Iraqi women speak out

[CADsortaGUY]

Iraqi women try to help Americans see the country through their eyes

Before Iraq's liberation, Ahood al-Fadhal spent her days preoccupied with how she and her husband would feed their three children.
The rice and flour they could get was buggy. Three brothers were killed by the regime of Saddam Hussein, and her husband was imprisoned for three years. In her lifetime, she never expected to see a free Iraq.

Since Saddam's overthrow, al-Fadhal finds life moving in directions previously unimaginable. She teaches literacy classes and writes a biweekly newsletter for women; she was elected to a district council seat in Basra as an advocate for women's rights.
Al-Fadhal sat at Cafe Bernardo in Sacramento on Monday morning, describing how her life has changed since the war in Iraq began in March 2003.

"You (Americans) see (television images of) a lot of violence" in Iraq, and there is violence, she said. "But a lot of good things are happening to us. ... Un der Saddam, we had no rights, especially women. Women could not speak openly, even to their children, not even in their own homes."

Al-Fadhal is part of a group from Iraq touring the United States to tell Americans about the democratic "transformation," albeit slow, in their country. Their opportunity to give voice to the Iraqi experience comes at the invitation of the Iraq-American Freedom Alliance, a project of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Founded two days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, FDD is a conservative nonprofit providing research and education on the war on terrorism.

Al-Fadhal, a real Iraqi woman speaking to the situation in her homeland, says most Iraqis are overwhelmingly grateful to the United States for freeing their country from tyranny.

With her is Zainab Al-Suwaij, executive director of the American Islamic Congress, and a frequent contributor to op-ed pages in her adopted country, America.

At age 19, Al-Suwaij was forced to flee Iraq after participating in a 1991 failed uprising against Saddam and resettled in the United States. Now she writes to try to explain to Americans why their presence in Iraq is needed.

Because television images focus on the negative, Americans have a distorted view of what's happening in Iraq, both women said.

"When I come here and watch TV, I think this is the end of Iraq. It's over," al-Suwaij said. In Iraq, however, she sees a country "taking baby steps" toward democracy. She says the economy is booming. Schools are improving. Women fill 25 percent of elected positions, a milestone not seen even in the United States.

"Yes, security is a problem and sometimes there is no electricity and no water," al-Suwaij said, "but at the end of the day when we put our head on the pillow, Saddam is gone and that alone brings us great satisfaction. That allows us hope."

Much of the anti-American sentiment is by those who lost power, together with foreign terrorists who've come into the country through unsecured borders, and the disenfranchised young, the women said. "There is a large population of young Iraqis who don't have jobs, didn't receive schooling and now they are getting money to fight against the Americans and the new democracy," al-Suwaij said.

One of the United States' biggest mistakes, they said, was not securing the borders to keep radical extremists out. To hear them tell it, America's presence is not a mistake.

"A lot of (Iraqi) mothers come to me and say to tell the mothers in America thank you for sending us your sons and daughters, the soldiers, to help us," she said. "We pray for them, the soldiers."

The changes are nearly impossible to comprehend by someone whose country is free, they said. As a young oppressed woman, al-Suwaij recalled wondering, "When is my life going to start?"

Al-Fadhal's three children no longer struggle with the same question. Their father owns a small kitchen and appliance store. The children are mesmerized by computers and the Internet.

More evidence of how their world has changed: Today, their mother meets face-to-face with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

CsG

 

[bamacre]

Iraq, so much goodness, and yet so much evilness.

Sounds like the US.

 

[imported_Condor]

Originally posted by: bamacre
Iraq, so much goodness, and yet so much evilness.

Sounds like the US.

Canada wants you!

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: bamacre
Iraq, so much goodness, and yet so much evilness.

Sounds like the US.

Canada wants you!

Too bad, Canada will never be my home.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: bamacre
Iraq, so much goodness, and yet so much evilness.

Sounds like the US.

Canada wants you!

