“We will be happy to get rid of Saddam’s face and this useless money.”
Hillal Sultan, an Iraqi moneychanger, Agence France Presse, 7/08/03
“We can’t train staff fast enough. People are desperate here for a neutral free press after 30 years of a totalitarian state.”
Saad al-Bazzaz, editor of the Azzaman Daily in Baghdad, The Independent (London), 7/08/03
“This guy [Uday] had nothing to do with journalism but he saw it as a powerful way of trying to control the minds of the Iraqi people. He knew very well that most journalists were not supportive of his father. By day they did their jobs quietly. … By night many worked against the regime.”
Saad al-Bazzaz, former head of Iraqi state television and current editor of the Azzaman Daily, The Independent (London), 7/08/03
“We were like a tightly covered pot which no one knew what it contained. Now that the cover has been removed, you can’t imagine what you will discover.”
Majed al-Ghazali, who now dreams of setting up a children’s music school in Iraq, Associated Press, 7/07/03
“We feel liberated. We’re very very happy.”
Dana Mohammed, manager of a fast food restaurant in Suleimaniyah, Chicago Tribune, 7/05/03
"It was a cruel system. We were living under terror and we all suffered from it. It was for our own survival not to talk about politics. We could not even discuss our personal problems openly.”
Balkis Al-Shamary, a clerk in an Iraqi shop, Agence France Presse, 7/03/03
“I like free discussions. I talk about these issues with my families and friends. This could never happen during the Saddam years.”
Maha Abrahim, owner of a wedding dress shop in Baghdad, Agence France Presse, 7/03/03
“During the Saddam years, we did not even have hopes. We were living only to survive. Now I have lots of dreams and hopes.”
Hansam Hassan, a pediatrician at Baghdad’s Al-Alwiya Children’s Hospital, Agence France Presse, 7/03/03
“The pictures of Saddam Hussein have been stripped from the yellowing walls of Baghdad’s cafes where men still getting used to the idea of life without his regime sit and discuss the ‘New Iraq.’”
Agence France Presse, 6/27/03
"[Sami] Qaftan said he is preparing an Iraqi version of the 1960 drama ‘The Confused Sultan,’ by Egyptian author Toufic al-Hakim. The story revolves around a leader who is given a choice between using the rule of law or the sword to prevent his people from criticizing him. Qaftan said the play’s obvious parallels to Saddam Hussein’s regime made it impossible to stage until now.”
Associated Press, 6/25/03
“It gives me an immense sense of hope. Being here and seeing so many other people here signifies that, despite everything, life goes on.”
Shafeeq al-Mahdi, an Iraqi playwright at a performance at the al-Rashid Theater in Baghdad, Associated Press, 6/25/03
“Liberated from 35 years of stilted official TV glorifying Saddam Hussein, Iraqis are snatching up satellite dishes by the thousands. Cartoons, fitness programs, movies and commercials are flooding into Iraqi living rooms. These days, in fact, when a favorite show comes on, Iraqis on rooftops yell to neighbors to alert them.”
Associated Press, 6/25/03
“We’re like the blind who have been offered the gift of sight.”
Mahabat Ahmad, an Iraqi who recently acquired satellite television, Associated Press, 6/25/03
“They’re buying them [satellites] like they buy bread. They say they’re buying freedom.”
Mohammed al-Mulla, a worker at an Iraqi electronics store, Associated Press, 6/25/03
“They [the news staff] never had a chance to do their own stories. There was no room for creativity.” Ahmad al-Rikaby of the Iraqi Media Network, Associated Press, 6/25/03
“As all industries are frozen, the Iraqis are now importing all kinds of things to make money. We are also no longer afraid that some official will force us to become partners and take part of our revenue.”
Muhsin Saadoun, operator of a taxi company and importer of cars in Baghdad, Agence France Presse, 6/22/03
“It was very expensive for Iraqis to buy cars and so the country was full of very old cars. The Iraqis now want to enjoy new cars.”
