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Baghdad: Despite five years of untold misery to the people of Iraq, some politicians and intellectuals describe April 9 as the national day of freedom.
"Most of those who suffered under Saddam Hussain's regime consider the day of American forces' entry into Baghdad as a national day of freedom," Hamid Al Filihat, a journalist and media activist, told Gulf News.
"The others have to understand this point of view. I think people who lived more than two decades under severe economic blockade and wars would have been happy to see Saddam's statue pulled down to the ground," said Al Filihat.
On April 9, 2003, a column of US-led coalition forces' tanks advanced along the Baghdad highway coming from the south and passing through Al Saydia, Al Dora and Al Baya'a neighbourhoods until they reached Yarmouk Hospital close to the Al Mansour area.
At this point many Iraqis made sure they were out in the streets to see the tanks.
Schizophrenic
"I saw Iraqi children and women giving flowers to American soldiers," Sana'a Al Izi, an Iraqi sociologist, told Gulf News.
"This scene reflects the schizophrenic personality of the Iraqis. They hated the Americans and the forces that have come to occupy them. But the memories of the severe pain suffered under Saddam's rule, overwhelmed them, and that held back the feelings against the occupation," Sana'a said.
"At least at that moment and on that day they saw the American army as a saviour and not an occupier, yet few months later when Iraqis were certain of the collapse of Saddam Hussain's regime they regained their anti-occupation feelings," she said.
On April 9, the Americans deliberately chose the Al Firdaus Square. Few metres away from the square the international media and journalists were stationed at the Palestine and Sheraton hotels. Beside the hotels was the missing soldiers' square.
The Americans soldiers wanted to form a lasting visual imprint and they chose this square, right at the doorsteps of the global media. There Saddam's statue fell and landed with a thud.
Thamer Tawfiq, an Iraqi citizen who witnessed the falling Saddam's statue, told Gulf News: "When the statue fell my eyes erupted with tears of joy. Saddam did not kill any member of my family and never hurt me personally but his presence was frightening to me.
"I was afraid of the walls of my house and even the air around me lest they spy on me to the authorities," he said.
"If I utter any word about the pathetic economic conditions then I knew what my fate would be - torture, arrest of my family members. I was afraid of my sister and her husband, my brother and all of my family.
"Yes I was very pleased on that day," said Tawfiq.
At the moment of the fall of Saddam's statue in Al Firdaus Square, most of the Iraqis gathered there rejoiced shouting "Allahu Akbar" and slogans on the glory of Iraq.
Perhaps the crowd were giving vent to their anger against the rule of Saddam who ignored even the simplest of needs of the populace.
Salwa Hassoun said to Gulf News: "I am an Iraqi mother and an employee in the Iraqi weather forecast bureau. My only worry is to work and provide a living for my family. We used to buy eggs, just one or two, because it was so expensive due to the economic blockade at that time.
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