August 20th, 2018

A thought from me to me and then to you…

A sense of inner fulfillment, satisfaction and appreciation has come to me..

something I believe in is finally happening!

I have been working on/off for the last two years on the American Institute of Architects - Middle East Launch in Baghdad..  It was one important thing to get done as the 2017 President of AIA ME

On: as part of my determined efforts to empower individuals and specifically architects and more specifically architects in Iraq.. Off: as a result of circumstances and challenges..

To see AIA Middle East launch in Baghdad- Iraq is a  dream come true.. nothing comes easy….It requires a lot of commitment, personal time that you don’t always have and lots of determination…

I will be there on August 28th to launch the chapter in Baghdad at the Iraqi Engineers Union which I was one of its members long back..

I lived in Baghdad in the seventies, eighties and early nineties.. and I left right after the gulf war…

for a vey very long time that goes back to my beginnings, I always had the sense of being powerless! I remember seeing the american war planes roaming in the sky above our house, I was determined then not to be ever insignificant or powerless.  Not a surprising feeling having lived through many wars in Iraq, you definitely loose that sense of control over your life and future..

With lots of inner determination to empower myself, I left Iraq on my own with a sad but fearless heart..

if you are curious about my experience living in Iraq at a very critical time in my own personal development.. watch two movies I created, one is called

what the chicken saw! and the other one: The chicken and I

https://vimeo.com/user1329063

"We knew if the chickens were to die, we would die next! we were silently watching the chickens from our plastic covered windows"

It took me years and years to regain that sense of inner power… I realized at the end it is within our control..  that place when you arrive, you know that you’ve finally arrived.. the place where you have empowered your own self by giving yourself the opportunity to grow and expand…

and I still have many purposes to fulfill.. One of them is to do great projects in Iraq but only when Iraq is ready for me… the right time will come..

My most important purpose is to create, to imagine possibilities and to make them materialize in our own living and breathing environment.

My purpose is to create beautiful meaningful experiences through creating masterplans and buildings that are aspiring and inspiring..

I see architecture beyond its discipline.. I am a developer.. I am an architect.. I am whatever I need to be to empower us to create cities and neighborhoods that are not scared to embrace the present and are always open to future possibilities.

I am also excited to be giving a presentation on my work and a joined presentation with Zayad Motlib about the future summer school that we want to hold in Baghdad! It would be the first city we would have the CROSSOVER initiative in. Both myself and Zayad left Iraq around the same time both wanting to empower ourselves, to learn more and to expand our own self towards our full potential. I am very grateful for this amazing opportunity to co-create with a fellow Iraqi who was also my colleague at the Department of Architecture Engineering - Baghdad University.

There are always more missions to accomplish.. and the next one is working on crafting a new vision for a large development globally..

I see myself as a citizen of the world and you find me where I am most needed to make things happen..

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