working, so I have to be careful. How long does it take from Erbil to Baghdad? Oh, it’s an hour. I see, so it’s almost there. Do you often go to Baghdad? About once every two months. We are investigating visa acquisition, the situation in Anbar Province, and the issues facing people returning from Al-Hol Camp.
Yes, I’m sure you don’t know what “Al-Hol Camp” is, but is it a camp in Syria where former Islamic State fighters and their families mainly live? There are almost no fighters there now, and most of the people there are women and children. I see. So the wives and children of former Islamic State fighters are living in the refugee camp. In 2017, there were about 70,000 people there, but now the number has decreased significantly. The camp is divided into a Syrian section, an Iraqi section, and a foreign section, and there are people of about 50 nationalities in total. There were about 70,000 people in total, but I think there are about half that number now. Iraqi nationals are allowed to return after being interviewed by the Iraqi government, and they undergo rehabilitation for about three to six months in a rehabilitation camp on the Iraqi side before returning to their respective hometowns. However, there are cases where the returnees are not accepted by their local communities and are rejected. They say things like, “They must be former members of the Islamic State,” or “Your son must have been a fighter,” and it’s hard to accept them. We are investigating the reality of this situation. I see. The Islamic State is hardly reported in the news anymore, but its influence is still deeply rooted. Yes, it is still there. So, this time, I plan to enter Baghdad first. Thank you. Thank you . Just now, Takato Naoko said, “I’m going to get a visa,” but the Kurdistan Autonomous Region where I am now and Baghdad where I’m going are different administrative divisions. In other words, Erbil is the Kurdistan Autonomous Region, and Baghdad is under the jurisdiction of the Iraqi Federal Government. So you need different visas. And this time, the visa fee is very high, the Iraqi Federal Government visa is 160 dollars, or about 28,000 yen. The Kurdistan Autonomous Region visa is 80 dollars, or about 12,000 yen. It may be the most expensive country I’ve ever been to. And because I need both visas, the visa fee alone for Iraq coverage was about 40,000 yen. I ended up with unexpected expenses. But, as I always say, thanks to the support of everyone who watches YouTube, especially the “Hara Kanta Supporters Club”, I’ve been able to cover Iraq like this. Thank you so much. If you’re interested, I’ll put a link to the Supporters Club in the description, so I’d be happy if you could support me. With your support, I’m able to bring you the current state of the world that can’t be conveyed on TV. Please support me in the description. So, I’m going to head to Baghdad now. Number 18, right? Oh, here it is. I’m here. Yes, this time I’m traveling from Erbil to Baghdad on an Iraqi Airways plane, which is pretty old. It’s peeling off quite a bit around here too. Well, it’s a pretty old plane, but I think it will fly well. I’ve arrived in Baghdad. It’s hot. I’m going to get on this bus and move now. I arrived at Baghdad International Airport and am now heading to the hotel. The first thing I noticed when I arrived was that the roads were very beautiful. I’m on the highway now, and it has four lanes. Just looking at this video, I feel that it’s very different from the image of the Middle East that people generally have. Unlike Africa, there are no potholes on the road. It’s a road from the airport to the center of Baghdad, so it may be well-maintained, but it’s a very comfortable journey. I’m in an airport taxi now, and this car is also very comfortable, and it’s a very comfortable journey. You can see palm trees growing on the side of the road, and they are all dates. They are dates. Dates are particularly popular in Islamic countries, and during Ramadan, people can’t eat during the day because they fast, but they have the habit of eating dates after the sun goes down. Dates are plants that grow in deserts and arid areas, and are very nutritious. Date palms grow everywhere. In addition, there are sprinklers installed, and you can see fountains here and there. In desert countries like Iraq, water and electricity are said to be symbols of wealth. Iraq is an oil-producing country, but electricity is expensive, so using water and electricity is a status symbol. That’s why things like fountains that use large amounts of water with electricity have become symbols of wealth. It seems that especially wealthy families often have large fountains and artificial waterfalls. These things are truly symbols of wealth. Gradually, we entered the center of Baghdad. It took about 30 minutes to drive from the airport. The number of cars has increased considerably, and the streets are very well-organized, giving a really beautiful impression. We are about to cross a bridge. We are crossing a river, the Tigris River. You may have heard of it at least once in world history classes . The Mesopotamian civilization is sandwiched between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. I think you probably remember learning about it in history classes. After crossing the Tigris River, we headed to the hotel where we were staying. We had just entered the center of Baghdad, and as expected, we could see people in military uniforms, soldiers, and police officers here and there. As part of security measures, military personnel in military uniforms are stationed everywhere, and they carry guns. Although Iraq has calmed down, the threat of terrorism has not completely disappeared. That’s why they have a system in place to maintain security. …Ah, let me start again. Okay, is it okay? I stopped the camera because there was someone wearing a military uniform earlier. Basically, in these conflict zones and quasi-conflict zones, if you film a soldier, you may be asked to delete the data or be interrogated. There are a lot of soldiers, so I’m going to be careful not to film them and proceed with the filming carefully. In that sense, filming for YouTube is always accompanied by tension. Yes, it took about 40 minutes from Baghdad International Airport to arrive at the hotel. We are staying at the Safir Baghdad Hotel. We will use this as our base to continue our reporting in Baghdad. Yes, so we arrived safely in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, and checked into the hotel. It was quite far from Japan. We flew via Doha to Erbil in the Kurdish Autonomous Region, and from there it took about an hour on Iraqi Air to arrive in Baghdad. It took another 40 minutes by car from the airport to finally arrive at the hotel. It was a long journey, but I was honestly nervous because the information I had looked up beforehand gave me a strong image of Iraq being a place of war, terrorism, and extremism. But when I actually saw the city, it was very clean and well-maintained, with many tall buildings. There were many shops, people were walking around the city normally, and it had a calm atmosphere. I got the impression that it was developing, so I’m really looking forward to taking a closer look at the city of Baghdad. In the next video, I would like to give you a detailed look at the state of Baghdad, so I would like to see the various realities of Iraq that you don’t know yet. If you haven’t subscribed to the channel yet, please take this opportunity to do so. If you learned something new or realized something new from this video, please click the like button at the end to encourage me. Thank you. If you want to know more about Japanese people who are active overseas or the realities of the world that you can’t find out about from major media, please support Hara’s YouTube activities. Hara Kanta’s overseas reporting is made possible by the support of the Supporters Club. If you would like to support Kanta Hara’s activities, I would be grateful if you could become a monthly supporter, as long as it is within your means. You can support us from 1,000 yen per share. If you are even slightly interested, please visit the Supporters Club homepage from the link in the description. Thank you for watching until the end this time as well. See you in the next video.

