Being of Middle Eastern decent, I have many opinions about this war that has been taken over the news stations and the hearts of friends and family.
Because my parents are Iraqi, the moment I heard that the USA will be searching Iraq for Weapons of Mass Destruction I had ever emotion running through my head.
“When were we threatened by these weapons?” “How did they have proof of this?” “What would they do to Saddam?”
I was very young to understand most of what was going on, but one moment does stand out to me;
When the statue of Saddam was taken down by the "Iraqi" people.
My jaw dropped on the floor of my living room and I could remember my parents had the same reaction.
“Was it over?” “Is Saddam gone forever?”
My parents did not seem as thrilled as I was. I thought that they would have been ecstatic and be put at such ease because the evil, torture driven dictator was stripped of his power and that he could never do what he did to any other person any longer.
But they weren't happy, excited or overjoyed. They such sat there and watched what was happening. I think two main questions arouse in their heads that day.
1.) “Is this really the end of him?”
My parents left the warmth of their home village, their family and closest friends, and risked their own safety to leave Iraq because of this immoral man...I think it was too good for them to believe that he was that easy to conquer. They do not always believe in what the news media was showing them or telling them because they knew there are always two sides to every story.
2.) “What business did the US have to enter Iraq?”
You have to understand that this war did take down a wicked leader but it also tore a country to shreds. Families were split, thousands of people killed or severely inquired, and the citizens' safety was nowhere to be found. My parents knew this was a triumph for the US and in a way for Iraq but what next?
My parents looked at the big picture that I never even thought of, they were worried about their family and friends there, their churches, and where their once called home would go without leadership and mass chaos.
