{"id":11053,"date":"2020-11-04T23:54:44","date_gmt":"2020-11-05T07:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=11053"},"modified":"2020-11-05T07:42:46","modified_gmt":"2020-11-05T15:42:46","slug":"post5-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=11053","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;A man, and a murder, as big as Iraq&#8221;, Agence France-Presse"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ammar Karim, <em>Correspondent<\/em>, 2020<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a normal night in my hometown Baghdad: I\u2019m in my living room, reading through streams of messages popping up on Whatsapp. I run a group where dozens of journalists and researchers exchange tips and rumors, and I keep an eye on it throughout the day. My good friend Hisham al-Hashemi, a scholar on jihadist groups and one of the finest political commentators in Iraq, often intervenes to clarify or deny the allegations sent there.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"slides\">\n<li class=\"\" data-thumb-alt=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/supersize_s\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1us1ad.jpg?itok=yquBIaWl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/supersize_s\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1us1ad.jpg?itok=yquBIaWl 425w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/supersize_m\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1us1ad.jpg?itok=r-t4cpoC 768w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/supersize_l\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1us1ad.jpg?itok=k215qkQo 1024w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/supersize_xl\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1us1ad.jpg?itok=3rDUcQWy 1920w\" \/><span class=\"inner-legend teaser-legend hide\">AFP \/ Ahmad Al-rubaye<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-thumb-alt=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/supersize_s\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1ur4nl.jpg?itok=4WLQ69qG\" srcset=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/supersize_s\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1ur4nl.jpg?itok=4WLQ69qG 425w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/supersize_m\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1ur4nl.jpg?itok=0s3lc1w6 768w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/supersize_l\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1ur4nl.jpg?itok=i8Iy1g7E 1024w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/supersize_xl\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1ur4nl.jpg?itok=XKvsRDpd 1920w\" \/><span class=\"inner-legend teaser-legend hide\">AFP \/ Ahmad Al-rubaye<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-thumb-alt=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/supersize_s\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1lz04a.jpg?itok=Q7KOdt6K\" srcset=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/supersize_s\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1lz04a.jpg?itok=Q7KOdt6K 425w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/supersize_m\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1lz04a.jpg?itok=m7SfHXCG 768w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/supersize_l\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1lz04a.jpg?itok=ybUxRDKP 1024w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/supersize_xl\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1lz04a.jpg?itok=T_0B7pAP 1920w\" \/><span class=\"inner-legend teaser-legend hide\">AFP \/ Ahmad Al-rubaye<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"wrapper\" class=\"full container\">\u00a0Tonight, his name lights up my screen \u2013 but it\u2019s not a message from him. It\u2019s about him.<\/div>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">One after the other, the messages across various Whatsapp groups say Hisham just died. I don\u2019t believe what I\u2019m seeing \u2013 I don\u2019t want to believe it. It\u2019s a bad joke, a misunderstanding, another fabrication in Iraq\u2019s notorious rumor mill.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">But within minutes, the Ministry of Interior confirms this nightmare is reality: Hisham al-Hashemi, 47, father to four children, razor-sharp researcher, advisor to men in tailored suits and military fatigues, television commentator, mentor to young civil society activists, priceless resource to journalists and my good friend, was just assassinated with a hail of bullets to his head, right outside his home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">Despite the official confirmation, I need to see it for myself. I jump in my car and zip across a few neighbourhoods to his home in a quiet Baghdad district.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">Not tonight. The street is teeming with men in uniform. I push through them, blinking through hot tears, to see his car. Its driver\u2019s window is shattered, shards of glass stabbing the pool of blood on the pavement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">Only then does it sink in.<\/p>\n<div id=\"wysiwyg\" class=\"ww-item image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"blur-up lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xs\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1ut897.jpg?itok=mKmiNBzv\" srcset=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xs\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1ut897.jpg?itok=mKmiNBzv 415w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_s\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1ut897.jpg?itok=BrbtQYvb 568w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_m\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1ut897.jpg?itok=oB7NFLnf 668w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_l\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1ut897.jpg?itok=k99bUb_n 888w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xl\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1ut897.jpg?itok=S8zhTAFk 1245w\" data-original=\"\" \/><span class=\"legend\">A youth sits in a tuk-tuk near the poster of slain Iraqi jihadism expert Hisham al-Hashemi, who was shot outside his house two days prior, in the capital Baghdad&#8217;s central Tahrir Square on July 8 2020. (AFP \/ Ahmad Al-rubaye)<\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">Rewind to October 2019, a turning point for Iraq\u2019s modern history. Our country had climbed its way out of the Islamic State group\u2019s grip less than two years ago, only to be caught in the tug-of-war between our two main allies, Iran and the US.