原貫太を応援するサポーターズクラブはこちら
https://community.camp-fire.jp/projects/view/599505

※この動画は2025年5月に撮影したものです。最新の現地情勢を反映したものではありません。最新情報はニュースや外務省の発信をご確認ください。

サダム・フセイン、イラク戦争、イスラム国──そんなネガティブな言葉ばかりで語られてきた中東の国、イラク。

ニュースを見ているだけでは、「危ない国」「怖い人たち」そんな悪いイメージばかりが浮かんでしまいます。

しかし、実際にイラクの人たちは、今どんな生活を送っているのか？

かつて戦争やテロが日常だったイラクの「現在」を、自分の目で確かめに行きます。

◆一般社団法人ピース・セル・プロジェクトのHPはこちら
https://www.peacecellproject.org/

◆原貫太のオンラインサロンSynergyはこちら
https://peraichi.com/landing_pages/view/kantahara-salon

◆仕事依頼・お問い合わせはこちら

◆原貫太の書籍『世界を無視しない大人になるために』はこちら
紙版➡https://kantahara.thebase.in/items/5867180
Kindle版➡https://amzn.to/3fLTKb7

◆原貫太と行くウガンダ・スタディツアーはこちら
https://uganda-study-tour.hp.peraichi.com/

◆原貫太プロフィール
1994年生まれ。早稲田大学卒。フィリピンで物乞いをする少女と出会ったことをきっかけに、学生時代から国際協力活動を始める。在学中からアフリカの難民や元子ども兵士の支援に携わってきた。卒業後は組織に属さず、フリーランスとして国際協力活動を続ける。現在はアフリカを中心に世界各地で取材を行い、貧困や紛争といった国際問題をテーマに情報発信を続けている。著書に『あなたとSDGsをつなぐ「世界を正しく見る」習慣』、『世界は誰かの正義でできている アフリカで学んだ二元論に囚われない生き方』、『世界を無視しない大人になるために』などがある。

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◆ブログはこちら
https://www.kantahara.com/

◆使用している素材サイト
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https://share.shutterstock.com/kantaharabicp

②下記リンクから素材サイト『Artlist』に登録すると、2ヶ月分が無料になります。
https://artlist.io/referral/3850694/Kanta

特別な言及がない限り、動画内に登場する写真や映像は視聴者の理解を助けるために使用しているものであり、写真や映像に映る特定の個人や団体、場所、物品等と動画の内容を必ずしも結びつけるものではありません。また、写真や映像に映る人物の肖像権を侵害する目的はありません。

Unless otherwise noted, the photos and videos are used just for helping viewers understand the content, and do not necessarily link the content of the video to specific individuals, groups, places, or goods in the photos and videos. It is not intended to infringe on the right of publicity of anyone appearing in the photos or videos.

このYouTubeチャンネルは、Amazon.co.jpを宣伝しリンクすることによってサイトが紹介料を獲得できる手段を提供することを目的に設定されたアフィリエイト宣伝プログラムである、Amazonアソシエイト・プログラムの参加者です。

#イラク
#中東
#原貫太の動画一覧はこちら