Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim Al-Jubouri looks at the white sofa. (Photo: Facebook)

Pictures of ruined white sofa in parliament spur Iraqi sarcasm

Iraq’s PM and parliament speaker looking unhappy when staring at a ruined sofa in parliament sparked sarcasm on social media

Staff writer, Al Arabiya English

Published: 03 May ,2016: 12:00 AM GST Updated: 20 May ,2020: 02:58 PM GST

Soon after frustrated protesters stormed the fortified Green Zone in Iraq’s capital Baghdad and the parliament itself, the country’s premier and parliament speaker published photos of the damage including a ruined elegant white sofa.

In the pictures, Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi and speaker Salim Al-Jubouri looked ruefully unhappy when staring at the blood-stained sofa.

abadi

The image then sparked Iraqis to express their cynicism at their government’s performance as they started sharing pictures of themselves looking at their sofas at home.

A hashtag translated from Arabic to English as “My sofa_My prestige” started trending both on Facebook and Twitter.

Others photoshopped a picture of the Iraqi maestro, Karim Wasfi, sitting on his chair, playing his cello near the sofa. Wasfi became famous last year when he played his instrument at a bombsite in Mansour neighborhood in Baghdad.

To observe the mishap, some Twitter users sent their condolences to the Iraqi people over the unfortunate incident of what they called “The White Sofa.”