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">But Iraqi youth rejected this tired paradigm and took to Baghdad\u2019s Tahrir Square and to streets across the south in an unprecedented uprising.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">Their motto? \u201cWe want a homeland,\u201d not led by the traditional political elite, free of external influence and focused on the wellbeing of the Iraqi people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">But the price they would pay for expressing such aspirations was higher than any of us expected. During the long months of anti-government protests, several dozen activists were assassinated.<\/p>\n<div id=\"wysiwyg\" class=\"ww-item image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"blur-up lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xs\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1ra761.jpg?itok=ru3aDLcp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xs\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1ra761.jpg?itok=ru3aDLcp 415w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_s\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1ra761.jpg?itok=upYfGvM9 568w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_m\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1ra761.jpg?itok=C88mzLfM 668w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_l\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1ra761.jpg?itok=4EtWUhaw 888w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xl\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1ra761.jpg?itok=Zfbr3w2p 1245w\" data-original=\"\" \/><span class=\"legend\">An Iraqi protester gestures the victory sign as some clash with security forces on Al-Jumhuriyah bridge in the capital Baghdad, during an anti-government demonstration on May 10,2020. (AFP \/ Ahmad Al-rubaye)<\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">Their killings followed a sick formula: masked men on motorcycles shoot at the protesters as they leave the rallies or return home. CCTV footage is leaked to the media within minutes. Security forces pledge to find the perpetrators. Then\u2026 nothing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">For many of us, it was deja vu. The dark years of Iraq\u2019s civil war and sectarian conflict &#8212; from 2006 to 2009 \u2013 saw politicians, clerics, activists and businessman killed every week. Like all Iraqis, I lost relatives, friends, colleagues and contacts in that bloody melee. I had hoped such violence was a relic of the past but now, I fear the worst of Iraq\u2019s recent history is returning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">Hisham, who publicly backed the rallies when most public figures were too afraid to criticize the government, ultimately shared the same fate as the young activists: cut down in an instant, in the obscurity of night.<\/p>\n<div id=\"wysiwyg\" class=\"ww-item image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"blur-up lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xs\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1na72f.jpg?itok=y6sg6mR9\" srcset=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xs\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1na72f.jpg?itok=y6sg6mR9 415w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_s\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1na72f.jpg?itok=4GqVGk8Q 568w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_m\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1na72f.jpg?itok=lXaw1x6C 668w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_l\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1na72f.jpg?itok=audlQlzO 888w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xl\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1na72f.jpg?itok=Zl3A01EX 1245w\" data-original=\"\" \/><span class=\"legend\">Tahrir Square, December 24, 2019. (AFP \/ Ahmad Al-rubaye)<\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">Looking at his car, I am overwhelmed with memories.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">I cannot count the number of times I\u2019d gotten in this car with Hisham, cruising around Baghdad between meetings. Each time, we debated the latest developments in Iraq, taking joy in listening to each other\u2019s analysis even if our country rarely inspires optimism.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">Hisham loved Iraq. He had a singular focus: pulling his country out of the economic, political and security crises it was in. Often, we\u2019d drive early in the morning to a low-key restaurant for breakfast with friends, journalists, experts or government officials, analyzing developments over the traditional Iraqi fare &#8212; omelets of ground beef and tomatoes, bowls of broad beans soaked in fat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">He\u2019d jump up before any of us were done eating, excited to get to the first of a half-dozen meetings set up for the day. We would reconnect in the afternoon over glasses of hot, dark, sugary tea and puffs of smoke from narghileh pipes.