Voices of Freedom
I can honestly say now that I'm proud to be an Iraqi. Because of what has happened, because there is freedom here like I have not known before. Now I can talk-to you, to people I could never talk to before. I am a simple man. I am just a worker. But even these simple things-talking-give me hope....Khalid Nemah, an Iraqi taxi driver.
You never knew who was sitting next to you. In the past no one would dare to just speak out. Now everybody is talking. About federalism, about a monarchy. I think our aims are just one, to eliminate persecution for anyone ever again....Jafar Adel Amr, a tool salesman in Iraq.
Freedom is much sweeter. I can get up in the morning and decide whether I want to shave or not; if someone in my family is sick, I can stay home with them. I don't need to ask permission....Salim Kasim, one of Uday's chief mechanics.
We have full freedom to print anything we want. The coalition doesn't interfere in our work but, of course, we have our own red lines....Ishtar el Yassiri, editor of the new satirical Iraqi newspaper Habez Bouz.
It is like the soul coming back to the body....Ibrahim Abdullah, a refugee returning to Iraq.
The tension is reducing every day. We are seeing a change. People are starting to realize that the soldiers are not here to occupy Fallujah forever-they're here to help us rebuild....Taha Bedawi, mayor of Fallujah.
It's a chance to defend our country for our people. It's good to work with the American soldiers. They give us new training and a mutual respect....Omar Abdullah, a recruit for Mosul's newly formed joint security group.
For the first time I feel really free....Latif Yahia, Uday's former double.
We are more free nowadays. My father gave me the full freedom to marry whom I choose....Raina Nuri, a woman in Baghdad.
We felt better after the regime fell, now we are really happy-we have been freed from our nightmare....Alaa' Kathem, an Iraqi soccer player who had been punished for losing games.
Iraq is now free from torture. Free from Uday."...Amu Baba, a legendary soccer star in Iraq.
We are flying with happiness since Saddam is gone....Zahar Hassan, in Iraq.
There's more opportunity, more chances to earn money....Um Khalid, on life in post-Saddam Baghdad.
Let the Americans stay, they protect us. I don't see them hurting anyone....a mother living in Baghdad.
I can see that the American soldiers are free. In our old army, we were always under pressure and strict military orders. There was tough punishment....Raad Mamoud, a former Iraqi soldier.
I helped deliver thousands of Iraqi babies, and now I am taking part in the birth of a new country and a new rule based on women's rights, humanity, unity and freedom....Raja Habib al-Khaza'i, the director of an Iraqi maternity hospital and a member of the Governing Council.
The formation of this council which represents all sectors of Iraqi society is the birth of democracy in the country. It is better than Saddam's government of destruction and dictatorship....Razzak Abdul-Zahra, a 35-year-old engineer in Baghad.
Iraqis are looking forward to this day. They have been dreaming for so many years to have a government run by not only one man....Sherwan Dizayee, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party.
He [Saddam] occupied Iraq for 25 years. It's not important that the Americans are here. What is important is that they got rid of Saddam Hussein. Now I feel free....Fadil Emara, a shopkeeper in Baghdad.
I want to help my country to make a new life, to get human rights, and also to get modern life, especially because we are a rich country....an Iraqi translator for the Allied forces.
The Americans did a very good thing when they crushed Saddam for the Iraqis....Khither Jaafar, a member of a Shiite party outlawed by Saddam.
U.S.-U.K., Liberators of Iraq from Saddam's Terror....a banner hanging outside the entrance to central Suleimaniyah in Iraq.
We feel liberated. We're very very happy....Dana Mohammed, manager of a fast food restaurant in Suleimaniyah.
I can feel it inside. All Iraqis are feeling freedom. This is a good start of a new Iraq....Saniya al-Raheem, a 56-year-old housewife in Baghdad.
During the Saddam years, we did not even have hopes. We were living only to survive. Now I have lots of dreams and hopes....Hansam Hassan, a pediatrician at Baghdad's Al-Alwiya Children's Hospital.
I like free discussions. I talk about these issues with my families and friends. This could never happen during the Saddam years....Maha Abrahim, owner of a wedding dress shop in Baghdad.
A thousand thanks to Bush!....Abdel Karim Hassan, in Basra.
When I see my female students, I see hopes in them. They will have more opportunities to travel and learn and have more control of their lives....Bushra Jani, a professor at Baghdad's Al-Mustansiriya University.
The Americans liberated the Iraqi people from a despotic regime from which they suffered a lot. The Iraqi people could not change that regime with their own hands or overthrow it with their available means. The Americans came and solved this problem quickly and easily and in a way that gladdened the Iraqis....Baghdad Al-Balat, an Iraqi newspaper.
It gives me an immense sense of hope. Being here and seeing so many other people here signifies that, despite everything, life goes on....Shafeeq al-Mahdi, an Iraqi playwright at a performance at the al-Rashid Theater in Baghdad.
I will run for mayor. Because we have freedom....Dhirgham Najem, a 23-year-old busboy in Najaf.
They're buying them [satellites] like they buy bread. They say they're buying freedom....Mohammed al-Mulla, a worker at an Iraqi electronics store.
This is the first time we as Shiites can represent ourselves and talk with a loud voice. They never let us express our feelings....Akil Dair, a part-time student at Baghdad University.
Owning or selling such songs was punishable by a one-and-a-half year prison sentence under Saddam. After being oppressed for 35 years, we are now scrambling to grab these songs, to which we listen with impunity....Ahmad, whose shop in Baghdad is selling large amounts of previously banned Shiite music.
