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  The Iraq Fiasco, 2003-2008: Life in Baghdad since the Fall of Saddam

The Iraq Fiasco, 2003-2008 Life in Baghdad since the Fall of Saddam

By SPIEGEL Staff

Part 6: Government Official

SANA AL-MASCHHADANI, 39, Government Official

It is not easy to be a woman in this new Iraq. The leaders of our country do not respect women, and they do not give us the roles we deserve. It was different in the past, when many women were in important positions. Now most politicians and religious leaders have very conservative views. I feel limited in this new, narrow-minded society. I work as a translator for Al-Mamoun, a respected magazine published by the Ministry of Culture. I translate articles from English into Arabic. I worked for the Ministry of Information under Saddam. But when the Americans took over the country, Paul Bremer dissolved the ministry and we were all sent home. I work in the same building today, but for a different agency. I am one of the few Sunnis in my office. It is not easy for me to express my opinion openly here. Our supervisors pressure all of us to get along with each other. I don't miss Saddam, but I would like to have a government that supports equal rights and self-determination for all. But at least I earn significantly more than I did before the war. I'm pleased about that. I was divorced from my husband a year ago, and now I am raising my 13-year-old son on my own. His name is Hassan. My relatives are in Syria, and all of my friends are gone. I often wonder whether I too should leave. The occupation is unfair and brutal. The Americans are the main reason for the violence, and they should leave the country. Admittedly, things have improved, but I have this sense of fear every day when I go to work. I am an optimistic person, and I believe in the future. I hope that my people will learn to value freedom and democracy one day.

Interviews recorded by Hussam Ali, Ala Chalil Nassir, and Mathieu von Rohr.

Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan.

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