Hamid Ali Alkifaey

The Guardian 4/2/2003

I was in Iraq until the end of 1980 and I left after Saddam Hussein took over, after he had murdered half of the leadership of his party. It looked as if the country was entering a new phase which was a terrifying one to every Iraqi in the country, some of whom were forced to carry arms and be part of the popular army.

Most people had to carry Saddam’s photographs and badges. Professors were forced to walk in the street carrying candles on Saddam’s birthday. It was a terrorist takeover in 1979. The population of Iraq have been living in fear ever since.

I had to leave my family, which was destroyed. I had a brother killed and I feared I would be murdered too. I saw some of my secondary school peers murdered. Five of them were led out of class and murdered for no obvious reasons apart from their disagreement with Saddam Hussein, and his methods of ruling the country by fear. I had to leave the country, no matter where to.

Iraq has not always been a free country for everyone, but it was a country in which you could live and go along with your daily life in near normal circumstances. But since Saddam took over [in 1979], things have changed. At least 4 million have Iraqis have left Iraq, at least 2 million have died, not to mention the non-Iraqis that have been killed, including over a million Iranians, hundreds of Kuwaitis, Egyptians and other nationalities.

Saddam has been a disaster for the whole region and removing him is not a luxury. It is a necessity. If we want peace in the region we have to get rid of the cause of this instability. We have to have peace and stability across the area and also the world. His continued presence in Iraq will no doubt increase terrorism in the future.

Iraqis have suffered a lot under Saddam but he is not going to go away without being forced, because he came to power through violence. Iraqi people cannot effect such a change by themselves. They have tried several times in the past and could not, because Saddam used weapons of mass destruction – including chemical weapons and scud missiles – against them.

I think the Iraqi people will participate in regime change and it is not going to be difficult because nobody is going to fight for Saddam Hussein. I have no fear of internal strife as all sections of Iraqi society have suffered under Saddam Hussein, and people have lived together in peace and harmony for hundreds of years.

The army, the police and everyone else is looking to the outside help to change this regime. This regime will crumble within a day or two. I have no doubt that most Iraqis are waiting for this change because they will never have a normal life while Saddam Hussein and his gang are there. It is important not to forget the 1991 uprising against Saddam Hussein in which most Iraqis participated when they thought there was an outside help forthcoming. That is another proof, if proof is needed, that the people of Iraq detest and despise Saddam and his henchmen, and cannot wait to seize any opportunity to remove them from power.

Iraqis are civilised people, they want to join the civilised world. They want to live their lives in peace, in a democratic Iraq.
Dino Mahtani

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/feb/04/iraq11