Evening star., 1940-12-25
Threat Of War Robs
Arabs Of Interest
In Thievery
It's Too Easy to Pick Up
Loot Bombs Blast
Out Of Buildings
BY RUTH and HELEN HOFFMAN

BY RUTH and HELEN HOFFMAN,
NEW YORK N.ANAD.-Some
thing seems to be holding back
bombing planes from the Garden
of Eden, and war has not yet come
to the nation built around it-Iraq
When we last saw our home in
1raQ, the shadow of war was already
over it. We won't 60 into the polit-
ical, military and economic scram-
bling in this shadow. Gables brought
that news faster than our ship could.
But the cables left this out: Be-
cause of the threat of war, the art
of thieving was losing caste among
the population. This is radical
In war thievery becomes looting
Bombs rip open houses and stores
and dump the rich booty into the
street. where no art is needed to
take them-only an ugly spirit.
Thieves Are Honored.
There was talk in Iraq about the
ugliness of the looter's spirit and
the need for national unity. To
grasp what this means, one must
understand that Iraq, cradle of the
human race" harbors the craftiest
members of it. The bigger thief a
mans father was, the better man is
his son considered.
A Bedouin tribe we know near
Bagdad follows this custom: If one
loses his life while stealing the next
tribes camels, his name is recorded
in honorable red ink on the chart
of the family tree.
When we first went to Iraq, we
lived on the banks of the TigriS
where we were obliged to employ
five Arab guards, armed to the teeth,
whose job it was to scare away any
descendants of the famous Thief of
Bagdad who were still lurking in
the neighborhood.
Sometimes we left the radio going
full blast all night long to frighten
away robbers.
Our own guards were f1rst-class
robbers. We paid more in wages
not to rob us than they could pos
sibly get by robbing us. But even at
that they were tempted occasionally
to supplement their wages by turn
ing their heads at the right moment.
And sometimes it did not have to
be case of gain-they turned their
heads anyway just for the sport of
1t.
Trees Disappear.
Take the case of the eucalyptus
trees. We managed to get hold of
1900 young trees. They arrived on
camel back, by boat and by track.
We spent back breaking days dig
ging holes and planting. When the
job was done we dreamed of our
future wooded desert. Nothing like
1t had ever been done up or down
the Tigris for 100 miles.
But few days later "a of the
little trees we had planted along
the roadside disappeared overnight.
The Arabs in the neighborhood
thought we were very fuSsy when
We kicked up a row over this sur
prising event. So we planted some
new baby trees in the same holes.
They, too, vanished overnight. Two
more attempts and we gave up our
idea of reforesting the Garden of
Eden.
During that first year we learned.
among other things, that we must
never carry money in our pockets
not even five cents.
Thieving in the country of the
flying carpet is not confined to the
lower classes. 1t seems acceptable
in all social circles
In a European household in Iraq
all food and liquor are kept under
lock and key, and the head of the
house makes close daily check on
the supplies. Servants usually take
whatever they can lay their hands
on.