iraq by Layla Anwar
Breakthrough & Nostalgia
When I say and repeat that you, Americans have destroyed
everything in Iraq, I am met with scorn and anger.
Some of you are too simplistic and equate destruction
with buildings in ruins.
Having a limited a vision, you cant go beyond the
material, the physical...
I reiterate, you Americans have destroyed everything in
Iraq. And I mean EVERYTHING.
Since 1958 until 2003, Iraq, its government and its
people strove relentlessly to build a modern nation
state.
The biggest developmental boom took place under the Baath
regime and in particular under Saddam Hussein. Like it or
not.
In 1972, the oil was nationalized. By 1982, illiteracy
and preventable diseases were eradicated.
Education including higher education was free of charge.
The government would disburse 5000 grants yearly for
postgraduate studies abroad to England, Germany, Russia,
France...
By 2003, Iraq accounted for 30000 scientists. Yes,
you read me right, 30000 scientists. And when in
2003, Bush said that Iraqis were very educated people,
he knew what he was talking about.
Now you understand why the targeting of academics,
scientists and intellectuals was part of the American
plan. It was actually no.1 on the agenda way before
"sectarian warfare" broke out.
Since, over 600 scientists and academics have been
murdered in cold blood, the rest have fled and many are
reported missing...
University libraries and schools were booming with books
and publications, the National library in Baghdad held
the most ancient manuscripts ever to be found.
Iraqis were known to devour books, and Baghdad was a
publishing center. Books would even be distributed free
of charge to other Middle Eastern countries including
some parts of Africa.
The Universities were equipped with the latest technology
and labs. The student dorms were specially designed to
accommodate the highest number of students a lot
of them came and studied and lived free of charge in
Iraq. They came from Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Somalia,
Algeria, Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt, Sudan...
In the medical field, Iraq was considered the most
developed nation -along with its educational system, in
the whole of the Middle East . Both WHO and UNICEF stated
that Iraq on these two fronts could be considered as
having overcome "underdevelopment" and was
ready to join the "developed world."
All specialists were sent abroad for post-doctorate
research and for further specialization.
We had the most advanced hospitals, with the latest
equipment, there were health dispensaries in every
neighborhood. Medication was subsidized, and all you
needed to do is pay a symbolic fee of 1 dinar. 1 Dinar
for a medical visit and that was it.
Infrastructures were diligently built. Roads, highways,
bridges, sewage system, electricity, telecommunications,
industry, commercial buildings, hotels,
agribusiness...All of these were built by Iraqis. Not
some foreign labor, but Iraqis themselves.
In fact, Iraqis were the main asset. And the government
under Saddam Hussein, invested heaps into the main riches
of Iraq- its people.
Women were particularly favored during that time. We had
equal rights, equal pay, 2 years maternity leave, we
could divorce when we saw fit, no one would tell us how
to dress, 70% of us were working women, we had access to
schools, universities, education, government
institutions...We could travel, drive, and run our own
businesses...
Some of us were professors, others doctors, teachers,
engineers, scientists, archeologists, financial managers,
diplomats, judges, lawyers, artists, singers, writers,
actresses...
We could walk the streets alone, during the day and
night, we could go out, dress as we pleased (within
reasonable limits), marry whom we wanted in a civil court
if we had so wished...Polygamy was forbidden and domestic
violence was punishable by law.
Our children had access to free schooling, free meals,
free health care and were vaccinated free of charge. Iraq
had the lowest child mortality rate in the whole of the
Middle East. Our children went to good schools with
heating, with desks and chairs, they had enough to eat,
they had places to go to and play, they had parks and
gardens, swings and playgrounds, they had a mother and a
father and grew up into healthy adulthood...
Those who had lost their parents were either taken care
of by the rest of the extended family and were given a
governmental pay allocation for that or placed in
orphanages that were subsidized and supervised by the
government. And trust me that government was quite strict
with any form of abuse if it ever happened.
