I came to the office, and found this message in my phone saying “we are Kata’eb al Jehad, we know you, and we are watching you” isn’t that exciting!!! To get threat from unknown side whether al Jehad battalion or others!

Since a while a got this feeling that am counting down, yet I have to move on because as a single mother, full with ambitions and enthusiasm to achieve better future for me and for two daughters, pushes me to go on, beside, it is the work I love, to let the world understand the reality of what is going on here.

Living in Iraq, working as journalist, not in Iraqi media, but American one, going back and forth to work puts me in great danger because I live in an area fully controlled by the Mahdi army that you have to take different roads each time trying not to draw attention, pretend you don’t speak English, with spreading several rumors that you are working two jobs to justify you coming late to your neighborhood.

...

With such distracted mind, I waited for few hours to see what will I decide to do if I got another message, or should I throw the simcard right now?, should I spent the night at the bureau? Should I go back home and be with my kids? Should I take it seriously and leave the country? But where to?

Busy with these thoughts the message tone rings, it was them again saying “you are running out of time, consider this is a warning”