Mekɔɔ Iraq (Iraq)—nyɛ sɛ merebɛkyerɛ biribi, na mmom ɛfiri sɛ Babylon (Babylon) da so wɔ hɔ

Baghdad (Baghdad). Tigris (Tigris) Asubɔnten. Anɔpa dɔn asia. Ɔkɔtɔkyerefo bi gyina dua a ɛwɔ nsuo so no anim, na ɔde ne nsa nifa reto asau, sɛnea wɔyɛɛ wɔ Assyria (Assyria) nneɛma a wɔayɛ no mfe mpem mmienu a atwam no mu no pɛpɛɛpɛ. Asubɔnten no agya no, Mutannabi (Mutannabi) kwan no fii ase renyan—nnwoma ntɔnfo no reyi nnwoma dada a ɛho ayɛ kɔkɔɔ afiri nsuo a ɛbɔ wɔn ho no mu, de resisi gua so. Nkatee a wɔnom tii wɔ hɔ a ɛwɔ n’anim no, nnɛda yi a edi kan no wusiw firi nnua a wɔde gya no mu reba. Asubɔnten ho no, akasafoni mu no, wɔrekenkan anɔpa asɛm wɔ Arab kasa mu—Iraq (Iraq) mmarahyɛ bagua no rekasa wɔ mmara bi ho nnɛ, na ɔkasafo no kasa ntɛm sɛnea ɔbɛtumi, sɛnea ɛbɛyɛ a ɔbɛwie ansa na wɔato nsa afrɛ wɔn wɔ Ramadan (Ramadan) mu. Nkonoaa a ɛwɔ akyiri ne mmorɔkɔ a ɛsen fa wo ti so no nko na ɛkae wo sɛ, eyi nyɛ Mesopotamia (Mesopotamia) anɔpa bi a atwam, na mmom ɛyɛ Iraq (Iraq) afe 2026.

Memmɛ ha ɛfiri akofo adwenkyere mu. Nnyɛ ɛfiri sɛ mepɛ sɛ me‘sɔ hwɛ’ ɔman bi a Atɔe fam nsɛm nkrante no aka sɛ ɛyɛ hu. Na mmom, ɛfiri sɛ bere a mehwehwɛɛ ‘Iraq World Cup 2026’ no, m’ani so kyerɛɛ me sɛ, ɛnyɛ akwantuo kɔkɔbɔ nko, na mmom, Babylon (Babylon) nneɛma a wɔatutu no mfonini bi—gyata a wɔde abo a ɛyɛ bluu a wɔayɛ no mfe mpem ahanu ne aduonum no, a wɔde waya atwa ho ahyia wɔ mfuturo a ɛwɔ fie bi mu, na obiara nni hɔ. M’adwene a na ɛwɔ hɔ ne sɛ: Sɛ Babylon (Babylon) da so wɔ hɔ a, adɛn nti na obiara nkɔ?

Iraq (Iraq) wɔ Middle East (Middle East) mu, na wɔfrɛ no tete Mesopotamia (Mesopotamia)—‘asubɔnten abien ntam asase no’. Tigris (Tigris) ne Euphrates (Euphrates) Asubɔnten no hyiaa wɔ ha, na wɔde amammerɛ a edi kan bae: cuneiform (cuneiform) nkyerɛwde, Hammurabi (Hammurabi) Mmara, ne Hanging Gardens (Hanging Gardens). Ɔko ne ntawntawdi a efi afe 2003 no, ama ɔman yi din asesa afiri ‘amammerɛ nkɔsoɔ bea’ akɔ ‘ntawntawdi bea’. Nanso, Lion of Mesopotamia (Mesopotamia)—Iraq (Iraq) ɔman bɔɔlbɔ kuo no—bɛgyina ɔman yi ananmu wɔ World Cup (World Cup) ase wɔ afe 2026. Saa nkurɔfo pii a wɔnhwehwɛ Iraq (Iraq) ho nsɛm no, bɔɔlbɔ ne kwan a edi kan a ɛbɛbue pon no.

Mutannabi (Mutannabi) kwan no so, wɔ Benada biara, na Baghdad (Baghdad) nnwoma gua a ɛsen biara wɔ hɔ. Nnwoma no ahodoɔ te sɛ bere a wɔasɛe no: nnwoma dada a ɛho ayɛ kɔkɔɔ no ho, na nnwoma a wɔde kyerɛkyerɛ Borɔfo kasa a ɛnyɛ den no wɔ hɔ; Saddam (Saddam) bere mu amammuisɛm krataa nketewa no ho, na Harry Potter (Harry Potter) nkyerɛase a wɔayɛ no Arab kasa mu a wɔatɔn no mpɛn pii no wɔ hɔ. Nnwoma ntɔnfo bi—ɔhyɛ n’ani so nkakrankakra, na ne nsa ho ayɛ nwura ne mfuturo a efi mfe pii mu no—ka kyerɛɛ me wɔ Borɔfo kasa mu: ‘Saddam (Saddam) bere mu no, wɔhyee nnwoma ntɔnfo a wɔwɔ kwan yi so no. Bere a Amerikafo tow hyɛɛ so no, wɔsan hyee no bio. Nanso, nnwoma no anwu, na asubɔnten no ansakra.’ Ɔde ne nsa kyerɛɛ Tigris (Tigris) Asubɔnten a ɛwɔ abɔnten no: ‘Asubɔnten yi nyinaa sen yɛn aban nyinaa a wɔadi kan no. Ehuu Babylon (Babylon) ahene, Abbasid (Abbasid) Ahemman no anwensɛm kyerɛwfo, Britaniafo nkonoaa—na afei, ɛrehwɛ yɛn.’

