Four years after a statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled in Baghdad's
Firdous Square, Iraqis are still living in chaos where they have to bear daily
bombings and sectarian violence as well as decapitated or tortured bodies.
Layla al-Saigh, a housewife in her thirties, told Xinhua on Sunday that "I
was happy when I saw the fall of Saddam statue four years ago, but now I
realized it was the start of security deterioration."
On April 9, 2003, the U.S. forces broke into central Baghdad and pulled down
a large statue of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in Firdous Square who was
executed last December, raising hopes for many Iraqis that it would bring a
bright future for them.
Four years after the toppling of the statue, Iraqi people were disappointed
as their hopes have become castle in the air.
Abu Samir, a 50-year-old teacher in Baghdad, said he was happy when Saddam's
statue was toppled but now he was filled with nothing but regret.
"At that moment, I saw the statue as a symbol of dictatorship and tyranny.
Now I want to say the Americans and those who came with them are much worse than
Saddam," Samir said.
Firdous Square is no longer a symbol for dictator of Iraq. It is now nothing
but a square surrounded by police and army checkpoints, said Muhammad Dafir who
was working in the nearby Sheraton Hotel.
Instead of the statue, a monument symbolizing freedom was set up. But Dafir
said most of Baghdad residents know nothing about its meaning except for some
American soldiers who come to take pictures.
"I am really disappointed because I know there is no freedom without
security," he added.
A 24-hour vehicle curfew will be imposed on Baghdad on Monday at 5 a.m. (0100
GMT), the fourth anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, to avoid
violence and attacks in the capital which witnesses persistent violence despite
the presence of tens of thousands of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers in a major security
crackdown.
On Sunday, thousands of Iraqis swarmed to the holy city of Najaf for a big
demonstration against the U.S. presence in Iraq on Monday that was called by
radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Salam al-Ani, 60, a lawyer, said that "Iraqis are much more eager for
security and stability than ever", complaining that there is no water, no
electricity, no jobs and no future in Iraq.
"From the beginning, I realized that those celebrated the occupation will not
enjoy their happiness for ever, because I know the U.S. promise of building a
new Iraq was only illusion and even a deception which some Iraqis believed," he
added.
More and more Iraqis choose to flee the violence-plagued country amid
miserable living condition and deteriorating security situation.
About 2 million Iraqis have left Iraq to nearby Arab countries and Europe
since the bombing of the revered Shiite Askariya mosque in the town of Samarra
in February 2006, sparking a wave a sectarian bloodshed that engulfed the
country.
Um Ali, a school teacher who is preparing to join her husband in neighboring
Syria, said four years ago Iraqis abroad were waiting for the toppling of Saddam
statue in a bid to return home as soon as possible, but more Iraqis were forced
to leave now.
"I am leaving Iraq and will stay in Syria for a while. I will be back when
Iraq regains peace no matter how many years it will take," she said with tears
in her eyes.
"We are surrounded with violence and sectarian division. We lost our hope for
peaceful future," she said, describing the life in the mixed Baiyaa neighborhood
in southern Baghdad.
Unlike Ali, some Iraqis believe that the fall of Saddam's statue was the
beginning of a long way of building democracy in Iraq.
"Despite the hardships we are living today after four years of the fall of
Saddam regime, I feel grateful for the Americans who helped us to get rid of the
dictatorship which ruled Iraq brutally for 35 years," said Haider Saadoun, a
college student.
"I still hope with the future and I believe that building a free nation is a
hard task and need sacrifices," the 23-year-old youth said.