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VALLEY FORGE - An
Iraqi couple visiting the United States is speaking
out about conditions under Saddam Hussein and why
they are grateful he has been removed from power.
Yousif Mitty, the founder and director of the
Evangelical Church of Iraq, is in the United States
as a speaker at several engagements. His wife, Alia
Mitty, a Kirkuk native who built a women's education
center in the war-torn country, made the journey
with him.
The Mittys lived in Kirkuk, just south of the United
Nations no-fly zone in Iraq. Several years ago, they
say, they began making furtive trips into Kurdistan,
Northern Iraq, to aid the Kurds. According to Yousif
Mitty, several times during their mission trips into
the Kurdish city, the couple, who shared the Bible
with Kurds, came under fire.
Yousif Mitty, who was born in Baghdad, described one
incident during which he was forced to hide behind
cars to avoid being shot.
They continued their secret missions until they
received word that Saddam Hussein's security forces
had learned of their trips. "We were warned by a
friend who had contact with Saddam's security," said
Yousif Mitty, who said the couple was told they were
going to be arrested.
Leaving everything behind, the couple made a "quick
decision" to flee Kirkuk and reside in Kurdistan,
where they continue to teach the word of God.
Yousif Mitty, who first came to the United States in
1998, said Kurdistan is a highly secure area. Anyone
wishing to enter the area must show identification
and provide recommendations and a reason for the
visit.
Explosions are very rare, according to Yousif Mitty,
who said in the last three years, there have been
"maybe five or six."
With no insurgents in Kurdistan who will kill or
torture those friendly to American military
personnel, he says, American troops are treated
warmly by Iraqi citizens. They are asked to have
meals with Iraqis families and often have their
meals paid for by Iraqi patrons of the restaurant.
"Americans sit in restaurants, drink a Coke or have
a bite with people they don't know," said Yousif
Mitty.
The media, he said, is focusing on certain issues,
including the often-asked-for withdrawal of troops
from the country. He said the American news media
has overblown negative aspects of the War on Terror,
and fails to adequately focus on the positive.
"They say, 'Not everybody has a job,' or they have
someone who will say, 'Three years now and I don't
have a job,'" he said. "The journalist needs to ask
what they did before. (The journalist) will find out
they were part of Saddam's security."
Yousif Mitty said there are not just three or four
unemployed former Saddam security guards, but
thousands.
"Sure he would say, 'No I don't have a job,' no one
wants to give him a job," he said. "They hurt the
country so badly."
Yousif Mitty, who is a geologist with Northern Oil,
himself served 10 years in Saddam's army during the
Iraq-Iran War. "It's not an option," he said. "It's
not volunteer."
His wife, Alia Mitty, is a physicist who formerly
worked with an Iraqi governor. She worked for three
years as a professor at a technical institute before
devoting her life to aiding women and children.
Yousif Mitty said a large number of Iraqi citizens
are against the withdrawal of American troops for
fear insurgents will rise up and create another
dictatorship.
"Praise the Lord, through American help we got rid
of Saddam's regime, but we do not want another
regime," he said.
On Thursday: How Iraq has changed, the Iraqi
election and hopes for the future.
www.phoenixvillenews.com
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