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Rastgo Hawrami, a
Vanderbilt University graduate student, said his
professors will have to excuse him if he misses a
class or two this week and next.
He's been summoned to the polls.
The physics major, a Kurd who fled his northern Iraq
homeland when Saddam Hussein unleashed chemical
weapons on his town in the late 1980s, said nothing
could keep him from voting in the upcoming Iraq
National Assembly vote.
''I'm really excited about being able to vote. I am
encouraging others to come and vote. I will miss
class to vote,'' said Hawrami, who has been in the
United States for about five years.
''I was so scared in Iraq. We did not have a choice.
We now have a great opportunity here.''
Nashville, home of the largest Kurdish population in
the country, is one of five polling sites in the
United States where Iraqi expatriates can cast a
ballot in the election. The other sites are Chicago,
Detroit, Los Angeles and Washington.
According to the Iraq Out-of-Country Voting
organizers, an estimated 16,000 Iraqi expatriates
live in the Southeastern United States and probably
would choose Nashville to cast their ballots.
Last night, about 70 Kurds gathered at the
Salahadeen Center of Nashville, near Nolensville
Road, to attend a voting seminar. They listened
attentively as a Kurdish speaker explained the
registration and voting procedures in detail.
Afterward, voting brochures and maps to the
registration site were passed out to those in
attendance, who are expected to spread the
information to their families and other Kurds in the
community.
''I feel that many people will come. We have heard
that many are coming from Dallas and Atlanta and
Memphis, too. People are opening their homes and
providing food, like a welcoming committee,'' said
Kamaron Ali, who moved here seven years ago.
''This vote means freedom. It means we are going to
approach democracy in our homeland with this
election.''
Ali said he has no fear for security concerns.
''None at all. Everything will be safe.''
Merowdal Ahmed said this vote is possible only
because Saddam Hussein had been removed from power.
''Everyone now will be able to express their
opinions without stepping on others' rights. We hope
the vote will affect Iraq and be a model for all of
the Middle East,'' Ahmed said.
Karen Hirschfeld, director of the Nashville Iraq
Out-of-Country Voting effort, encouraged those
gathered at the Salahadeen Center to ask their
fellow Kurds to vote.
''We want as many as possible to come and vote.
We've had to put this operation together in a short
amount of time, but we're now ready for registration
to begin,'' she said.
Mahdya Barwari, who has been in Nashville since
1996, was the only other woman, besides Hirsch-feld,
in the room. She can't wait to register tomorrow.
''Thank you for President Bush for this,'' she said.
''Kurdistan likes America, and America likes
Kurdistan. Thank you, America. We are very, very
thankful.''
About the vote
Registration for Iraq Out-of-Country Voting will
begin tomorrow and continue through next Sunday,
daily from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. The actual voting
will take place between Jan. 28 and 30, from 8 a.m.
until 5 p.m. daily.
http://www.tennessean.com
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