Too bad, Canada will never be my home.

What does Canada have to do with this topic?

CsG

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: bamacre
Iraq, so much goodness, and yet so much evilness.

Sounds like the US.

Canada wants you!

Too bad, Canada will never be my home.

What does Canada have to do with this topic?

CsG

its hard to address the issue when the letter is not in favor of the majority of P&N's views.

 

[Rainsford]

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: bamacre
Iraq, so much goodness, and yet so much evilness.

Sounds like the US.

Canada wants you!

Too bad, Canada will never be my home.

What does Canada have to do with this topic?

CsG

its hard to address the issue when the letter is not in favor of the majority of P&N's views.

You guys just don't get it, do you? I realize there are good things resulting from the invasion, I'm GLAD there are good things resulting from the invasion. But that doesn't mean I think the invasion was the right decision nor does it mean I think it's been handled in the best way possible. That's it. My views don't require the invasion to be a horrible mistake where everything went wrong, and I think most people who disagree with the war in Iraq would agree with me here.

 

[Red Dawn]

Too bad our soldiers had to fight and die for their freedom instead of them fighting for it. Of course every time it gets dicey the Iraqi National Guard lays down their arms and heads for the hills or switches sides. As an American speaking for a lot of other Americans I can say that I could give a sh!t, that wasn't the reason I initially supported the invasion and occupation of Iraq. If it had been presented to us honestly I doubt that most of us would have supported it in the first place.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: bamacre
Iraq, so much goodness, and yet so much evilness.

Sounds like the US.

Canada wants you!

Too bad, Canada will never be my home.

What does Canada have to do with this topic?

CsG

its hard to address the issue when the letter is not in favor of the majority of P&N's views.

Yeah. What do those damn Iraqis know about Iraq anyway? It's a quagmire and a disaster over there and anyone who doesn't agree with that viewpoint is a clueless, brainwashed, Bush-loving, red-state, neocon, FLL. 😉

 

[umbrella39]

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: bamacre
Iraq, so much goodness, and yet so much evilness.

Sounds like the US.

Canada wants you!

Too bad, Canada will never be my home.

What does Canada have to do with this topic?

CsG

its hard to address the issue when the letter is not in favor of the majority of P&N's views.

This coming from the King of Substantive Posts :roll:

As for the OP, good for them. I could really, really, care less about them or their plight. There is a reason there is a big ocean between us. Keep running with the Iraqi success stories though. It brings much comfort and solace to the families of dead American Soldiers.

 

[yllus]

Originally posted by: Rainsford
You guys just don't get it, do you? I realize there are good things resulting from the invasion, I'm GLAD there are good things resulting from the invasion. But that doesn't mean I think the invasion was the right decision nor does it mean I think it's been handled in the best way possible. That's it. My views don't require the invasion to be a horrible mistake where everything went wrong, and I think most people who disagree with the war in Iraq would agree with me here.

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Too bad our soldiers had to fight and die for their freedom instead of them fighting for it. Of course every time it gets dicey the Iraqi National Guard lays down their arms and heads for the hills or switches sides. As an American speaking for a lot of other Americans I can say that I could give a sh!t, that wasn't the reason I initially supported the invasion and occupation of Iraq. If it had been presented to us honestly I doubt that most of us would have supported it in the first place.

Both very well said. I don't think anyone can argue that Saddam was someone who had to go sooner or later. Throwing out all of the partisan hackery, the issue is really about why American lives were needed to be laid down to depose Iraq's ex-dictator.

I think a reasonable response is that though it's foul that Americans and the British had to be the ones to bear the brunt of this action, while knowing that Saddam was a problem that needed to be taken care of someday - it wasn't an action that the world community was likely ever to join until the last possible moment when the danger to everyone was greatly intensified. Now or then, it was probably going to come down to the same players at it did in 2002. Of course it's remotely possible that Saddam could have been overthrown from within. Very remotely possible.

re: topic, the threads in this forum area outnumber the "good news" at least 10 to 1. Good post CADsortaGUY.

