Sa’ad approached us on the streets of Tikrit and said
he wanted to be heard. Being from Saddam Hussein’s hometown
has brought discrimination against the people of Tikrit, he told
us. Sa’ad was a former captain in the Special Republican
Guard, assigned to protect Saddam Hussein. He has now seen his
life turned upside down. Dismayed at no longer receiving his military
salary, he now works as a taxi driver, making an average of US$15
a month. As we talk, a song honoring Saddam Hussein echoes in
the streets behind us.
We still can’t believe the Americans are here; it’s
like a nightmare, it’s not real. I live in a nearby village,
where there is violence and fear every night. The Americans come
and break down your door and steal everything. They are a modern
country and have good intelligence, so if you arrest people, you
should have evidence and not just rumor. They don’t have
this. Five days ago the Americans arrested three of my relatives,
then let them out three days later. My relatives were saying there
was no humanity in their treatment, no dignity, no rights.
The change is that there is no security like before the war, though
in Tikrit there is no killing or stealing like in Baghdad. I didn’t
know what it meant to have security, but now I realize what we
had. I used to leave Baghdad at 3 a.m. after work. I would pull
over on the side of the road to sleep, and I never worried. Now
the danger is from the Americans.
The memory of the war wiped out every other memory I had. I remember
I was asleep, and they bombed the place nearby. I fell from my
bed to the ground. Another memory was driving my mother to the
hospital in Baghdad, and an American tank fired at me and broke
my front glass. The hole is still there in the windshield. That
was April 9. I won’t call that day the fall of Baghdad—I’ll
just say it was April 9.
The reason for the resistance is because the Americans aren’t
dealing with people. I’m not saying they should leave, but
they should deal with people with the same face they use in their
media. When they stand on the road with helmets and flak jackets,
you can tell they have a bad intention against you.
For myself and my family, I want an end to the invasion, for security
and stability to come back, and an end to the tragedy families
are living right now. You should see how the people live after
sunset, with the noise of the tanks, the bombing, the gunfire.
If you come to the neighborhood, try to drink the water or see
the education; you will see how pathetic our country is. I’ll
show you how children will cry from the terror and fear, how sometimes
the electricity is off for two days. The Americans say it’s
broken, but it’s their job to fix it. They should improve
the economy and health services. We need the simplest things.
All security people are out of jobs, and there are no salaries.
They should pay them salaries.
Being Iraqi today, I feel like I’m owned by the Americans,
owned as a person. My car, my house—they own everything.
Anytime they come they can arrest me, take my car, and no one
would say anything. If they search a home and find money, they
will take it. Freedom is a dream right now.
We dream to live like before. Mr. President Saddam Hussein didn’t
do what the Americans did. Now there is more unemployment here
than in any other city, because they said they wouldn’t
give jobs to any Republican Guards. A person chosen by the Iraqi
people should rule this country. We want Saddam Hussein as our
ruler, but the end of every human is death, and nothing lasts
forever.