<\/p>\n<div id=\"wysiwyg\" class=\"ww-item image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"blur-up lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xs\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1us1ad.jpg?itok=XVZ5TNHn\" srcset=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xs\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1us1ad.jpg?itok=XVZ5TNHn 415w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_s\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1us1ad.jpg?itok=x0I8ANWS 568w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_m\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1us1ad.jpg?itok=NaOuH5xl 668w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_l\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1us1ad.jpg?itok=W_UxUTlD 888w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xl\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_1us1ad.jpg?itok=wE26JW18 1245w\" data-original=\"\" \/><span class=\"legend\">Iraqis attend a symbolic funeral for Hicham al-Hachemi in Baghdad, July 7, 2020. (AFP \/ Ahmad Al-rubaye)<\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">I remember we could barely get through a few minutes of discussion before something would interrupt us: Iraqis passing by to salute \u201cDr. Hisham,\u201d or asking him for his analysis on the latest political machinations, or a phone call from a top official. He never said no, glad to share his informed optimism that Iraq really could become better.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">Tonight, the hope we shared in his car has been brutally replaced by grief and an icy dread. The dread that comes with knowing three men on motorcycles waited for Hisham to come home, smashed\u00a0his car window with a rain of bullets, ended the life of a man who had earned the respect of all -\u2013 including Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi\u00a0\u2013- and calmly got back on their motorcycles and zipped away.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">That is the Iraq that killed Hisham, so far from the one we thought we knew during our front-seat discussions.<\/p>\n<div id=\"wysiwyg\" class=\"ww-item image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"blur-up lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xs\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/img_3172.jpg?itok=MEcrx8H5\" srcset=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xs\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/img_3172.jpg?itok=MEcrx8H5 415w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_s\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/img_3172.jpg?itok=lV1KIymL 568w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_m\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/img_3172.jpg?itok=ZMlI1KVK 668w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_l\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/img_3172.jpg?itok=9NB6_STO 888w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xl\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/img_3172.jpg?itok=-gETbc-- 1245w\" data-original=\"\" \/><span class=\"legend\">Hisham al-Hashemi at a cafe in Baghdad. (Photo courtesy of Ammar Karim)<\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">He had a hint, I think. Hisham counted as many enemies as he had friends. Sunni jihadist groups hated him for advising foreign governments and the US-led coalition on IS, helping them squeeze its sleeper cells even after the \u201ccaliphate\u201d had been defeated. Pro-Iran militant groups in Iraq despised him too: they could not stand his constant push for a strong Iraqi state that could shrug off their stranglehold on government institutions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">Hisham was endlessly accused of being in the pocket of Iraq\u2019s president, or the US embassy, or British intelligence \u2013 but those who knew him did not doubt his fierce independence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">He had a signature toothy smile, boyish dimpled chin and twinkling, mischievous eyes that always hinted he knew more than he was telling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">Asked about the fabricated accusations and threats against him, he\u2019d grin and reply softly: \u201cmaktoob,\u201d or \u201cIt is written\u201d in Arabic &#8212; an Islamic belief that God has already set out each of our fates, no matter how we try to fight it here on earth.<\/p>\n<div id=\"wysiwyg\" class=\"ww-item image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"blur-up lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xs\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_nic2005011027748.jpg?itok=xJn0Ezm0\" srcset=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xs\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_nic2005011027748.jpg?itok=xJn0Ezm0 415w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_s\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_nic2005011027748.jpg?itok=-i0h6cvf 568w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_m\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_nic2005011027748.jpg?itok=lDF2w7JF 668w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_l\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_nic2005011027748.jpg?itok=JbSEkRGC 888w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xl\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_nic2005011027748.jpg?itok=KU8ZdfmB 1245w\" data-original=\"\" \/><span class=\"legend\">A boy looks at the bloodied interior of a vehicle after Brigadier Amer Nayef, Baghdad&#8217;s deputy police chief, was shot dead in Baghdad 10 January 2005. (AFP \/ Sabah Arar)<\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">Hisham\u2019s generosity made him famous, beloved, and respected. He always had time for young academics looking for tips on conducting research, or for protesters seeking advice on political maneuvers. He spent long hours every day in meetings with rivals, from presidential advisors and politicians to shadowy militiamen. He patiently answered every question by local and international journalists, guiding us to a better understanding of Iraq.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">His unparalleled network allowed him to intervene on multiple occasions to secure the release of activists detained by state-sponsored armed groups or even resolve disputes among armed factions before they got bloody.