Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

Home › News › Local News

The Iraqi in America: Mariwan Hama-Saeed

By Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published March 15, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

Text size  
Mariwan Hama-Saeed

Photo by Jay Premack / Special to the Rocky

Mariwan Hama-Saeed

Related Stories

More Local News

More stories »

Mariwan Hama-Saeed is working on his master's degree in journalism at the University of Colorado and is an intern at the National Journal in Washington, D.C.

* Age: 28

* Occupation: Journalist

* Hometown: Halabja, Kurdistan, Iraq.

I am from a small town in north of Iraq, Halabja, in Kurdistan. During the Iran-Iraq war, the Iraqi government attacked the town with chemical weapons on March 18, 1988, and as a result, 5,000 people were killed, and 10,000 more injured.

That day by 4 o'clock, everyone knew it was going to happen, the chemical attack. The commander-in-chief of the area had surrendered to the Iranian forces. Iranian troops were in Halabja.

So, knowing the brutality of the Iraqi government and knowing how they would react to a very big area like Halabja surrendering to the Iranians, they were expecting massive retaliation. I and my family survived. I was 8 years then. I remember fleeing the town. I remember we were in shelters.

One of the main arguments of the U.S. in starting the war was the Iraqi government attacked its own people with chemical weapons in Halabja.

The war has changed totally my life. I know everything goes not well in Iraq, but it opened many doors for me. When war started, I was still a student, studying English. I got a job as a translator in a Kurdish newspaper, and as a fixer (translator and assistant) for foreign reporters, then joined the Institute for War and Peace Reporting in 2004. In 2006, I got into the program at CU.

What is happening in Iraq is not easy for me to see every day - the war, the sectarian bloodshed. There are not many things I can personally be optimistic about. I hope for the best.

Overall, the Iraqis were happy with the war. Overthrowing Saddam Hussein was a good decision for the Iraqi people. But no one is happy about what happened after the war.

People don't want democracy if they don't have hot water and electricity and jobs. If people have jobs, they won't go and be recruited by insurgents.

The infrastructure is getting worse day after day. In the heat of summer, people have less than five hours of electricity.

When basic services are provided, a key problem will be solved. Everyone knows that, and I don't know why nothing happens.

Comments

  • March 15, 2008

    11:52 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    dilligaf writes:

    Mariwan:
    First I would like to say welcome to our country. Now while your here educating yourself try to take the time to learn how our country became free and have the way of life we have today. We to had to fight for it. We to had some help from an outside country (France). But mostly we picked up guns and fought and some died. Iraq will never get what we enjoy without this happening. Sure your country has alot of brave men doing this but not enough. We have done our part. We got rid of Saddam, we helped get a new government setup, and a police force and army. It is time for your country to stnad on it's own two feet. Now I respect you being here getting a quality education, but I have to ask myself what are you doing here getting that education while our american sons and daughters are in your country when you should be over doing what they are doing and they should be here doing what you are doing? Now I don't mean to be disrespectful and this country has always been there to help. But for that we get attacked (911) and the muslum countrys want to kill us. So it is a little hard to take and keep on giving. We are the evil Infadels.