 

[SuperTool]

Come on, these are two women with an agenda. They are not ordinary Iraqis.

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

Originally posted by: umbrella39

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: bamacre
Iraq, so much goodness, and yet so much evilness.

Sounds like the US.

Canada wants you!

Too bad, Canada will never be my home.

What does Canada have to do with this topic?

CsG

its hard to address the issue when the letter is not in favor of the majority of P&N's views.

This coming from the King of Substantive Posts :roll:

As for the OP, good for them. I could really, really, care less about them or their plight. There is a reason there is a big ocean between us. Keep running with the Iraqi success stories though. It brings much comfort and solace to the families of dead American Soldiers.

I suppose we should have let Hitler overrun Europe, slaughtering millions more than he did. :roll:

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

Originally posted by: SuperTool
Come on, these are two women with an agenda. They are not ordinary Iraqis.

They are more of an ordinary Iraqi than you are, yet you feel free to spout your opinions based entirely on second-hand information.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: DevilsAdvocate

Originally posted by: umbrella39

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: bamacre
Iraq, so much goodness, and yet so much evilness.

Sounds like the US.

Canada wants you!

Too bad, Canada will never be my home.

What does Canada have to do with this topic?

CsG

its hard to address the issue when the letter is not in favor of the majority of P&N's views.

This coming from the King of Substantive Posts :roll:

As for the OP, good for them. I could really, really, care less about them or their plight. There is a reason there is a big ocean between us. Keep running with the Iraqi success stories though. It brings much comfort and solace to the families of dead American Soldiers.

I suppose we should have let Hitler overrun Europe, slaughtering millions more than he did. :roll:

Like there is a valid conparrison between Hussien and Hitler :roll:

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: DevilsAdvocate

Originally posted by: umbrella39

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: bamacre
Iraq, so much goodness, and yet so much evilness.

Sounds like the US.

Canada wants you!

Too bad, Canada will never be my home.

What does Canada have to do with this topic?

CsG

its hard to address the issue when the letter is not in favor of the majority of P&N's views.

This coming from the King of Substantive Posts :roll:

As for the OP, good for them. I could really, really, care less about them or their plight. There is a reason there is a big ocean between us. Keep running with the Iraqi success stories though. It brings much comfort and solace to the families of dead American Soldiers.

I suppose we should have let Hitler overrun Europe, slaughtering millions more than he did. :roll:

Like there is a valid conparrison between Hussien and Hitler :roll:

What?

Both were presided over regional hegemons, were bent on taking additional lands around them (See Kuwait, the Fertile Crescent, and Lebensraum generally), and both slaughtered ethnic minorities (See Holocaust and extermination of Kurds).

Funny thing is that Hitler and Saddam both used poisoned gas to achieve this (See Cyclon B and mustard gas. )

For someone as old as you are, I would think you would know your history better.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: DevilsAdvocate

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: DevilsAdvocate

Originally posted by: umbrella39

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: bamacre
Iraq, so much goodness, and yet so much evilness.

Sounds like the US.

Canada wants you!

Too bad, Canada will never be my home.

What does Canada have to do with this topic?

CsG

its hard to address the issue when the letter is not in favor of the majority of P&N's views.

This coming from the King of Substantive Posts :roll:

As for the OP, good for them. I could really, really, care less about them or their plight. There is a reason there is a big ocean between us. Keep running with the Iraqi success stories though. It brings much comfort and solace to the families of dead American Soldiers.

I suppose we should have let Hitler overrun Europe, slaughtering millions more than he did. :roll:

Like there is a valid conparrison between Hussien and Hitler :roll:

What?

Both were presided over regional hegemons, were bent on taking additional lands around them (See Kuwait, the Fertile Crescent, and Lebensraum generally), and both slaughtered ethnic minorities (See Holocaust and extermination of Kurds).