This is the freedom exhibition. I'm flying now....Mohammed Rasim, a 29-year-old Iraqi artist who was finally able to show his paintings in an exhibit once Saddam fell.
We are so glad to be rid of Saddam Hussein....Habid Khanger, who waited to marry until Saddam fell and his policies ended.
Why call us occupied? We are liberated....Mohammed Hanash Abbas, co-owner of Iqra'a bookstore in Baghdad.
Saddam would not allow us here; he would slay whoever came here. It's freedom now!....Salah Maadi Khafaji, an Iraqi swimming in a part of the Tigris that had been off limits to ordinary Iraqis.
America has shown us compassion we never had from Saddam or fellow Arabs....Attallah Zeidan, co-owner of a small bookstore in Baghdad.
I should have freedom to wear or not to wear the veil. I don't want to let these people dictate my thoughts. I am an educated woman. I am a religious woman. I know my duties to God....Kawkab Jalil, a woman in Baghdad who decided to take off her veil.
When I leave my job at night, I am very happy, very proud about myself. We must help the Americans, and show them our traditions....Suhair Karmasha, the first Iraqi woman to work with the Americans at Baghdad's city hall.
We are like newborn children. We are very, very happy....Ali Hashem Jasim, in Iraq.
We broke the dams when the Iraqi army left. We want to teach our children how to fish, how to move on the water again....Qasim Shalgan Lafta, a Marsh Arab and former fisherman who helped restore the water to the Iraqi wetlands that Saddam had destroyed.
Before, we couldn't speak. Before, we couldn't live. But life has changed from bad to best in Sulaymaniyah. I hope everyone in Iraq can live like us soon....Abdul Karim, a 70-year-old Iraqi.
The name of Saddam had a value among us, but now, I do not love Saddam. I feel I have been deceived. I am shocked to hear about his crimes against our people....Yaaser Akram, an 11th-grade student in Baghdad.
I want to know the secrets of Saddam. Before, we couldn't even say his name, and now we can know the truth....Abdul, who bought a copy of one of Saddam's home movies.
I have no more fear now. From the moment Iraq was liberated I felt as though my two sons had been brought back to me....A woman whose 17-year-old son, Sardar Osman Faraj, was executed in Iraq in 1985 and another was killed by unknown assassins in 1992.
We are all very happy and comfortable. This is the freedom we want....Yizmak Askander Abu, a teacher in Rassalin.
I never allowed myself to live all these years. Every day I thought, now they're going to come and take me. I was always waiting....Nasir al-Husseini, 22, who survived a mass execution at age 10.
Freedom means that Saddam is no longer around....Firas al-Dujaili, an Iraqi doctor.
This is like a dream for us. The Americans liberated us and gave us our freedom. We hope they stay to protect the minorities like us....Emir Farooq Saeed Ali Beg, a member of the formerly persecuted Yazidi tribe.
[T]he Iraqi people are too happy that Saddam is gone. Too happy....Salim, a citizen of Baghdad.
We are so happy, not just for the contract, but to work again in our country with our people and our equipment to help rebuild our country....Loay Ibrahim Al-Saied, an Iraqi engineer whose company received a contract to construct a highway bypass.
Freedom means to travel, to get the job I want, to study in the college I want....Ahmed al-Samarai, a citizen of Iraq.
I couldn't teach the students the truth. I was unable to tell them that we were ruled by a dictator. If I did, my neck would be on the line....Wijda Khalidi, an Iraqi schoolteacher.
I cannot describe how I am glad. After so many years of dictatorship, we have chosen our own leader....Kemal Kerkuki, after participating in the election of Kirkuk's new mayor.
Now that Iraq is free, we are demanding freedom and equal rights that Iraqi women have always been deprived of....Eman Ahmed, member of the Rising Iraqi Women's Organization.
I can tell you all these things now because we are free. Before, we lived like exiles in our own country....Suhaib Abbas Majeed, an Iraqi medical student.
This is the first time in our lives we have experienced democracy. It is a beautiful thing. Everyone is excited. Everyone is here. ...Not complaining. Coming to vote....Rabaab Mahmoud Kassar, a female attorney in Najaf who participated in the election of the town's new judges.
Most Iraqis did not know what freedom was, but have shown they prefer it after finding it now. Most Iraqis do not know what democracy is, but they will certainly love it once they taste it....Amir Taheri, Al-Sharq al-Awsat.
We can say anything we want in public. Now we're free....Safaz al Hellou, an Iraqi teenager.
This is the first attempt for us to run our town by ourselves. We are ready to rebuild our town, and we are ready to rebuild our country....Najim Abed Mahdi, a chairman of the Umm Qasr interim town council.
Beautiful, beautiful. Not Iraqi TV. Not Saddam Hussein TV. Beautiful....Akhbal Ibrahim Rashid watching her satellite dish-equipped television.
I saw the world for the first time. I saw where we were. I saw presidents and cities and people from everywhere! The whole world!....School Principal Bushra Cesar, after buying a satellite TV dish.
We will keep on somehow. Now we have the most important thing that we need. There is no one to stop us from saying anything we want onstage....Basim Hajar, coauthor and director of a play criticizing Saddam Hussein's regime performed in a building where -- before the war -- only works sanctioned by the government were allowed.
Before, if I had sold this, they would have cut my head from my body....Imad Saad, selling a copy of an opposition-run paper.
song playing....The Liberty March