Food tables stretched from the capital, Baghdad, through the southern provinces to Basra, including routes from the north, all converging at one destination. The services are not limited to food alone but also include places for rest and sleep, medical services, first aid, and even shoe repair and simple equipment workshops for visitors. Some organizers estimate that this initiative feeds hundreds of thousands of people daily, in an atmosphere filled with cooperation, volunteering, and altruism.
In contrast, visitors who walk hundreds of kilometers see these tables as a symbol of solidarity and unity, where social and economic differences disappear, and everyone gathers at one table, in the largest humanitarian demonstration of its kind in the world. Abdul Hussein Al-Mahmoudawi, the owner of a procession on the Baghdad-Karbala road, tells Sputnik: “As each month of Muharram approaches, Iraqis prepare as if they have an annual appointment with the highest meanings of generosity and altruism, as the tents and mobile shops spread to welcome visitors heading to commemorate the Arbaeen pilgrimage.”
“The service here knows no rest,” says Hassan Saad Star, the owner of another service procession, adding: “Everything we offer is from our own money, without any government support. We sleep only one hour a day, but we remain available 24 hours a day, providing food at the highest levels of cleanliness and quality.” On the other hand, a volunteer in the initiative, Abu Saif, confirms that “these processions have become like a humanitarian artery extending between the provinces, as we have been providing services non-stop for ten days.”
Along this spiritual road, it’s not just about offering traditional rice and bread, but the tables are diverse. Salman Mohammed, the owner of one of the processions, tells Sputnik: “We offer burgers, pizza, kebabs, chicken, and even desserts, all free for everyone, without charge, and all day long.”
On these crowded roads, kilometers of asphalt transform into the longest open table in the world, where strangers sit next to those they know, and everyone shares bread, water, and smiles, in a scene that encapsulates the spirit of brotherhood and coexistence in Iraq every year.