Funny thing is that Hitler and Saddam both used poisoned gas to achieve this (See Cyclon B and mustard gas. )

For someone as old as you are, I would think you would know your history better.

I do, Hitler was a legitimate and deadly threat to world peace where as Hussien wasn't.

 

[MonkeyK]

Originally posted by: DevilsAdvocateWhat?

Both were presided over regional hegemons, were bent on taking additional lands around them (See Kuwait, the Fertile Crescent, and Lebensraum generally), and both slaughtered ethnic minorities (See Holocaust and extermination of Kurds).

Funny thing is that Hitler and Saddam both used poisoned gas to achieve this (See Cyclon B and mustard gas. )

For someone as old as you are, I would think you would know your history better.

Don't forget the part about both had Mustaches :laugh:

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: DevilsAdvocate

Originally posted by: SuperTool
Come on, these are two women with an agenda. They are not ordinary Iraqis.

They are more of an ordinary Iraqi than you are, yet you feel free to spout your opinions based entirely on second-hand information.

Bingo.

CsG

 

[SuperTool]

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: DevilsAdvocate

Originally posted by: SuperTool
Come on, these are two women with an agenda. They are not ordinary Iraqis.

They are more of an ordinary Iraqi than you are, yet you feel free to spout your opinions based entirely on second-hand information.

Bingo.

CsG

I don't pretend to speak for Iraqi women. They represent ordinary Iraqi women like Chalabi represents ordinary Iraqi men.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: SuperTool

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: DevilsAdvocate

Originally posted by: SuperTool
Come on, these are two women with an agenda. They are not ordinary Iraqis.

They are more of an ordinary Iraqi than you are, yet you feel free to spout your opinions based entirely on second-hand information.

Bingo.

CsG

I don't pretend to speak for Iraqi women. They represent ordinary Iraqi women like Chalabi represents ordinary Iraqi men.

These men ordinary enough for you? :roll:

CsG

 

[SuperTool]

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: SuperTool

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: DevilsAdvocate

Originally posted by: SuperTool
Come on, these are two women with an agenda. They are not ordinary Iraqis.

They are more of an ordinary Iraqi than you are, yet you feel free to spout your opinions based entirely on second-hand information.

Bingo.

CsG

I don't pretend to speak for Iraqi women. They represent ordinary Iraqi women like Chalabi represents ordinary Iraqi men.

These men ordinary enough for you? :roll:

CsG

registration required...

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: SuperTool

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: SuperTool

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: DevilsAdvocate

Originally posted by: SuperTool
Come on, these are two women with an agenda. They are not ordinary Iraqis.

They are more of an ordinary Iraqi than you are, yet you feel free to spout your opinions based entirely on second-hand information.

Bingo.

CsG

I don't pretend to speak for Iraqi women. They represent ordinary Iraqi women like Chalabi represents ordinary Iraqi men.

These men ordinary enough for you? :roll:

CsG

registration required...

In U.S., 7 Iraqis Face Prosthetic Surgery

JUAN A. LOZANO

Associated Press


HOUSTON - The punishment didn't stop for Laith Aqar when Saddam Hussein's government amputated his right hand in 1995 after he was accused of trading in foreign currency.

Aqar was charged 25,000 dinars, or about $50, for the cost of the amputation.

"They made me sign papers that I would voluntarily restrain from attempting use of any prosthetic or trying to cover up the amputation," said Aqar, 42, a former jeweler.

That punishment will begin to fade in the coming weeks in Houston, where Aqar and six other Iraqis whose hands were amputated will receive robotic replacements.

The men gathered Saturday at the home of Dr. Joseph Agris, who will conduct a preliminary operation for the prosthetics and remove tattoos placed on their foreheads as punishment for dealing in foreign currency.

Through an interpreter, Aqar and the other men said they were falsely accused, couldn't defend themselves in court and were sentenced within minutes of hearing their cases.

After prison, the men said, their property was confiscated, they were intimidated by the government and their amputations and tattoos were highlighted.