A salesman in Iraq, Agence France Presse, 6/22/03
“I will run for mayor. Because we have freedom.”
Dhirgham Najem, a 23-year-old busboy in Najaf, The New York Times, 6/22/03
“Owning or selling such songs was punishable by a one-and-a-half year prison sentence under Saddam. After being oppressed for 35 years, we are now scrambling to grab these songs, to which we listen with impunity.”
Ahmad, whose shop in Baghdad is selling large amounts of previously banned Shiite music, Agence France Presse, 6/18/03
“This is the freedom exhibition. I’m flying now.”
Mohammed Rasim, a 29-year-old Iraqi artist who was finally able to show his paintings in an exhibit once Saddam fell, Associated Press, 6/18/03
“Dr. Mowafak Gorea, director of the newly named Thawra Hospital in Baghdad (it used to be Saddam Hospital), believes the radical Shiites may get the attention, but everyone from Communists to Christians to unemployed engineers is doing the same thing: venting after decades of tyranny so suffocating that parents couldn’t speak freely at home for fear their children might repeat something damning at school.”
Associated Press, 6/18/03
“Why call us occupied? We are liberated.”
Mohammed Hanash Abbas, co-owner of Iqra’a bookstore in Baghdad, Associated Press, 6/17/03
“America has shown us compassion we never had from Saddam or fellow Arabs.”
Attallah Zeidan, co-owner of a small bookstore in Baghdad, Associated Press, 6/17/03
“When I leave my job at night, I am very happy, very proud about myself. We must help the Americans, and show them our traditions.”
Suhair Karmasha, the first Iraqi woman to work with the Americans at Baghdad’s city hall, The Washington Post, 6/17/03
“In a nation where the secret police often used threats against family members to blackmail citizens, many people didn’t want to extend their families and give Saddam’s agents even more leverage over their lives. But now on Thursday evenings, hotels across Baghdad are pulsing with the beat of traditional drums and the shouts and songs of relatives welcoming honeymooning couples.”
USA Today, 6/17/03
“It was only an Arabic ten-pin bowling competition, but last week's tournament in the Gulf emirate of Qatar marked Iraq's first foray back into the international sporting arena since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein two months ago. Mahmood Abbas, the country's leading taekwondo coach, cannot wait to follow suit. Now, for the first time for nearly two decades, Iraqi players and trainers have no need to fear beatings or imprisonment if they fail to secure a high finish in an international competition or if one of their team-mates defects on an overseas trip.”
London Daily Telegraph, 6/15/03
"We broke the dams when the Iraqi army left. We want to teach our children how to fish, how to move on the water again."
Qasim Shalgan Lafta, a Marsh Arab and former fisherman who helped restore the water to the Iraqi wetlands that Saddam had destroyed, Chicago Tribune, 6/13/03
"We're trying to show the world that Iraqis have a great culture."
Hisham Sharaf, directing the Baghdad Symphony Orchestra in its first performance since the war, Agence France Presse, 6/12/03
"I am Ahmed Hassan. Five members of my family were executed. I came here in order to help this neighborhood."
Ahmed Hassan, giving his candidacy speech for the district-wide council in Iraq, Los Angeles Times, 6/12/03
"Ibrahim Kadhim. I could not be appointed a teacher because I was not a member of the Baath Party so I worked as a merchant. I'd like to work on this committee to help set aside the past."
Ibrahim Kadhim, giving his candidacy speech for the district-wide council in Iraq, Los Angeles Times, 6/12/03
"The last few years have been a struggle for Iraq's leading boy band, the not unmemorably named Unknown To No One. Forced to rehearse in their car and record birthday greetings for Saddam Hussein rather than the love ballads they favor, the band members had difficulty finding their voice. But after the U.S.-led war that ousted Saddam, things are looking up."
Associated Press, 6/12/03
"We are so happy, not just for the contract, but to work again in our country with our people and our equipment to help rebuild our country."
