|
More than 20,000 British
Iraqis have registered their vote for Iraqi's first
democratic elections in the past week.
Expatriates from across the UK travelled to voting
centres in London, Manchester and Glasgow in an
out-of-country voting programme organised by the
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and
spanned 14 countries.
Serwan Ahmed, an Iraqi Kurd who witnessed the
extermination of his village in northern Iraq during
Saddam Hussein's reign, arrived at Wembley
conference centre to register his vote on his
wedding day. He fled his homeland five years ago and
hopes to return.
"No one can force us to vote for one person or
another," he said. "We are free people now and this
is a moment in which I feel the liberation of the
Iraqi people. There have been many elections in my
time in Iraq but I had no choice in them."
Ali, an estate agent from Middlesex, added: "The
last regime was not representative of Iraqis. It was
representative of animals in human form. I hope this
will represent the true glory of Iraqi people. I
know there is someone coming to give us a better
life."
Hind Alawi Amin, 38, whose husband is in Iraq,
helping reconstruction in Baghdad, said registering
was an emotional and overwhelming moment for many
who had fled the Baathist regime. "I never imagined
I would be voting for my country one day," she said.
"I hope we will have a new, better Iraq for our
children."
Sarah Fradgley, IOM's head of media relations, said
Iraqis had been eagerly waiting to register and
busloads had travelled to London from Wales and
Brighton. "They had been waiting for this for a long
time. It gives so many a stake, for the first time,
in their country."
http://www.independent.co.uk
Top |
® 