Pilgrimage to a Battleground
“Do not believe what is being said about us, we are not thugs or vandals as portrayed by the media. We are simply young Iraqis seeking to realise our dreams,” said one of them. It was not an easy task, braving the 14-storey building, which had been partially destroyed by tank shells in the early days of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. It was once a bustling shopping mall housing the famous Turkish restaurant after which it was named. Since then, the building has been deserted. Now, it was the protests’ ‘Command Centre’ I still recall the smell of incense as the youths occupying the building were desperately trying to overcome the bad odour of the deserted building. On the lower floors were elderly women cooking for the protesters and washing their clothes. Others formed teams of vigilantes who kept watch over the area. All those in the building, and thousands of others in the square, were aspiring to a better future. This generation was born and lived through the aftermath of the Gulf War and subsequent US invasion of Iraq. They all dream of a peaceful, dignified life. Our guide told me: “I knew Iraq through my mother’s eyes. She used to tell me bedtime stories every night.” All young men like him simply wish to lead a stable life, to be able to provide the basic necessities for their families. “These protests have given us the chance to express our views, and maybe realise our dreams,” he said.
The same aspirations were articulated by Houra, a media undergraduate, who was courageously releasing a daily journal detailing the latest news of the protests. Maha, a nurse, set up a makeshift hospital in one of the tents and volunteered to tend to the wounded who had fallen victim to the security forces’ harsh response to the protests. Young men and women were joining hands, hoping to see their dream of a free and dignified life come true. Al Jazeera was there to carry their voices.
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