Loay Ibrahim Al-Saied, an Iraqi engineer whose company received a contract to construct a highway bypass, PR Newswire European, 5/30/03
“Freedom means to travel, to get the job I want, to study in the college I want.”
Ahmed al-Samarai, a citizen of Iraq, Associated Press, 5/29/03
“Every day in Iraq a few more newspapers start publishing, taking advantage of the first freedom of speech most Iraqis have ever known.”
The Times (London), 5/20/03
"The Iraqi teams used to produce the champions of Asia in many sports. They have declined since the arrival of Uday. Now we want to rebuild them with the help of the international community."
Sharar Haydar, president of the newly formed Free Iraq Olympic Group and one of Uday Hussein's former torture victims, The Guardian (London), 5/15/03
"They couldn't leave one job for another without having both a letter from their old employer releasing them from their job and another letter from their new employer accepting them. It blows their minds when we tell them they should just do what they want, they don't need our permission or anybody else's to change jobs."
Sgt. Mark Hadsell, describing some Iraqis’ difficulties with freedom after living in a under Saddam Hussein, Scripps Howard News Service, 5/14/03
"Beautiful, beautiful. Not Iraqi TV. Not Saddam Hussein TV. Beautiful."
Akhbal Ibrahim Rashid watching her satellite dish-equipped television, Los Angeles Times, 5/9/03
"We want to know everything, not just about Iraq but about the whole world. Sales are very good. What was prohibited is wanted."
Amir abu Abdullah, an overnight dish salesman whose shop is his battered 1982 Chevrolet Celebrity, Los Angeles Times, 5/9/03
"The first time in my whole life I've seen such things. I feel free."
Yasir Abdul Razaq, 20, said while watching British news, Israeli news and a program from Abu Dhabi about lions, Los Angeles Times, 5/9/03
"Watching the armed men stride past her bread stall, 60-year-old Lulwa Alwan gave a toothless smile. ‘They are welcome,’ she said as she flattened balls of dough with both palms. A 30-year resident of the area, Alwan said during Saddam's regime, police would stay on the periphery of the (Hayyaniyah) housing area and avoid walking through a crime-ridden neighborhood altogether. ‘They were afraid,’ she said, sniffing dismissively. ‘We hope these soldiers will stay here for a long time.’"
Associated Press, 5/7/03
"We are happy, so happy. For us, this is the real meaning of freedom."
Basim Hajar, coauthor and director of a play criticizing Saddam Hussein’s regime performed in a building where -- before the war -- only works sanctioned by the government were allowed. Los Angeles Times, 5/5/03
"You cannot imagine what it means for us to be here on this national stage, where everything we stand for was forbidden. Now it is ours."
Oday Rashid, an Iraqi musician and documentary filmmaker, Los Angeles Times, 5/5/03
"I saw the world for the first time. I saw where we were. I saw presidents and cities and people from everywhere! The whole world!"
School Principal Bushra Cesar, after buying a satellite TV dish, New York Times, 5/4/03
"Before, so many books were forbidden -- anything that didn’t agree with the regime. Which means practically everything that was ever printed!"
Imad Saad, a teacher selling books at a Baghdad street market, Los Angeles Times, 5/3/03
"Now, everyone is talking and talking and talking, without worrying, and without stopping. About absolutely everything."
Mohammed Hishali, Café proprietor in Baghdad, Los Angeles Times, 5/3/03
"We will keep on somehow. Now we have the most important thing that we need. There is no one to stop us from saying anything we want onstage."
Basim Hajar, coauthor and director of a play criticizing Saddam Hussein’s regime performed in a building where -- before the war -- only works sanctioned by the government were allowed. Los Angeles Times, 5/5/03
"Before, if I had sold this, they would have cut my head from my body."
Imad Saad, selling a copy of an opposition-run paper, Los Angeles, 5/3/03
"A 30-year-old secretary in Baghdad named Lina Daoud ponders what lies ahead. Her words come out as pastel bubbles: ‘We want a happy future, we want technology, we want freedom, we want everything.'"
Washington Post, 4/25/03