"The fact that we survived until the fall of Saddam was a major miracle," said Nazar Judi, 41, also a former jeweler.

The men will be in Houston for six weeks. On Monday, the men will undergo surgery to make sure the robotic arms will fit properly. The arms, valued at $50,000, are being donated, as are all the services.

Once the arms are attached in a few weeks, the men will be able to curl their fingers, make a fist and perform other tasks.

"We are not only (correcting) a wrong, but offering an expression of human kindness," Agris said.

CsG

 

[SuperTool]

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: SuperTool

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: SuperTool

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: DevilsAdvocate

Originally posted by: SuperTool
Come on, these are two women with an agenda. They are not ordinary Iraqis.

They are more of an ordinary Iraqi than you are, yet you feel free to spout your opinions based entirely on second-hand information.

Bingo.

CsG

I don't pretend to speak for Iraqi women. They represent ordinary Iraqi women like Chalabi represents ordinary Iraqi men.

These men ordinary enough for you? :roll:

CsG

registration required...

In U.S., 7 Iraqis Face Prosthetic Surgery

JUAN A. LOZANO

Associated Press


HOUSTON - The punishment didn't stop for Laith Aqar when Saddam Hussein's government amputated his right hand in 1995 after he was accused of trading in foreign currency.

Aqar was charged 25,000 dinars, or about $50, for the cost of the amputation.

"They made me sign papers that I would voluntarily restrain from attempting use of any prosthetic or trying to cover up the amputation," said Aqar, 42, a former jeweler.

That punishment will begin to fade in the coming weeks in Houston, where Aqar and six other Iraqis whose hands were amputated will receive robotic replacements.

The men gathered Saturday at the home of Dr. Joseph Agris, who will conduct a preliminary operation for the prosthetics and remove tattoos placed on their foreheads as punishment for dealing in foreign currency.

Through an interpreter, Aqar and the other men said they were falsely accused, couldn't defend themselves in court and were sentenced within minutes of hearing their cases.

After prison, the men said, their property was confiscated, they were intimidated by the government and their amputations and tattoos were highlighted.

"The fact that we survived until the fall of Saddam was a major miracle," said Nazar Judi, 41, also a former jeweler.

The men will be in Houston for six weeks. On Monday, the men will undergo surgery to make sure the robotic arms will fit properly. The arms, valued at $50,000, are being donated, as are all the services.

Once the arms are attached in a few weeks, the men will be able to curl their fingers, make a fist and perform other tasks.

"We are not only (correcting) a wrong, but offering an expression of human kindness," Agris said.

CsG

Well, he didn't deny trading in foreign currency.
Anyways, if women were so discriminated against under Saddam, how come one of his best WMD scientists was a woman. It just doesn't hold much water. But hey, I am sure once the mullahs establish their Shiite Islamic Republic of Iraq, women will have plenty of rights, just like their counterparts in Iran or Saudi Arabia :roll: One of these women lived in the US since 1991, and she represents ordinary Iraqis? If she thinks it's so great in Iraq with US occupation, why doesn't she move back?

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: SuperTool
Well, he didn't deny trading in foreign currency.
Anyways, if women were so discriminated against under Saddam, how come one of his best WMD scientists was a woman. It just doesn't hold much water. But hey, I am sure once the mullahs establish their Shiite Islamic Republic of Iraq, women will have plenty of rights, just like their counterparts in Iran or Saudi Arabia :roll: One of these women lived in the US since 1991, and she represents ordinary Iraqis? If she thinks it's so great in Iraq with US occupation, why doesn't she move back?

Oh I don't know...maybe it's because she's that executive director of the American Islamic Congress? Her name is Zainab Al-Suwaij.

Oh and there are other women who came over although only one is named - Ahood al-Fadhal.
"Al-Fadhal is part of a group from Iraq touring the United States to tell Americans about the democratic "transformation," albeit slow, in their country."

CsG