How does life go on when the whole world collapses? The documentary play Baghdad Burning is based on Riverbend’s much-talked-about blog Baghdad Burning – Girl Blog from Iraq and offers us rare insight into what life is like in the midst of a global conflict about which we each of us have an opinion.

Sunday, August 17, 2003
So this is the beginning for me, I guess. I never thought I'd start my own weblog...
I'm female, Iraqi and 24. I survived the war. That's all you need to know. It's all that matters these days anyway.
Riverbend

In August 2003 the then 24-year-old Riverbend started to write a Web diary reporting on her experiences as a civilian observer in Baghdad. Riverbend’s devastating criticism of daily life in a war zone had won her a large audience worldwide. In her blog, Riverbend writes about herself, her family and her friends, and also about the political consequences of the change in regime and how an increasing fundamentalism violates women’s rights and curtails their freedom.

Throughout, Riverbend has remained anonymous – no one knows with any certainty who she is, but her blog has won considerable international attention. The blog articles have been published in two award-winning books by Feminist Press, and another dramatisation of the texts has been staged in New York at the West End Theatre. Riksteatern has acquired exclusive rights to produce the penetrating, hard-hitting, humorous and brilliantly written material in drama form in Sweden. 

Read Riverbend’s blog at riverbendblog.blogspot.com

With support from Folke Bernadotte Academy.