Jimmy's Corner

"Saddam was good for us. He was the only one capable of holding Iraqis from the neck and moving them in peace"

These were the words of one of my Iraqi students in Egypt. We were playing some kind of a game that enables them speak English and practice their language in expressing their opinions. I intended to pick a hot topic and the fact that Saddam's execution is a boiling topic inspired me. This section is so full of Arabs: Saudis, Iraqis, Jordanians and Palestinians. When the topic was brought up, they all agreed that Saddam was the one suitable for Iraq!! And it was not much of a surprise when I found out that the Iraqi students agrees with them.

What they agreed on is that dictatorship is the only suitable system to rule in Arab countries. "Saddam could put anyone in jail. If you use a newspaper sheet that has his photo, you are imprisoned. This is the only way you could put every mutiny under control... Look what happened in Iraq after he was overthrown. Thousands killed and tens die every day. Saddam was an evil that stopped other evils!"

It is disastrous to find these young men thinking that way... They are absolutely ready to be put under the tyranny of a ruler and suffer like hell just because they find it the only possible way to have their countries ruled. The idea that a dictator is an evil that stops other evils is prevailing even in Egypt here. It reminded me of the days when the election farce was going on in Egypt. People used to say that Mubarak is an evil you know, and an evil you know is much better than an evil you do not know.

Whenever you talk to anyone they take Iraq as an example "look at Iraq, the country is being destroyed since the day Saddam was overthrown". What they do not know is that what is destroying Iraq is terrorism and sectarianism more than the occupation itself. It is true that the occupation brought terrorism into Iraq. However, sectarianism has always been there. The question is... Why should we agree to fall a prey of the tyranny of a dictator and never try to fill in the gaps among us and fight for freedom??

I think it is something we are born with. Innately negative.

Labels: arabs, evil, iraq, iraqis, jordanians, mubarak, saddam, saudis, sectarianism, terrorism