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Iraqis, Soldiers Turn Tables on Journalist, Emphasizing Baghdad’s Confusion

By Gina Chon

People on all sides of the story here often feel like they are misperceived. American officials and troops say people don’t know enough about the good things that are happening here. Iraqis say the outside world doesn’t realize how bad things are. And reporters are lumped into “the liberal media” category.

I think that’s why when I go on embeds with American troops or interview Iraqis, people spend a good amount of time asking me questions, as well. Soldiers ask me how I live my life here and are always surprised when I tell them that I just live in a regular house. Many of them assume that I live on a military base, which would actually make it impossible to do my job and interview Iraqis on a regular basis.

I’m always asked by soldiers and Marines if I carry a weapon and they are shocked when I say no. “I would never walk around this place without a gun,” one soldier told me recently. When I explain to them that I’m a civilian and as a journalist, I can’t be seen as taking sides, they think I’m crazy. “When things start to go bad, I’m going to throw a weapon at you, so you just point and shoot,” one soldier joked. (While I don’t carry a gun, my bosses are very serious about security. Whenever I’m not embedded with U.S. troops, I travel with fully armed body guards, and I don’t go anywhere without an armored car. The house I live in is inside the U.S.-military-controlled Green Zone.)

Soldiers are limited to their area of operations, so they often don’t know much about what’s going on in other parts of Iraq. So they will ask me where else I’ve traveled to and what it’s like there. They also ask what I think of the local food and if I’ve ever gotten sick from it. We have an Iraqi cook so I often eat Iraqi food, and luckily, I’ve only gotten sick once since I started coming here again. Some will ask me if I’m allowed to drink alcohol here and I try not to rub it in when I say “yes.”

Because I represent the Wall Street Journal, Americans are always surprised that the paper has a correspondent here. They think we cover only financial news or that I cover only business stories in Iraq. “What is the Wall Street Journal doing in Iraq?” is the question that I often hear.

Before most interviews begin with Iraqis, they always want to know where I’m from, a topic I’ve written about before here. They usually guess that I’m Japanese or Chinese. When I tell them I’m Korean, the usual response is “Korea makes good cars.” Hyundais have a good reputation here and that seems to positively reflect upon me, as well. My Iraqi driver often points out a Hyundai or Kia when we are on the road. Once they find out I’m from Korea, Iraqis also often ask if I’m from the North or the South. When I say I’m from the South, they give me a thumbs up sign.

But one of the biggest misperceptions about me came this past weekend when I was in the Sadr City area of Baghdad. Some Iraqis crowded around me and asked if I would sing something. I was confused about why they asked me that but a few minutes later I got the answer. Apparently, word had spread that I was Shakira, the Colombian singer who sings “Hips Don’t Lie” and other hit songs. I often hear her music on Iraqi radio stations. Since I’m Asian and look nothing like Shakira, I didn’t know what to say at first but then gave them the disappointing news: “I’m sorry but I’m not Shakira.” But they didn’t seem to mind. They still asked if they could take a picture with me.

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