BAGHDAD: Mia Khalifa, the US porn sensation of Lebanese origins is no stranger to protests and controversy. Indeed, ever since she shot up to fame as one of the most popular actresses on American porn sites, she has been the subject of protest and crisicisim across the Arab World. In particular, she has received heavy crticism in her home country of Lebanon, a country dominated by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
However, while some of her critics may like her in secret but disown her in public; Khalifa has recently proven publically popular in a very unlikely place: Iraq.
Protesters - angry at the political situation and poor living conditions caused mostly by Iranian intervention - have carried her picture and made comparisons between the adult actress and Iraqi politicians, who are infamous for their corruption and Tehran connections.
One Iraqi demanded - sarcastically - that she points out an Iraqi politician who is more honorable than her so he would seek his help, insinuating that there are none.
He said in his Iraqi dialect: “Who is more honorable than you, Mia, so I can complain to him?”
He pointed out that he found Mia Khalifa more helpful to him than most politicians in the country and the members of the provincial council.
The young man added that Mia gave him comfort, while Iraqi politicians were useless and incapable of providing the city with minimum life requirements, like water, electricity, sanitation, and education.
The city of Basra has been witnessing a wave of mass protests for the last two months in response to the deterioration of services, lack of job opportunities, and contaminated drinking water during this hot weather. Dozens of the protesters have been killed and injured in clashes with the police, especially after the protests have been renewed in the past two days.
