Iraqi Streets شوارع عراقية

By Fatih Abdulsalam

Azzaman, June 7, 2009

Iraqi professionals of various specializations living abroad used to think that their exile would come to an end once the regime of former President Saddam Hussein was toppled.

That dream came true in 2003 when a U.S.-led invasion removed the regime from power. In the first few months of the invasion, it was reported that hundreds of exiled engineers, doctors, university professors and highly skilled technicians had opted to return.

But it did not take them long to discover that new gates of hell were descending on Iraq, this time with a force much worse than that under Saddam Hussein.

A new exodus took place. This time, it did not include those who had decided to return but covered thousands more who had endured Saddam Hussein’s hardships.

And all discovered that the hardships caused by the former regime were a ‘blessing’ when compared to those that descended on the country in the U.S. invasion aftermath.

I have received several letters from university professors in exile telling about untold suffering in what is being sold to the world as ‘the new democracy’ in the country.

The environment in the country is not one of patriotism but one of factionalism. Political interests and sectarian affiliation come before loyalty to the country.

Only those with a factional and sectarian umbrella can prosper in today’s Iraq. Without that umbrella you are doomed.

But for professionals, there is nothing more disdainful than factionalism and sectarianism. These bright Iraqi minds, some of them now occupy prestigious positions in Western institutions, are among the Middle East’s most secular people.

Instead of fostering them, the U.S. invasion and the governments it has sponsored, have strived to exterminate them.

Stories of Iraqi intellectuals killed, kidnapped and tortured are too many to be told.

And as the country sees some faint light at the end of its tunnel, the government blocks the way for the professionals who would like to come home.

The relative quiet has tempted many of them to make another try only to find that there is no longer a place for them under the pretext of the slump in oil prices.

But prices are edging up once again, and the returning professionals are still waiting for a word on whether they have a future in their own country.

We have reported that hundreds have decided to return once again. We urge the government to accommodate them as soon as possible.

We are a country which needs its professionals most.