HW 34: Traditions as a Way of Life

In Baghdad Burning the role of gold in the Iraqi family means everything. Usually, the Iraqi people, especially during the war, took their money out of the bank and turned into gold. By doing this, it shows how wealthy they really are and if there are problems among the family, the gold can always be turned back into money if needed. Riverbend says that the troops usually takes the gold and jewels because they think that Iraqis are not people who own fine jewels like that (Riverbend). Riverbend’s aunt actually made her and her cousin wear the jewelry because they saw tanks on their main street, and the last thing she wanted was her jewelry to be confiscated from a raid. This gold is a possession that has been either passed down from generations. Riverbend states about her aunt “The ’mistress’ called out that we could laugh all we wanted but since the jewelry was everything she had since 1965, we had better be careful” (Riverbend 102). They were very important. No matter what the family was doing that day, they would all meet up for evening tea. The tea is not just bagged tea, its more special than that. Actually it offends the Iraqi people if someone uses the bagged tea. Tea is part of the everyday life in Iraq. “People drink tea with breakfast, they drink tea at midday, they drink tea in the evening and often drink tea with dinner” (Riverbend 109). They all gather around a tea-like table and talk about issues that are happening. It is a place and time were the whole family can get together and drink homemade tea and converse. It is family bonding time that is traditional.