In Iraq, news and information is filtered through government and/or media. But, according to a BBC report, some 70 Iraqis are writing blogs that allow them to issue uncensored reports on their daily lives.

One blogger, a mother of three and manager at a Baghdad water plant, initially shared her hopes for a better life based on the U.S. invasion, but time has changed her views. “Fighting, explosion, killing and blood everyday,” she said. “You are not safe, and everything is confusing you. Everything is sad, because you’re scared about your sons, your family, your job, everything.”

Ali Fadhil, a Baghdad medical resident, says, ““I was surprised to see that there were many people reading our blog, and we were telling things they didn’t know. So, I thought that this was a good idea, to help tell the truth.” From Fadhil’s perspective, the truth is that most Iraqis are glad Saddam is gone and want the U.S.-led forces to stay.

Some blogs avoid politics and war in favor of neighborhood gossip. “Neurotic Iraqi Wife” uses her blog to talk about her husband who left home to “rebuild the country” after three days of marriage and hasn’t returned. The blog discusses how to get him to come home.