In 2003, when U.S. troops stormed into Baghdad and the statues of Saddam Hussein were pulled down, I think I must have been elated like many other Iraqis. Today, after the six years of bloodshed and slaughter set off by the U.S. invasion, it’s hard to remember that feeling, which must have been one of enormous relief and joy. Instead I am left with mixed emotions, grateful that the horror of Saddam’s rule ended but also deeply saddened by the horrors that followed his fall.
I was eager to live in an Iraq without Saddam. I always hated his brutal rule of Iraq. He had taken us into wars in which hundreds of thousands of people were killed. Iraqis might also easily face death if they spoke out against Saddam or criticized his government. But if you kept your mouth shut and did not join any political party other than his now outlawed Baath party, you most probably would have been left alone.
When Saddam was ousted by the invasion, and Baghdad fell to U.S. troops on April 9, 2003, I thought then that Iraq would finally be at peace after a long period of tough times. I never imagined what followed. It never crossed my mind that tens of thousands would be slaughtered simply for being a Shi’ite Muslim or a Sunni, the two Islamic sects in Iraq. Millions would flee their homes. And that bombs laid by insurgents would mow down thousands more.
I sometimes wondered why did we get rid of Saddam if the killing continued, although for different reasons?
The violence has begun to ebb, but still my relatives and friends are scattered to the winds.
As an Iraqi journalist I have explored the social impact of war on my country. I have interviewed orphans and widows, and people whose limbs were blown off by bombs. It has left my heart full of more pain than I ever thought it could bear.
I have also seen Iraq, amid the violence and fear, embrace new freedoms in politics and also in life: we have cellular telephones and satellite television, both restricted or banned in Saddam’s time. Saddam’s government had long lists of forbidden items. One of them was satellite television. Anyone caught watching international news shows could be sent to prison for six months. 
It is clear to me that Iraqi society would not have been allowed to develop had Saddam remained in charge. Now despite the dark years that have passed, we can at least cling to hopes of better times. We have a parliament that we elect, and not one-man rule.
This week, an Iraqi appeals court reduced to one year a three-year prison sentence handed to an Iraqi journalist who dared to throw his shoes at former U.S. President George W. Bush. I was impressed and had to raise my hat to the independence of the judiciary. I asked my parents what they thought the journalist’s sentence would have been had he committed the same offence during Saddam’s times. My mother answered: “He would not only have been executed without trial but all of his family would have been erased from the Iraqi map.”
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No doubt. Matthew, you are way off while your statements. You clearly arn’t seeing the clear picture of Saddam and what he did.
- Posted by Justin GirouxDuring Saddam`s rules, the persons were living in distressed because the social impact of the war was enough to think in the suicide, But now, after of the stormed into Bagdad, all is the same; continue the horror of the war and the bloodshed.
- Posted by edgar alonso madrigalSo. I think that the violence, isn`t the solution to the conflicts, because forever is the same history.
I think there, the people smile litlle, they all day are listen bad news, the people there suffers much. The journalist who wrote the article shows his broken heart, perhaps create a global special committee, to try to help Iraq, and all day it was the item be improved at least somewhaa . I think a lot for the children there.
- Posted by GladysWhy does the headline, “Mixed emotions 6 years after Saddam’s fall”, imply that this is a story about more than 1 iraqi’s personal opinion? If you were to stay true to the stories description ‘mixed emotions’ and investigate why you would quickly and easily find that the US has brought far more pain and suffering to the region and to the Iraqi people than Saddam. The real story you would find is one of propaganda.. both in the US and in Iraq during the setup of the invasion.
- Posted by BrianAnyone suffering from mixed emotions after just the latest crime by the US in Iraq in 2003 needs to ask themselves why in the name of the most basic logic they would ever trust the US in the first place?? A country with by far the worst reputation for violence, imperialism and the destruction of the societies they invade in the last 60 years..
If you’re having mixed emotions, im sorry but its completely your fault, what did you expect would happen!!? The people that told you it would be alright, that it was the right thing to do, are the wrong people to trust, period.
And all the billions stolen, the hundreds of thousands dead, the reconstruction fraud, all the priceless treasures looted from the cradle of civilisations museums along with the orchestrated toppling of saddams statue and the stolen 10000 page weapons declarations blacked out pages will seem as non-existant as your weapons of mass destruction the next time the US government and media move to attack.
The same pattern has been repeating for a long time now, so how can it still surprise us? Now THIS is a story worth writing..
The American Gouv’t kept Saddam Hussein in power until they wanted an excuse to punish someone for Sept. 11. You cannot build democracy on lies and a settling of accounts. All the people who died in Iraq believed that they were doing the right thing. Sadly Iraqis will not have peace and the pandoras box has been opened.History has a way of coming back to haunt those who thought they could get away with their lies. If anyone is a war crime criminal it is George Bush and he even almost bankrupted his country which we are now paying the price for.
- Posted by Michael BanksWe Americans are never going to be able to imagine the horror of what living in Iraq feels like, and we should stop pretending that we can guess. We watch American-biased newscasts and read a few international news articles and feel that we have been enlightened and have a right to judge. I know that I can’t imagine what it is truly like to be an mother and wife living there right now. Her heart breaks a little every day that she sends her children off to school and her husband to work, knowing that someone may not come home alive that day. All because of some jerk fighting for his “cause”. Whether it be political or religious violence is kind of beyond the point. Most people in Iraq are just fighting for their basic right to be alive and live a normal life with their family and friends every day. We can’t take back the Bush administration any more than we can take back Sadaam. The only thing we can do is move forward. I applaud the bravery and the optimism of those people who are trying to do that.
- Posted by StaceyMathew,
- Posted by DamiaYou are the typical fatuous brain-washed voter who gets politicians like Bush in power…. it is sad actually to read such strong uneducated comments made in 2009
I have read most dumbest comment, Matthew, I think this guy does not have any brain. People like him are core problem in the society. They produce opinions without any proper brain storming.It does not even reach the smartness.
- Posted by Mullah Shahin