We met Jawal when we knocked on the door of an empty building in a residential area in Baghdad and found it was a former prison. “They called it the death ship,” said Jawal, who spent years of his life inside the walls. “It’s difficult to know exactly what happened here.” Jawal has appointed himself a contact for the prison, which also serves as headquarters for Iraq’s Hezbollah Party and its weekly newspaper. He runs the newspaper, making US$50 a week, and also works as an electrician, making an additional US$50 a week.

Before that he was a spy, “like the CIA,” he tells me, working for the Hezbollah movement in Iraq. Working as an electrician in Saddam’s palaces, Jawal would take meticulous notes for the movement on everything he heard and saw. “The only good thing about Saddam’s regime is that they never knew what was going on with the guards below them. Everyone was taking bribes so there could be secrets,” he said. In the photo, Jawal is sitting in front of huge refrigerators where prison guards kept bodies before disposing of them. Beside him is a prisoner’s rumpled uniform.

I was arrested in October 2000 and accused of being a member of Hezbollah because my cousin was caught and he confessed. You could say hello to someone who was in Hezbollah, and you would be brought here.

We have only the name in common with the Lebanese group. We have no links, no communication. We are a militia against Saddam Hussein. We’re not like other parties who live in England or Paris and participate in politics. We are fighters. Before the war there were a few thousand of us, but now we are expanding.

In prison I always knew it was Friday, because we were near the soccer stadium, and we would hear the cries and cheers.

I was released in October 2002, when Saddam let all the prisoners out. He tried to have a good relationship with prisoners [laughing]! Of course, if you’ve been in prison, one day is like a lifetime. Now we want to keep this prison as a museum so all the people of the world will know that there was a criminal in this country.

When the Americans came in, we were prepared to make a deal with the devil to get rid of Saddam Hussein. Now that they have entered the country, we are thankful. The Iraqi people and the Shiite people specifically were given a chance, and we’re shaking hands to make friends with the American people.

America’s relationship with the Gulf is good, and we should create a similar kind of relationship, but that’s not exactly happening yet. We’re the only ones keeping the Americans safe. They haven’t been targeted in any Shiite cities. The Shiite people at this moment are like a sleeping lion. You don’t want to mess with them. The Americans must remember that if the Shiite people called a jihad against the American people, they would not last a week. During Saddam’s regime, we would do suicide bombings. It was simple; death is nothing new to us.

I’m very happy that Saddam Hussein is gone, but at the same time I am sad. Jordan, Egypt, and Syria think that we have accepted this invasion into our country, but that’s not the case. The Americans should fix things as fast as they can and then leave, so they can stay friends with Iraq.

At first we thought we should get rid of all Baath Party members ourselves. But we believe in Islam, and [Ayatollah Mohammed Baqer-al] Hakim advocated peaceful means. He said, “Don’t kill anyone. They will go to the courts and be punished.” So we listened to him. Now that he is dead, either Sistani or Muktada al-Sadr should lead this country. A perfect government would be an Iraqi government with American backing.

It’s not so much Baath Party members we want; we care more about the guards and people responsible for hurting us. If the Americans don’t do anything, we might try to capture them and turn them over to the authorities. We are following them. We know they had money, and they all knew each other and lived near each other. Sometimes they try to hide by exchanging houses.

My dream for Iraq—inshallah—is for it to be like other Gulf countries. We want an Islamic government like Iran has. It’s impossible because the Americans won’t let us establish such a government; instead we’re going to have a democracy.

We have lost our sense of personal dreaming because of Saddam. I’m 40 years old. I don’t have a house of my own. It’s going to take me a long time to find work and have a house, and then I can dream. Right now personal dreams are so limited. But it will be better for our children. The good thing is that I have hope. I see the sun in front of me, and the darkness is behind. And I love the sun.

Note: In the months following this interview, there were a number of assassinations against former Baath Party officials, particularly in the southern town of Basra. Police in the area said they hadn’t caught any of the assailants, though investigations were ongoing.