thedrifter
04-07-07, 03:52 PM
Toppled Saddam statue now symbol of 'broken dreams'
by Patrick Fort
On April 9, 2003, the world was stunned when iconic images of US marines and Iraqis pulling down a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad's central Firdos Square flashed across television screens.
The toppling of the statue was immediately seized on as symbolising the overthrow of one of the world's most notorious despots after a lightning 20-day advance on the Iraqi capital by troops of the US-led coalition.
"When the Americans entered the city, I went to that square," remembers Mohammed Mater, 42, who works at the adjacent Palestine Hotel.
"The statue was toppled by army tanks. When it fell, we ran to it, hitting it with our shoes," one of the worst insults in Arab culture.
"Saddam executed five members of my family... The fall of the statue was the fall of the tyrant," he adds.
But four years later, some Iraqis say the symbol has turned into a sign of the brutal violence that has devastated their country. The square and its surroundings have changed dramatically since the launch of the invasion in March 2003.
Instead of the statue, is a sculpture representing "freedom" which passers by complain is green and ugly.
"The sculpture of freedom has no meaning," says Nabil Ahmed, who owns a nearby barber's salon.
"It does not reflect reality. One lives here in constant insecurity. Freedom has no meaning without safety. The situation has gone from bad to worse."
Customer Qusay Taha agrees: "When I see it, I see sadness and desperation," he says as he gets a shave.
"Today there is nobody around except American soldiers who take photographs as they go by."
Nearby buildings show signs of bomb damage. Walls are pockmarked by repeated rocket and mortar fire.
Firdos itself is protected by a number of police checkpoints and concrete barriers which make access difficult.
A sad Taha remembers Saddam's execution by the US-backed Iraqi government on December 30, unhappy with the fate dealt out to a man who became a hero to many Arabs for firing Scud missiles at Israel during the 1991 Gulf War.
"I was unhappy. I am a Palestinian. I know what occupation is," he says.
Taha has no nostalgia either as he remembers the toppling of Saddam's statue.
"Today we are disgusted by what happened that day," he says. "The situation today is a hundred times worse. It's not as if most Iraqis danced in this square that day anyway."
Taha insists that television pictures of the statue coming down on April 9, 2003 have given a misleading impression of the number of people taking part as there were no wide shots of the square, only close-ups of the participants.
Mona Mahmud, a 46-year-old mother of two who lives nearby, remembers watching the television footage in Syria where she fled to escape the invasion.
"We were happy. At that time we thought everything would get better. In fact, the opposite has happened. There is this insecurity. Today, when I look at the statue, I feel overwhelmed by sadness," she says.
For many, the fall of the statue has come to symbolise less the end of the former regime than the start of a foreign "occupation."
"The Americans must leave, they are responsible for the situation today. If they go, the situation will become stable in one or two months," believes Mohamed Ali, another employee of the Palestine Hotel.
Another of the barbers working in the shop, who gives his name only as Qais, says: "Yes, at the beginning, when we saw the statue falling, we were happy. The country was liberated.
"We thought the fall of the regime would bring freedom, reconstruction but as the days passed we saw it was lies. This new statue, is of injustice, inequality. The fall of the statue is now the broken dreams of Iraqis."
Ellie
by Patrick Fort
On April 9, 2003, the world was stunned when iconic images of US marines and Iraqis pulling down a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad's central Firdos Square flashed across television screens.
The toppling of the statue was immediately seized on as symbolising the overthrow of one of the world's most notorious despots after a lightning 20-day advance on the Iraqi capital by troops of the US-led coalition.
"When the Americans entered the city, I went to that square," remembers Mohammed Mater, 42, who works at the adjacent Palestine Hotel.
"The statue was toppled by army tanks. When it fell, we ran to it, hitting it with our shoes," one of the worst insults in Arab culture.
"Saddam executed five members of my family... The fall of the statue was the fall of the tyrant," he adds.
But four years later, some Iraqis say the symbol has turned into a sign of the brutal violence that has devastated their country. The square and its surroundings have changed dramatically since the launch of the invasion in March 2003.
Instead of the statue, is a sculpture representing "freedom" which passers by complain is green and ugly.
"The sculpture of freedom has no meaning," says Nabil Ahmed, who owns a nearby barber's salon.
"It does not reflect reality. One lives here in constant insecurity. Freedom has no meaning without safety. The situation has gone from bad to worse."
Customer Qusay Taha agrees: "When I see it, I see sadness and desperation," he says as he gets a shave.
"Today there is nobody around except American soldiers who take photographs as they go by."
Nearby buildings show signs of bomb damage. Walls are pockmarked by repeated rocket and mortar fire.
Firdos itself is protected by a number of police checkpoints and concrete barriers which make access difficult.
A sad Taha remembers Saddam's execution by the US-backed Iraqi government on December 30, unhappy with the fate dealt out to a man who became a hero to many Arabs for firing Scud missiles at Israel during the 1991 Gulf War.
"I was unhappy. I am a Palestinian. I know what occupation is," he says.
Taha has no nostalgia either as he remembers the toppling of Saddam's statue.
"Today we are disgusted by what happened that day," he says. "The situation today is a hundred times worse. It's not as if most Iraqis danced in this square that day anyway."
Taha insists that television pictures of the statue coming down on April 9, 2003 have given a misleading impression of the number of people taking part as there were no wide shots of the square, only close-ups of the participants.
Mona Mahmud, a 46-year-old mother of two who lives nearby, remembers watching the television footage in Syria where she fled to escape the invasion.
"We were happy. At that time we thought everything would get better. In fact, the opposite has happened. There is this insecurity. Today, when I look at the statue, I feel overwhelmed by sadness," she says.
For many, the fall of the statue has come to symbolise less the end of the former regime than the start of a foreign "occupation."
"The Americans must leave, they are responsible for the situation today. If they go, the situation will become stable in one or two months," believes Mohamed Ali, another employee of the Palestine Hotel.
Another of the barbers working in the shop, who gives his name only as Qais, says: "Yes, at the beginning, when we saw the statue falling, we were happy. The country was liberated.
"We thought the fall of the regime would bring freedom, reconstruction but as the days passed we saw it was lies. This new statue, is of injustice, inequality. The fall of the statue is now the broken dreams of Iraqis."
Ellie