By Zain Mohammed

On the beginning of July, every year, I begin a race against time, all appointments are delayed, I try to cancel many of my travels, and I say Good-bye my family simply because simply I will not see them for two months. I apologize to everybody, to my friends, and even to the dentist.

It is not for any reason, it is only because that my psychological treatment begins, yes it is my therapy for two months and that is with the biggest competition and that is the marathon of youths, I mean Day of Peace.

For two months, more than 130 youths work, think, and plan together to execute the biggest details and the most specific ones. We employ our potentials of negotiating, drawing, playing musical instruments, and singing; we employ all our means in literature, and designing, all our ideational and physical skills. All these are gathered to form an intellectual organism that I call Baghdad City of Peace.

Transparency, honesty, volunteer, love, optimism, thinking about the other, and lots of other values and principles for the sake of only one reason and that is reflecting Baghdad’s real image, the smiling Baghdad, rather than that war-torn, warring, and wounded image. We feel concerned, a little bit confused, and earth would stop and we are all there on September 21, we cry, feel joy, and dance during one day.

Two months of optimism are so much enough for me to live the other 10 in fully optimistic way.

Thank you Baghdad’s youth, thanks for those who teach me to love myself and my city, thank you all. Thanks to all those who participated and will participate in Baghdad City of Peace Carnival.

Translated by: Social Media Team