Saddam foe hid in wall for 21 years
New York Daily News ^ | 5/28/03 | Bill Hutchinson
Jawad Amir is the Anne Frank of Iraq.At age 28, he squeezed into a hiding place between the walls of his parents' home in the village of Jobah after Saddam Hussein ordered that he be executed.
Now, at age 49, Amir has emerged to a very different country - one where he finally feels safe to step into the sunshine.
"I feel as if I had just given birth to him again," Amir's elated mother, Ramsya Haddi, told BBC News.
For 21 years, Amir lived in fear of being snatched by the dictator's henchmen. Only a few relatives and his mother knew he was living in the narrow slot between the walls.
His life-or-death game of hide-and-seek began when he angered Saddam by supporting an outspoken Shiite cleric....
...Across Iraq, in fields and on hillocks, families are gathering to excavate sites they couldn't even approach while Saddam was in power. They pick through the bones for a thread of familiar clothing, an identification card, any clue to their identity.
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