The few gays we had, were tolerated and were not harassed
or targeted and were not tortured or murdered in broad
daylight.
Minorities like the Kurds had their own regional
autonomy. Saddam Hussein built them universities and
schools where they could teach and learn in their own
language. They were allowed their own press in Kurdish,
their culture- music, customs and their own style of
dress. They were free to circulate in the whole of Iraq,
attend universities and live anywhere they wished.
In fact a lot of them remained in Baghdad . They were
allowed to be part of the government and were represented
in it. We had Kurdish ministers and ambassadors.
And intermarriage between Kurds and Arabs was very
common. Kurdish even became a compulsory secondary
language in Baghdads high schools.
Other minorities like the Sabeans, the Yazidis and the
Turkmen were allowed to form associations, practice their
own religion, language or ethnic customs...And again,
intermarriage was common.
Christians were protected, particularly protected. They
were given posts in government. Had access to all the
Iraqi institutions, owned their own businesses, were free
to worship as they pleased, the government even had a
special budget for the construction of churches. They
were allowed Sunday off instead of the traditional Muslim
Friday. They celebrated their religious holidays in all
freedom, they were Iraqis before anything else...They
were even free to have their own hospitals, schools, and
pension homes.
The Shiites formed the bulk of the government employees
and the army. They were considered as Iraqi citizens
first and foremost, were allowed to worship in their own
mosques and study in their own religious centers, they
had access to education, housing, employment, higher
studies, high governmental posts, ministerial posts,
diplomatic posts...
They were allowed to marry anyone they pleased. And the
fact is that the rate of intermarriage between Iraqi
Shiites and Sunnis is the highest in the Middle East
compared to lets say Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon or
Saudi Arabia where Shiite minorities exist. There is not
one Iraqi family which is not of mixed sects- Sunni/
Shia.
Iraq produced Shiite doctors, professors, scientists,
artists, sportsmen...
Palestinians, and they used to call themselves
Iraqi-Palestinians, numbered around 35'000 in total.
They were specially protected by Saddam Hussein and his
government. They were given equal rights just like the
Iraqis, were allowed to own their businesses, marry
-marriage between Iraqis and Palestinians was common, had
access to free schools, universities, grants, medical
services just like any Iraqi.
Palestinians were considered the rightful owners of a
just cause and they were fully and unconditionally
supported -no matter the cost or the consequences. And
that is the way to do it.
Culturally and artistically, Iraq was a truly booming
place. Baghdad was known for its poets, writers, artists,
musicians, painters, dancers...
And Saddam Hussein invested heavily in Iraqi art.
There was a special Institute for plastic arts, sculpture
and ceramics... The Iraqi school of Art was known to be
the most prominent in the Middle East and produced many
famous names that were later emulated by other Arab
artists.
Furthermore, to encourage both Iraqi and non Iraqi art,
the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein, established
cultural offices supervised by its cutural attachés
abroad.
For instance you had an Iraqi cultural center in London,
one in Paris and another one in Geneva.
These centers would promote Iraqi and non Iraqi artists,
organize Iraqi dance festivals, Iraqi exhibitions of
crafts and traditionally designed clothes, would invite
traditional Iraqi musicians...
The aim was to bridge any cultural gaps between the Arab
world/Iraq and the West. And all these activities were
free of charge. The government paid for everything- every
single activity and covered all the costs it entailed.
As some of you may know, Iraq is the land of the first
civilizations known to humankind. The skeleton of the
Alphabet started in Sumer with the first cuneiforms. Even
cooking recipes were engraved on tablets. Techniques for
civil construction, agricultural irrigation and also the
preliminaries for urban planning - all took root in this
ancient civilization. Epics, poetry, music, jurisprudence
with Hammurabis over 700 codified rules, philosophy
and metaphysics also took root in this land...
