The Prince of the Marshes by Rory Stewart - Essay Example

Cresta Oasis Lodge Suite 92 01 Church Street lane Baghdad Iraqi 20 November 2008 Dear Ashley I hope you are well there. I am well here but the situation obtaining on the ground in many parts of the country especially around Baghdad is a bit scary. In most cases, I can only move out of the hotel area under escort and that would be during the day alone. By virtue of my American nationality, it is a bit difficult to loiter in the streets as the situation is still tense here. We are still branded enemies here so we would be targets in most cases.

Whilst there is no continuous fighting witnessed every day, cases of suicide bomb attacks are rife in most parts of the country. These cases are just a cause for great concern as they have claimed the greater number of casualties in the ongoing war in Iraqi. The most worrying part of the suicide bombings is that they can occur anywhere, even in protected areas. Just two days ago, a suicide bomber killed five people at the main reception area of the hotel where we are based. Fortunately, we had just retired to our respective rooms after a press conference and cocktail party with delegates from different regions representing various groups as a way of trying to find a workable solution to the war in Iraqi which has so far claimed close to a million people since it started a few years ago.

Bombing of hotels, embassies as well as other official buildings is a regular occurrence here. These are targeted as they are in most cases suspected of accommodating enemies who are sponsoring war in that country. This has so far resulted in most foreign embassies being closed down as hundreds of people have been killed in these suicide bomb attacks. It is said that some areas outside Baghdad have been rendered impassable as a result of the high degree of destruction of infrastructure that was caused by the war.

Most roads were destroyed and many areas are said to be full of landmines. In fact some areas are branded no go areas.Anyway, I am attending a one month workshop which seeks to establish feasibility studies of resuscitating the telecommunications infrastructure which was also not spared by the war. The main aim of the workshop is to try and see if the new information and communication technology can be improved as away of attracting investors in the war-torn country which is expected to be peaceful once again in the near future.

I hope to gain a lot of experience from this workshop as we aim to design measures that would take a long way in attempting to put investment on the agenda in this troubled country.More importantly, I will also present my paper during the session of the conference on behalf of my Company, AB Computers (Pvt) LTD which is headquartered in New York. I hope you are well and doing your level best at work. I am missing all that fun back home with the New York Streets filled with fun loving people.I hope to see you when I am back alive because I have a lot to share with you.

Yours truly,Rory Stewart