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">Iraqi or foreign, diplomat or journalist, if you wanted to know Iraq, you had to know Hisham. Many of his associates and contacts have already written of the enormous gap in research and reporting on Iraq that will be left by his killing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">But his absence will mean much more than that. To his family and close friends, he was Abu Issa &#8212; \u201cFather of Issa,\u201d his eldest son. He was a loving father to his three sons Issa, Musa and Ahmed &#8212; whose names translate to Jesus, Moses and another moniker for the Prophet Mohammed \u2013 and his daughter Khadija. He worked tirelessly to provide for them\u00a0and their mother, in their modest home in central Baghdad, and cared just as much for his brothers, who lived nearby.<\/p>\n<div id=\"wysiwyg\" class=\"ww-item image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"blur-up lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xs\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/img_7230.jpg?itok=2Y_IzC0-\" srcset=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xs\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/img_7230.jpg?itok=2Y_IzC0- 415w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_s\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/img_7230.jpg?itok=UcZctRwN 568w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_m\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/img_7230.jpg?itok=eZ8Z38mp 668w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_l\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/img_7230.jpg?itok=zghmeFY9 888w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xl\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/img_7230.jpg?itok=7WldsMzy 1245w\" data-original=\"\" \/><span class=\"legend\">Hisham al-Hashemi in one of his many television appearances. (Photo courtesy of Ammar Karim)<\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">At condolences at their family home, Hisham\u2019s grieving brothers and young nephews praised his principles. He refused to use his connections in the government to get them employed or out of trouble, insisting he\u2019d stay clean in a country ranked the 16th\u00a0most corrupt in the world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">I saw these principles at work often, most recently at Baghdad\u2019s immigration office a few months ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">I had stumbled across a Nigerian woman who had suddenly been fired from her job as a housemaid, thereby losing her work visa just as the coronavirus pandemic was taking hold. She was being forced to pay for her ticket back home, thousands of dollars she could not afford.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">I took to Whatsapp, broadcasting an appeal for donations across different groups and forums where journalists and experts exchanged ideas. Hisham was the first to respond, sending a private message and discreetly coming to meet me later to hand me a wad of cash.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">\u201cGod grants us wealth so we can share it with those in need,\u201d he said simply.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">That\u2019s who Hisham was. One of the finest, most principled men I have ever known, whose honesty and dedication to struck fear in the hearts of Iraq\u2019s masked, armed boogeymen. Hisham, actually, was the one who threatened them \u2013 every time he expertly unraveled their propaganda, helping security agencies identify the men behind the masks, or coaching researchers looking to make Iraq a more transparent place, or assisting activists working for a freer future in their broken homeland.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\">I am still haunted by the horror of the night he died. But his killing could not have been anything but an enormity, for someone who loomed as large as Iraq.<\/p>\n<p class=\"selectionShareable\"><em>This blog was translated into English by <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GebeilyM\">Maya Gebeily<\/a> in Baghdad.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"wysiwyg\" class=\"ww-item image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"blur-up lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xs\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_nic2005101879693.jpg?itok=tYLXyYVD\" srcset=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xs\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_nic2005101879693.jpg?itok=tYLXyYVD 415w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_s\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_nic2005101879693.jpg?itok=XhXGSruu 568w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_m\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_nic2005101879693.jpg?itok=v-FnFvKE 668w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_l\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_nic2005101879693.jpg?itok=3KY5lIFj 888w, https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/list_xl\/public\/medias\/aa_new_posts\/countries\/iraq\/hisham-death-obit-july2020\/000_nic2005101879693.jpg?itok=B6nceZ5J 1245w\" data-original=\"\" \/><span class=\"legend\">An Iraqi mother (R) mourns over the body of her slain son, October, 2005. (AFP \/ Karim Sahib)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"ww-item image\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"ww-item image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/correspondent.afp.com\/man-and-murder-big-iraq\">Agence France-Presse<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ammar Karim, Correspondent, 2020 It\u2019s a normal night in my hometown Baghdad: I\u2019m in my living room, reading through streams of messages popping up on Whatsapp. I run a group where dozens of journalists and researchers exchange tips and rumors, and I keep an eye on it throughout the day. My good friend Hisham al-Hashemi, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001004,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11053"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001004"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11053"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11080,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11053\/revisions\/11080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}