Iraqi citizens tell their
story
Iraqi doctor Hayder Abdulkarin
(left) and Baghdad University professor Athraa Hasoon talk about
life in their country during an interview
(photo by H. Marc Larson).
Iraqis: Iraq is different than what
media portray
By Anna Krejci News-Chronicle
Tens of thousands Iraqi citizen deaths and the more than 1,000
deaths among
coalition forces reported in the news overlooks the country's
advancement to a
peaceful and stable society, said two Iraqis who spoke with The
News-Chronicle on Thursday.
Athraa Hasoon, a biology professor at
Baghdad University, will travel around the United States for
three weeks, delivering a message of gratitude to U.S. families
whose loved ones are serving or have served in the U.S. Armed
Forces in Iraq.
Iraqis pray for the coalition troops,
she said. "They saved us, or liberated us from Saddam. No
one can liberate us from Saddam before," she said. She sees
improvements at the university where she teaches.
"The lab we have is very, very
small and cheap," she said. That is changing. The university
is acquiring access to the Internet, microscopes and satellites,
she
said.
Hayder Abdulkarin, a doctor who gave
humanitarian assistance during the war
while volunteering with the Middle East Council of Churches in
Iraq, also delivered a "thank you" to Americans.
Both were traveling on behalf of Iraq-America
Freedom Alliance, an organization advocating for democracy and
the dismantling of terrorism. Seven
organizations from Iraq and the United States comprise the alliance,
including
the Women's Alliance for a Democratic Iraq, the American Islamic
Congress and the Assyrian National Federation.
While Abdulkarin and Hasoon said they
appreciate the U.S.-guided overthrow of Saddam, a June poll showed
33.5 percent of 2,830 Iraqis surveyed believed the military move
was wrong. The Oxford Research International Ltd., an organization
formed by Oxford University-studied analysts, reported that 13.2
percent of Iraqis thought the war was "right", while
27.6 percent believed it was
"somewhat right." The war was "somewhat wrong"
to 25.7 percent. Poll results aside, Abdulkarin has been in the
United States for one month, representing the views of Iraqis
who support the coalition and the war. So far he has visited
Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa.
During Saddam Hussein's rule, 65 to
75 percent of medical equipment supplies
were malfunctioning, he said. He was restricted from traveling
outside of Iraq
and is a general practitioner now because he was not permitted
to pursue further
education, he said. When Saddam ruled, he saw his relatives executed
under
Saddam Hussein's regime in 2001 at Abu Ghraib Prison and then
had to buy the right to take back their bodies, he said.
The alliance cites statistics that indicate
since Saddam's reign ended, 3,300
schools have been repaired, while 75 Iraqi medical buildings
have been renovated.
Abdulkarin runs a private clinic in
Samawa, in the south of Iraq. He sees 100 patients every day.
If that many patients can come to see him, it is a sign of stability
in Iraq, he said. "Each day 30 to 40 to 50 patients asked
me about medical advice or management, so if it is not safe,
how can all those people come and ask," he said.
"There is bombs here and there,
but this is not in all of Iraq. This is in small areas of Iraq,
not all the time and all the day, not all the month, not all
the week," he said. Insurgents come from outside of Iraq,
he said.
"The majority of Iraqis, they want
peace. And they want someone to help them.
They think there is a very strong partner, a very good partner
willing to support them, willing to help them," he said
of the United States.
According to the June Oxford Research
International poll, 11.8 percent of Iraqis
surveyed believe conditions in Iraq are "much better,"
31.8 percent said they are "somewhat better," 31.5
percent said they are "about the same," 18.4 percent
said they are "somewhat worse," and 6.5 percent said
they are "much worse."
Hasoon and Abdulkarin are traveling
in the weeks before the U.S. presidential election, but they
said they are not concerned with which individual becomes president.
The United States' decision to involve itself in Iraq was not
made by
one person, they said.
"It doesn't matter for us if he's
"X" or "Y", but the most important is the
community of this country to help us because we are partners,"
Abdulkarin said.
|
