Iraq marks first National Couch Day

Published May 3rd, 2016 - 02:19 GMT
The photograph from parliament that prompted the hashtag (Facebook)
The photograph from parliament that prompted the hashtag (Facebook)

Iraqi authorities had a shock this week when protesters burst into Baghdad’s Parliament and Green Zone, breaching walls that had previously kept ordinary people out of the country’s political heartland.

And today the establishment has suffered further humiliation, as even its furniture endured the mockery of the public.

The hashtag #My_Sofa has become a viral sensation across Iraq after the country’s officials released photographs of a bloodstained couch in the parliamentary buildings – an example of the damage caused by the April 30 protests.

 

The Prime Minister decided to send the couch abroad for a health check up on the expense of the government.

Scorning the authorities’ focus on the damage to a sofa, Iraqis mimicked the officials’ photograph with snaps of them surveying their own couches. Hashtags included #My_Couch, #My_Couch_Is_My_Pride, #May1_Iraqi_Couch_Day and #Parliamentarian_Couch. Hundreds of people tweeted photographs of them gazing at their couches in apparent horror.

The couch matter has escalated, and reached an international level that could endanger the safety of the world.

 

Apparently a couch is more important than us. Iraqis continue their sarcasm.  



Social media users taking photos with a couch to participate in the hashtag "my couch is my pride"
 
 

 

A good showing for #My_Couch in Iraq

 

Commenters poked fun at the indulgence of mourning ruined upholstery and drew attention to the perceived distance between the country’s elite and its ordinary people.

 

I suggest that we do a sculpture for this heroic couch at the gate of the Green Zone to illustrate how much it suffered.

 

Others were quick to identify the couch as a phenomena with a historical precedent.

 

Russian officers checking Hitler's couch after WW2. It looks like this couch thing has a history and some long roots.

 



A Human evolved from a Couch

 

Ordinary Iraqis enjoyed spending time in the country's Green Zone this week, after supporters of Shia Cleric Moqtada al-Sadr broke into the area. The protest was spurred by longterm government inefficiency, corruption, and failure to provide basic facilities to Iraqis, as well as deep-seated political struggles. 

Whether the couch itself will make a full recovery remains to be seen.

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