I dont want to go into Mesopotamian history right
now, but suffice to say, that Iraq counts for the highest
number of archeological sites in the world covering
thousands of years, and bearing witness to different
epochs of history. From the Sumerians right through to
the monotheistic prophets and beyond...
Before the sanction years and I will touch on the
sanctions years in my next chapter, the government under
Saddam Hussein spent millions of dollars in the
restoration, preservation and protection of these sites
that are considered part of the universal patrimonial
heritage according to UNESCOs definitions.
The hanging gardens of Babylon were even considered part
of the 7 wonders of the world. Not anymore. They have
been replaced by Petra in Jordan.
The Iraqi museum was home to thousands of priceless
artifacts, numbered, classified and recorded...Experts in
ancient history and archeology would spent unlimited
hours excavating, restoring, preserving, protecting and
teaching our Mesopotamian heritage that stretched all the
way to the Abbasid Caliphate right into Modern Iraq.
Right up to the sanctions years and despite the Iran-Iraq
war, one can safely say that the Iraqi state was a fully
modern functioning independent entity. When I talk about
state I am not only talking of governmental institutions.
There were these and there was the army, a modern strong
capable army. But state also entails other aspects...
State entails other societal institutions, like
universities, schools, hospitals, cultural bodies,
associations...infrastructural systems, civic society and
national and cultural identity.
The Iraqi State and its ideology overcame tribalism,
sectarianism, ethnic chauvinism...And it was a fully
functional State without outside help. It was run by
Iraqis for Iraqis.
I am absolutely convinced that, had Khomeinism not
appeared on the scene, and Khomeinism was greatly helped
to accede to power thanks to the West...
I am absolutely convinced had there not been this tumor
called political Shiism, and Persianism. I am absolutely
convinced that had Iraq not had such disgusting
treacherous neighbors- Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait...
I am absolutely convinced had Iraq been truly allowed to
continue on its developmental path without having to
constantly ward off outside influences, it would have
become a fully fledged Arab Democracy with its own
specificity...
In fact Iraq had ALL the necessary prerequisites and
ingredients to become so.
It had a strong government with a vision, it had
institutions, it had eradicated illiteracy and had a
highly educated population, it was developed in more ways
than one...
And this, the West can never accept. Nor the West, nor
the rest of the feudal backward Arab states, nor the
criminal Israel and Iran.
And it is with the objective of destroying what the Iraqi
government and in particular Saddam Hussein took great
pains in building in only 3 decades, and 3 decades are
not much in the history of a country, the Americans came
to invade and occupy...
Americas objectives and the primary goal on its
agenda was the erasing of the Iraqi identity because
America understood that it was precisely that identity
that proved to be Americas main stumbling block
despite years of grotesque, criminal sanctions.
Sanctions, previously unknown to contemporary mankind.
Not since the League of Nations, has anyone witnessed
such a collective effort to destroy and steal the soul of
a nation that tried to stand on its own two feet alone
with its own resources.
And its resources were:
1) a hardworking, intelligent, educated people
2) its natural geography - a) the finest quality of crude
oil gushing from the biggest, largely unexplored oil
reserves in the world. b)sweet water flowing from two
rivers. c) a fertile land and,
3) its deep, ancient, historical roots from which it drew
pride and moral strength.
A deadly combination for the covetous, barbaric West and
for their bastard criminal whore mistresses the Jewish
State of Israel and Persian-Iran.
Here was an independent, progressive, modern, secular,
strong, proud, Arab identity...that freed itself from the
shackles of the Ottoman then British colonialism and on
its way towards true economic, political, intellectual
and moral independence...Here was a country who refused
to be a lapdog, a slave that would bow down...And that
was simply not acceptable.
And the breakthrough that started as a dream and took
root in reality, was forbidden to further unfold...Not
only was it forbidden to unfold, it had to be smashed,
destroyed to pieces. It was in fact a must.
Painting : Iraqi female artist, Zainab Abdel Qader.
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