14 DAY TRIAL // The Iraqi city of Tikrit, the home town of the former dictator Saddam Hussein, now hosts a large statue depicting a shoe, which has been erected to honor the journalist who took both of his shoes off and threw them at President George W. Bush, while he was on tour in the country. People in the area are very pleased with the construction, which they say proves that the Americans are not untouchable, and that even a small gesture can have drastic repercussions.
The unveiling of the two meter (six feet)-tall statue took place in Tikrit on Thursday, amidst cheers from a gathering crowd. The "statue of glory and generosity," as the monument has been dubbed, features a solid, bronze-colored construction, adorned with a plastic shrub. An inscription on it reads "Muntazer: fasting until the sword breaks its fast with blood; silent until our mouths speak the truth."
Artist Laith al-Amiri has been responsible for the creation of the 1.5-ton construction, which has been erected as a homage to Muntazer al-Zaidi, the journalist who threw his shoes at Bush during his last official visit in Iraq, as President of the United States. Bush's security detail, the Secret Service, was totally taken by surprise in this incident, and had little time to react. The journalist has been in a prison in Baghdad since the event, and now faces serious charges, including assault against a visiting head of state. It's possible that he could spend the next years of his life in a jail.
"This statue is the least expression of our appreciation for Muntazer al-Zaidi, because Iraqi hearts were comforted by his throw," Fatin Abdul Qader, who leads an orphanage and a children's organization in Tikrit, says. Common people in Iraq point out that they now feel stronger than ever, considering the fact that even the most well protected man in the world can be touched by something as common as a shoe.
Following the incident, many favourable responses regarding the journalist's shoes have appeared online, including games in which users can throw the objects at a confused Bush, hiding below a desk and popping out in various portions of the screen. The games have soon gone viral, and, surprisingly, have got the most hits from America and Europe, instead of the Middle East, as they were first expected.