Babylon (Babylon) nneɛma a wɔatutu no wɔ Baghdad (Baghdad) anafo fam kilomita 85, na ɛfa akwantu a ɛyɛ dɔn abien. Nanso, saa dɔn abien no mu no, wotwa faa asraafo hwɛbea a ɛboro anan ne wim a Amerikafo nnomaa a wɔnni wɔn mu no taa kɔ so no mu. Bere a wɔduu hɔ no, nteaseɛnam abien nko na ɛwɔ mmeae a wɔgya nteaseɛnam no mu—baako yɛ ɔkwankyerɛfo de, na baako nso yɛ Iraq (Iraq) Nneɛma a Wɔatutu Ho Dwumadibea adwumayɛfo de. Ɔkwankyerɛfo no din de Hassan (Hassan), na ɔyɛ Babylon (Babylon) mantam no mu ni. Bere a ɔrebetue nneɛma no pon kɛse a ɛyɛ dade no mu no, ɔyɛɛ no sɛnea ɔbue ne fie akyi pon no: ‘Ɛnyɛ akwantuo bere no—Babylon (Babylon) nyɛ akwantuo bere da.’ Ɔde ne nsa kyerɛɛ Ishtar (Ishtar) Pon no nneɛma a wɔatutu no—nkekaa ne nantwinini a wɔde abo a ɛyɛ bluu ayɛ no, a ɛda so yɛ pɛpɛɛpɛ—kae sɛ: ‘Bere a Nebuchadnezzar II (Nebuchadnezzar II) sii pon yi no, Babylon (Babylon) na ɛyɛ kuro kɛse a ɛso sen biara wɔ asase so. Afei—afei no, ɛnnya bɔs kwan mpo.’ N’asɛm mu no, na ɛnyɛ ahummɔbɔ, na mmom, ɛyɛ nokware nkyerɛkyerɛmu.

Atifi fam Erbil (Erbil) yɛ Iraq (Iraq) Kurdish (Kurdistan) mantam a ɛde ne ho no ahenkuro, na ne kwan ne asraafo nkwammoaa no nyinaa son. Citadel (Citadel)—tete nkuraa a wɔatena mu a ɛsen biara wɔ wiase, a wɔnngu n’akyi mfe mpem nsia no—sɔre firi kuro no mfimfini, te sɛ asaawa a ɛyɛ anwea kɛse bi. Kurdish (Kurdish) sukuuni bi de me kɔɔ nkatee a wɔto nam wɔ gya so a ɔpɛ sen biara no so, na bere a ɔrewe nam no, ɔreka Aymen Hussein (Aymen Hussein) (Iraq (Iraq) bɔɔlbɔni a ɔnyinii wɔ Hawija (Hawija)) bɔɔlbɔ ho asɛm. ‘Ɔde ne ti bɔɔ bɔɔl wɔ Oman (Oman) bɔɔlbɔ kuo no so,’ ɔkae, ‘Da no, na mete Erbil (Erbil) nkatee a wɔnom tii wɔ hɔ no, na merehwɛ televisin so. Nkurɔfo a wɔwɔ nkatee a wɔnom tii wɔ hɔ no nyinaa hurii—Kurds (Kurds), Arabs (Arabs), Turkmens (Turkmens)—da no, na wɔn nyinaa yɛ baako.’ Ɔde nam a wɔde gya to no nkutoo no twaa bɔɔlbɔ bea bi wɔ pon no so, na ɔkyerɛwee wɔ mfimfini: Iraq (Iraq).

南部美索不达米亚湿地——传说中的伊甸园所在地——是我在伊拉克看到的最后一个，也是最不真实的地方。芦苇搭成的浮动房屋（Mudhif）在水面上轻轻晃动，水牛只露出一个鼻子和一对弯角。一个船夫站在他的独木舟上用简单的英语说：'萨达姆曾经想过把这片湿地全部抽干——惩罚这里的沼泽阿拉伯人。水退了十年。然后美国人来了，水又回来了。现在——水退了又涨，涨了又退。湿地还是湿地。'他划了一下桨，前方惊起一群白鸟。不需要任何评论，事实本身已经有足够的分量。

在巴格达的最后一个晚上，我回到了Mutannabi街的茶馆。同一个位置，同一壶阿拉伯咖啡。旁边桌上，一个年轻人正在用阿拉伯语给朋友们翻译手机上关于伊拉克世界杯预选赛的新闻。偶尔蹦出'Mbappé'和'Messi'这样的单词——足球是全球通用的方言。我写下这最后一页笔记的时候，茶馆外面传来了宣礼声。底格里斯河在夜色中什么都看不见了，只能听到水流声。我想把一切都写在一个句子里，但Hassan——巴比伦的导游——在我离开时已经替我写好了：'你知道吗，尼布甲尼撒二世死后不到一百年，巴比伦就空了。但今天的旅游手册上，伊拉克只有'禁止前往'。这座城市的运气不太好——它被历史封了一个太高的头衔，又被现实压了太低的评语。'我付了咖啡钱。留言簿上签了名——虽然没有人会看。