Despite war and violence the bingo tradition is still alive
An exclusive bingo club in the city of Baghdad is seen by its players as an oasis to play the game, have some tea and spare their minds a little bit from war and violence which right now is damaging the region.
This exclusive club, founded in 1924, permitted in its origins only foreign members, but now it has opened places for rich Iraqis who seem to enjoy bingo. At the moment, only Iraq’s upper class is admitted to the club and members should have university degrees.
Nevertheless, since the increase in the violence and terrorist attacks over Baghdad, the richest part of the society has nearly vanished and nowadays, the attendance to bingo is only 5% of what it was before the war.
“Bingo is a great way to spend time with friends and forget for a moment all the tears that war has brought us”, says a regular bingo player. The game, which is played weekly at the club has the influences of the Iraqi culture as can be seen when the caller yells a mix of English letters and Arabic numbers, for example “B sabaa” for B7.
Recently, the bartender found a bloody bullet in an envelope inside his car, which in the region is considered as a threat from religious extremist who condemn the club's free flow of alcohol. Even though, bingo is never cancelled and the club has managed to keep the bingo tradition alive.
An exclusive bingo club in the city of Baghdad is seen by its players as an oasis to play the game, have some tea and spare their minds a little bit from war and violence which right now is damaging the region.