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When most people say
'Thank you' for a job well done, it's with a phone
call or a card.
It's not that way for Taghreed Al-Qaraghuli and
Surood Ahmed Falih, who traveled thousands of miles
to get to the United States and thousands more
within our country with a simple message: "Thank you
for our freedom."
They were in Rio Rancho Wednesday, visiting with
troops at the National Guard Armory as part of a
two-month nationwide tour.
Al-Qaraghuli and Falih come from different
backgrounds and perspectives in Iraq, but they both
knew discrimination, hatred and even fear under
Saddam Hussein's regime. Al-Qaraghuli was born and
raised in Baghdad and earned a college degee in
English literature, but could advance no further
because she wasn't a member of the Baath Party.
Falih is a Kurd from Kirkuk and obtained a degree in
agronomy, but was injured after the 1991 Gulf War
when fleeing from Hussein's brutal Republican Guard.
She was the lucky one - her sister, aunt and
stepmother were killed.
So when U.S. troops came back last year, the pair in
their own way welcomed the liberators. And when they
heard that U.S. policy was being criticized by some,
they made connections with the Iraq-America Freedom
Alliance, a coalition of organizations in the two
countries promoting goodwill, to spread a different
message.
"There is a big confusion among the American people
about this liberation," Al-Qaraghuli said. "They
call this an invasion. But we realize we had to be
here to show the right image of the Iraqi people.
"We need the support of the American troops. We
don't want them to leave us."
Both say they are happy that Americans came and that
media portrayals of chaos in Iraq are greatly
overstated. Electricity, for example, is on around
the clock these days except when insurgents attack a
station. Before, under Saddam, power was
hit-and-miss.
The biggest problem now is security, putting down
the final insurgents who continue to try to block
Iraq's move toward democracy. And while thankful for
American help, they both look forward to the day
when the U.S. troops can go home.
"That will be wonderful," Al-Qaraghuli said. "We
need to be able to do things ourselves. Most Iraqis
are educated people; they have ability, and they
have the willingness to build a new Iraq and their
new lives.
"Right now, we just need the security. Day by day,
they are arresting many of the insurgents. It just
takes time."
While some may percieve that Iraq is a country
divided along ethnic and religious lines, both women
say those differences are exaggerated, too.
"I'm Muslim. I'm Suni, but I wear a cross that an
American soldier gave me," Falih said. "My best
friend is a Christian. There is nothing between us."
Added Al-Qaraghuli: "I'm Shia. She's Sunni. When I
met her, I didn't ask her what her sector was (in
the Muslim faith), and she didn't ask me. I didn't
find out until the media asked us about it here.
"We have separated religion from government in the
new constitution. We are like Americans: We have
lots of different religions."
Al-Qaraghuli is proud that she is the only woman
among 40 or so staff members who helped type the new
Iraqi constitution.
"This is the first time the constitution of Iraq is
made for the people by the people, not by the
government," she said. "It is a great
accomplishment."
Al-Qaraghuli recently discovered pictures of her
parents' wedding day, and asked them if they had
been wed outside of Iraq. "I saw them dancing
freely, and they were drinking and smoking and
having a good time," she said. "I had never seen
that."
Added Falih: "I think Iraq is 50 years behind the
rest of the world in that way, because he (Saddam)
tried to make it his culture, and he succeeded."
As for a final message, she said, "We want the
American and Iraqi people to be friends."
http://www.observer-online.com
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