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It is hard for Iraqi-born student Mustafa Alzaidi to watch the news at night. He is torn apart by the bloodshed he sees in a country where he still has family, and a country he still loves. He is also saddened when he hears the Foreign Affairs Minister in his new home, Phil Goff, give the country's condolences for the deaths of United States soldiers and civilians in the war. "I find it very depressing when I see my own Minister saying he's feeling sad for the American people, but ignores the Iraqi people who are being killed, who are being dragged from their homes." Alzaidi is a member of Christchurch's 30-strong Iraqi community, some of whom have come together for an urgent meeting to talk about the escalating violence in their former home. Some are Shiites, some are Sunnis, some Kurds. All prefer to be called "Iraqis". Labels like this are unimportant and false, they say. They speak with a united voice. They want to tell another side of the story about the war in Iraq, a story they say has been dictated by biased US media determined to paint Iraqis as violent and divided, and American troops as "the goodies". They have gathered to send a strong message to Prime Minister Helen Clark: take the troops now in Iraq out of the war, stay out, and push for the United Nations to step in. Well-educated – a veterinarian, doctor, architect and engineer are among those sharing the room – the group represents a community that has been here for years. They are Iraqis, but they also consider themselves New Zealanders. This is partly why the group's members are against involvement in the war – they do not want to see their fellow Kiwis killed. But they also oppose the US and Britain's occupation, because it is, and always has been, they say, illegal. Gratitude exist that troops ousted Saddam Hussein. "I accepted their invasion, because I wanted to get rid of Hussein. But it should have been the international community legitimately coming forward to help," Muhammed Al-Samria says. The community does not hesitate to speak out against the acts of violence and hostage-taking by Iraqi rebels splashed across our papers. But they also believe they know a different US from that portrayed in most Western media. An America, they say, that moved first to secure the oil wells, while letting royalist rebels ransack the museums, destroying Iraqi's culture and history. They claim US troops are dragging women from their homes and bombing religious shrines to provoke a reaction and show their might. They remember a US Government that supported Saddam when he came to power in 1979. Some believe the US might have a vested interest in promoting insurgence and maintaining instability – "divide and rule" tactics – so they can control and exploit the country's resources. Others think the troops know only force as the answer. Whatever the truth, for this community, the solution is clear – United Nations involvement. Both sides need to calm down and talk, and only when an internationally-sanctioned force acting in the interests of the Iraqi people is set up will this happen, they say. And they say it needs to happen soon. Many have talked to family in Iraq recently. Al-Samria's parents live in Baghdad. They speak of frustration, food shortages, and life at a standstill. "Half an hour ago I was talking to my parents. There were laughing from their misery. Life means nothing here, they said to me, and we can go nowhere. You can't live in this situation. Our people are suffering, our kids are suffering. We need to stop the bloodshed." |
