Children of War

VOICES OF IRAQI REFUGEES

DEBORAH ELLIS

Groundwood Books   |   House of Anansi Press
Toronto   Berkeley

Copyright © 2009 by Deborah
Ellis
Published in Canada and the USA in 2009 by Groundwood Books.

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LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION
Ellis,
Deborah
Children of war : voices of Iraqi refugees / Deborah Ellis.
eISBN 978-1-55498-008-6
1. Children and
war–Iraq–Juvenile literature. 2. Iraq War,
2003-
–Children–Juvenile literature. 3. Refugee
children–Iraq–Social
conditions–21st century–Juvenile
literature. I. Title.
HV640.5.I75E44
2008      j305.23086'91409567      C2008-905145-9

Design by Michael Solomon

We acknowledge for their financial support of our publishing
program the Canada Council for the Arts, the Government of Canada through the the Canada Book Fund (CBF) and the Ontario Arts
Council.

To all the families who shared their stories with me.

A refugee's life is never an easy one, but
it's especially tough on young people who are robbed of what should be the most
formative, promising, and exciting years of their lives. At a time when they should be
full of hopes and dreams for the future, they are instead faced with the harsh reality
of displacement and privation...

— United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

As of the end of October, 2008, between 88,373 and
96,466 civilians in Iraq had died violently as a result of the 2003 invasion.
^*

^*
   Source:
www.Iraqbodycount.org
. This is a
conservative figure. Other estimates are much higher, e.g.,
www.justforeignpolicy.com
estimates the
deaths at 1.2 million.

Iraq is a relatively new country, only gaining its independence in 1932.
But it is also the site of one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Near Baghdad,
the capital, lie the ruins of Babylon, whose hanging gardens were once one of the seven
wonders of the world. The oldest written stories in the world, the Gilgamesh cycle, also
come from there.

Today Iraq, which is one of the world's important sources of oil, is
a war zone. Between 1979 and 2003 the country was ruled by a brutal dictator, Saddam
Hussein, who kept its many and various peoples — including Sunni and Shia Muslims,
Kurds, Jews, Christians and others — under control by force. He threw his
opponents in prison. The Kurds, whose guerrillas wanted independence from Iraq, were
bombed with chemical weapons. The majority Shia were attacked, killed and starved by the
Sunni-led regime.

Despite the brutality of Saddam's regime, there were positive
elements to life in Iraq. Women had equal rights with men and were able to work at any
job they were
qualified for. There were many great writers,
universities and a vibrant intellectual life, though not one that allowed open criticism
of the dictator. There was free education for all boys and girls and excellent health
care. So at the same time that opponents of the regime were tortured and killed, in
general, people who went along with the government led a fairly decent life.

In 1980, Iraq bombed Iran, launching an eight-year war in which more than
a million people died. Saddam invaded neighboring Kuwait in 1990, leading to the First
Gulf War, in which a coalition led by the United States and sanctioned by the UN drove
him back into Iraq.

Saddam used chemical weapons against his enemies and even against his own
people, the Kurds. And at one time it appeared that he was trying to develop atomic
weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. After the First Gulf War, the United
Nations — as part of the peace agreement — was allowed to send in weapons
inspectors to search for and destroy these weapons of mass destruction. Saddam did not
cooperate with these inspections and made life very difficult for the inspectors, but in
the end there was general agreement that the great majority of the weapons, labs and
other materials needed to build such weapons had been found, removed and destroyed.

Then came the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center on
September 11, 2001. Although none of the organizers or attackers were from Iraq, the
government of George W. Bush was convinced that Iraq was still harboring weapons of mass
destruction. They also made
the claim, for which no proof has ever
been provided, that Saddam Hussein had links to the September 11 attacks. In addition,
the Bush government claimed that a war to eliminate Saddam would bring democracy to the
Middle East.

Despite world-wide opposition from countries normally allied with the
United States, and despite not being able to win support from the United Nations, the
United States, Great Britain, Australia and some smaller countries formed what was
called the Coalition of the Willing and invaded Iraq in March 2003, bombing Baghdad and
launching the Second Gulf War. They did this against the principles embodied in the
United Nations Charter. It was, in effect, an illegal war. Saddam Hussein was overthrown
quite quickly after massive bombing raids on cities where millions of people lived, and
the country was occupied. No weapons of mass destruction were ever found.

The fall of Saddam resulted in new waves of sectarian violence, as various
groups inside the country continued to fight for power. At the time of this writing,
there were still foreign troops — mainly American forces — in Iraq, and the
country had fallen into what some are calling a civil war.

The children in this book are mostly refugees who fled Iraq because of the
war and were living in Jordan in the fall of 2007. They represent only a tiny number of
those whose lives have been deeply impacted, now and forever, by the American decision
to invade their country. Almost 5 million refugees have been displaced by the war. About
3 million are internal refugees — Iraqis who were forced to flee their homes but
were unable to cross the border. Many of them are now stuck in remote tent camps
with-out
access to schools, health care, electricity, or even food
and clean water. Most of the others have fled to nearby countries such as Jordan and
Syria, where they face uncertain futures. Others have stayed in Iraq and are trying to
rebuild their lives in the towns and cities there. Only a relative handful of Iraqi
refugees, even those who worked for the invading army, have been allowed into the
countries of the Coalition of the Willing and their NATO allies.

I chose to go to Jordan to collect the interviews for this book simply
because the entry process was easier than for Syria. Because English is my only
language, most of the interviews were conducted through two interpreters — one
associated with the Mandaean community (an ancient religious sect) and one with a group
called the Collateral Repair Project, a grassroots organization that provides relief,
training, medical care and education to Iraqi refugees.

Time passes quickly. It has been more than seven years since the planes
hit the World Trade Center in 2001. It has been nearly six years since the overthrow of
Saddam Hussein. Although politicans continue to debate what to do, the war is slipping
from the headlines. Yet the children in this book continue to be shaped by these
events.

I believe that we can create a world without war. One of the steps we can
take is to fully understand the impact of our decisions on the world's most
vulnerable — our children.

Deborah Ellis
November, 2008

The Christian religion is divided into different groups –
Catholic, Protestant and many others. Islam is also divided into different groups,
including Sunni and Shia.

Saddam Hussein was a Sunni Muslim. When he was in power, the
Sunnis in Iraq had more privileges, though more because of tribal allegiances than
religious ones. Much of the repression that took place was against the Shia
population, although no one was safe.

The Shia groups saw the fall of Saddam Hussein as their chance for
revenge. Because there was no fair, workable government in control, many religious
and militia groups began to try to take power
for themselves.
Even nonviolent people who had a long history of brotherhood and sisterhood with
Muslims and other religions found themselves swept up in the anger of
others.

At the same time that there were religious divisions in Iraq,
there were also political divisions. Saddam Hussein was the head of the Ba'ath
Party, so many citizens who wanted to advance in industry, government or the
academic world joined the party, whether or not they were fans of
Saddam.

Hibba's father worked for the Ba'ath government when
Saddam was in charge. Like many, he lost his job when the Americans invaded and Paul
Bremer, who was in charge of reconstructing Iraq, fired most of the civil
service.

Hibba's mother is Sunni. Her father is Shia. Her family has
applied to live in the United States.