The guests tonight include a handful of family members and close friends… Ayad, the oldest son, is of medium height and has a bushy black moustache; he is quiet and reserved, speaking only when someone asks him a question. In contrast his younger brother Ziad is outgoing and often makes the family laugh by telling jokes. He hovers around his young fiancé with the utter devotion of a man newly in love. The brothers are both graduates of Baghdad University with engineering degrees but gave up on jobs in their trained field because the salaries were so low. After graduation, with the help of their father, they each opened shops selling buttons, ribbons, hair accessories, and lingerie. Earlier in the evening, I ask the young couples about jobs, economic survival and future plans. It strikes me that unlike Americans, who have mapped out their life goals at a young age, surviving a simple life day to day life here is in itself considered an accomplishment.

"We don't pay attention to any thing, we look just in front of us, not left or right just to live a quiet life," Ziad says alluding to any activity the regime finds offensive.