Posted on 03/22/2003 11:24:22 AM PST by anncoulteriscool
Anti-war protesters have no idea: refugee
By Eamonn Duff
March 23 2003
A Sydney Iraqi family has slammed ongoing Australian anti-war protests, saying demonstrators have no idea who or what they are campaigning for.
Dhafir Al-Shammery escaped certain death under Saddam Hussein's regime in 1996. Today he is one of several hundred Iraqis living in Sydney who now know what the term freedom truly means.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun-Herald, he said: "When I see thousands of Australians marching the streets on behalf of the Iraqi people, my heart sinks, because their view is not that of the Iraqi people.
"They [the protesters] say they are making a stand against the war because of human rights issues. They say it is the Iraqi people who will suffer most through this conflict.
"I speak out because they need to be told they are wrong. They need to support their country. They need to be told the truth - and that is that the Iraqi people have been suffering human rights crimes for decades.
"I am sorry, but these protesters cannot even imagine what has gone on there. Nobody would know unless they had lived and suffered it."
Mr Al-Shammery, 38, was one of the Shi'ite Muslim majority crushed by Saddam after the 1991 Gulf War.
When he saw his cousin executed, he fled with six other Iraqis on an open skiff, eight metres long and one metre wide, which for seven days battled two- to three-metre waves. He neither slept nor ate in that time. He simply sat with his knees pressed against his chest and prayed for a day when he would be free.
"I knew I had a 100 per cent chance of death if I stayed [in Iraq] but only a 90 per cent chance of death if I fled in a little boat," he said.
"So I chose the 10 per cent chance of life. Wouldn't you?"
Today he has found that freedom in Fairfield Heights, where he lives with his wife Natalia and his two sons, Mustafa, 6, and Noor, 12. Not only does he run successful security and export businesses, he lives in a street where families from numerous ethnic backgrounds all live in peace and harmony.
"The protesters need to understand that in Iraq, there is no freedom of expression ... not through speech or thought, nothing," he said.
"If you are not with him [Saddam], that means you are against him. A murmur of discontent to your neighbour across the fence can lead to your wife being executed. And then, the Government visits your home and makes you pay money for the bullet that killed her.
"They bring your dead wife, they show you how she was tortured before the bullet put her out of her misery. And if you refuse to pay for the bullet that killed her, they simply take more of your family."
Mr Al-Shammery added: "Cousins of mine disappeared many years ago without trace. We knew what happened to them but we didn't say we knew because you don't say anything to anyone. So we just carried on, suffering, keeping all thoughts to ourselves."
When Mr Al-Shammery arrived in Australia, he was sent to Villawood Detention Centre where he had to remain as an illegal for many months.
When he attempted, through the media, to inform the Australian public of the monstrosities he had fled from, his words somehow filtered back to Iraq.
"I am not sure how they received this information, but they headed straight for my family who were scattered between Najaf and Al Qadisiyah in southern Iraq," he said.
"They took my father but it was my brother who really suffered. They threw him in jail. They tortured him."
Mr Al-Shammery said he felt comfortable telling his story now because he believes America and its allies will finish the job they have started.
"I honestly believe that we will see the Coalition take over very quickly, because the people want this," he said.
"Everywhere in Iraq, they have prayed for this. There will not be any resistance. The army will not fight like [Saddam] thinks it will. I just hope that it can all be done with minimum civilian casualties."
Mr Al-Shammery said his only fear was that when Saddam Hussein realises his people have helped topple him, he may use the weapons of mass destruction the coalition is convinced he possesses.
"That is the concern and that is why they need to find him quickly," he said.
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/22/1047749993344.html
It is impossible to square this story with all the "useful idiot" peaceniks pukes that are really anarchists hiding behind peace activism. You only have to think back before 9/11. They were disrupting every international trade conference, they were fighting against that boogieman "globalization".
Fox has had some interviews with people from Iraq who have vividly described some of the atrocities that go on there, and there have been articles published as well.
The problem is that, when confronted with these truths, the rabid left ascribe them to government propaganda and/or the vast oil conspiracy. The fact is that reason and proof are ineffective on people who have no reason.
What Took You So Long?
As our troops moved towards the towns in Iraq, crowds of citizens who lived under a cruel regime swarmed our vehicles, thanking our troops for saving them from torture and death from Saddam. Many screamed, "What took you so long"?
Let's see, what did take us so long? The UN, France, liberal Democrat Senators, Code Pink, L.A. City council, Michael Moore and all of the other Hollywood wierdos just to name a few...the list goes on.
Really?
I do not support "this type of ruler". However I do support other countries’ sovereign right to determine their own destiny without condescending, self-righteous outside influence.
No you don't support people's sovereign, God-given rights. YOU SUPPORT A DICTATOR!! AND I AM VERY CLOSE TO CALLING YOU A ELITIST FASCIST ALSO!! LOOK AT LEARN AT THE IRAQI PEOPLE!! IRAQ BELONGS TO THE IRAQI PEOPLE!!! NOT TO SOME DICTATOR THAT YOU WANT TO KEEP IN CONTROL OF PEOPLE'S LIVES!! IF YOU LOVE YOUR DICTATORS SO MUCH, GET OUT OF THIS COUNTRY AND LIVE UNDER A DICTATORSHIP!!
I think you must be meaning to apologize to someone else, check your posts. No offense taken, welcome to FR, I'm pretty new myself.
The liberal press is complicit in the war protests. The press doesn't do real journalism and show the protestors who they are protesting for. By playing up the protests and advertising upcoming protests they fuel easy stories for their own monetary gain. Nevermind that it gives support to the terrorists.
And they are just as insignificant as the UN. No one that matters is even listening to them. Most of these protesters are from the "blue" cities -- they don't count.
Hey, wait, don't go! We're not so bad, once you get to know us! ;-)
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