HW 35b: Who is Salam Pax?
In numerous entries of Baghdad Burning now, Riverbend has mentioned another Iraqi blogger, Salam Pax, who she sometimes disagrees with but respects. I was curious who he was, and what his blog was all about. Considering I’d never before heard of him until I read this book, I was surprised by how much information about him was available via Internet. Not only did I find a few of his own personal blogs [all accessible from this address: http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:-2Q-S9NxQrAJ:www.blogger.com/profile/735733+salam+pax&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us]. I found many other blogs that he has posted on, websites that mention him, and discovered that he has written books, and created movies as well.
Looking more into how he began, it turns out that one of his original blogs entitled “Where is Raed?” gained him notable media attention–before and after the Iraqi invasion. What was also interesting to me, something I may not have caught onto if not for my high school Latin class, is that his name “Salam Pax” is not really a name at all, but a pseudonym. Both parts of his name mean “peace”, but in different languages (Arabic and Latin). I think it’s also interesting that he is nicknamed “The Baghdad Blogger” now, and that he and Riverbend communicate through their blogs. Though I was intrigued by his blogs, I still prefer Riverbend. I like her style, her humor, and her honesty. To me, Riverbend will still be the Baghdad Blogger I choose.
