FIVE YEARS AFTER "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" IRAQIS DREAM OF WHEN US IS OUT OF THEIR COUNTRY

Five Years After Mission Accomplished, Iraqis "Dream of the End of the Occupation"

By Dahr Jamail and Ahmed Ali, IPS News
Posted on May 28, 2008, Printed on May 28, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/86682/

BAQUBA -- After more than five years of U.S. occupation, the very dreams of the people of Baquba have changed. For a start, they are no longer about the future.

Today, a shower is a dream. Or that the electricity supply continues just that little bit longer.

"These needs are very trivial for people of other countries," 43-year-old political leader Saad Tahir told IPS. "But in Iraq, people dream more of these things than of some ambition or success."

Abdullah Mahdi, a retired 51-year-old trader, says he dreams only of electricity.

"Like millions here, I hope supply gets better to help us to sleep in this hot summer," Mahdi told IPS. "We have been suffering from this problem since the 1991 Kuwait war, and this current occupation only made things worse."

Others dream of freedom of movement. "I dream of traveling among the Iraqi provinces freely and safely," a local resident said. "For more than two years now, I have not traveled to any province of my country." Lack of security means Iraqis can rarely travel even to a neighboring area.

Children also seem to have begun to dream differently.

"I dream of a playground in which I and my friends can play freely and at any time," 11-year-old Luay Amjad told IPS. Children are not allowed to play just anywhere for fear of unexploded bombs, haphazard firing, and a general fear of the Iraqi military. Many children in Baquba and other districts of Diyala province have been kidnapped.

"All families wish to see their children safe, and then enjoying their time," said a young father. "We know that they currently live in a very closed world. But we put pressure on our children for their own safety. Streets are dangerous, and even gardens may sometimes be dangerous."

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