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| Syria-Lebanon |
| Iraqis in Syria Begin Returning Home |
| 2003-04-12 |
| I was hoping to be the first one to use the new category :-) One day selling cosmetics to Syrian women, the next packing his bags for home, Iraqi makeup vendor and AWOL soldier Hussein Dakhel is a man in a rush. ``I hope everything will be sold by tomorrow because I plan to go to Baghdad,'' the bearded, 30-year-old Dakhel said on Saturday. He left the Iraqi city of Qaddisiya for neighboring Syria two months ago, joining many Iraqis who fled ahead of the U.S.-British-led war that began March 20. ``I knew the war was going to break out and fled Iraq. I didn't want to fight with the al-Quds Army,'' said Dakhel, who was hawking products near the Shiite Muslim shrine of Sayda Zeinab, just outside the Syrian capital Damascus. Here's just the kind of guy who will help rebuild Iraq. He had enough common sense to understand cause and effect — fight in the al-Quds Army and you die. Now that Saddam Hussein's power structure is in tatters, Iraqis like Dakhel feel it is time to go home. ``Thank God we are free of him (Saddam). Let us live with some freedom,'' Dakhel said. Souaad Abdullah, who has been in Syria for about a year with her husband and children, has been making similar plans. ``It is safe to go back to Iraq now,'' said Abdullah, who is in her 40s. ``Had Saddam stayed in power we would have remained in Syria, but now we can go home.'' Standing nearby, a handful of Syrians responded angrily to Iraqi displays of relief, demonstrating the dismay felt by millions across the region at the swift collapse of an Arab government at the hands of U.S.-led forces. ``You get rice and food almost free in Iraq,'' An Iraqi replied angrily: ``I was not living as a human being in Iraq. The regime is giving me food and water, but this is not important. A man can be imprisoned when found listening to BBC.'' Hey! Another smart Iraqi! Syria shares a long border with Iraq and hosts more than 500,000 Iraqis, most arriving in the past month to stay with friends or in rented homes until the war ends. A group of Iraqis gathered in a small Sayda Zeinab coffee shop to follow news of looting in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the latest city to come under control of U.S. troops and Iraqi opposition groups. ``I feel that the future of Iraq will be better because Saddam and the ruling gang were controlling the oil sector Let's hope some guys like this end up in charge. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Shouldn't have problems getting the whole kahuna, Majid. However, I'd hold off heading back to Baghdad until the lootin's done. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-04-12 05:03:34 |