A Diverse Iraq

The Dreams of Sparrows is the most moving film I have seen all year. This documentary brought me much closer to the lives of real Iraqis than any American-made film has, because it was a collaborative work imagined and realized by Iraqis, whose only motivation was to fairly and accurately portray the whole spectrum of current Iraqi viewpoints.

This film focused in on Iraqi opinions about the fall of Saddam Hussein and the current American occupation. I was surprised by how varied public opinion is. While living across the ocean from Iraq and not knowing any Iraqis, it has been easy for me to lump all Iraqis together, assuming that "they" all think "such and such." But this is not so. Iraqis are as diverse and politically active as Americans. This film even showed an Iraqi communist party demonstration. The opinions of people from all different classes and ideologies were given equal time.

Many artists said they are happy about the fall of Saddam because they were oppressed artistically during his reign. One woman showed the camera her photographs of George W. Bush, exclaiming, "I love Bush!" This is certainly not what I expected. But other Iraqis acknowledge that Saddam was only able to come to power through the aid of the U.S. According to this film, many Iraqis saw Saddam as an oppressor, but they are uncertain about the future of Iraq under U.S. occupation. One woman said, "What's better, Saddam's mass graves or American tanks rolling through the streets?"

Others expressed their continued support and love of Saddam. One man said, "I only hope that Saddam will regain power and set this country straight." While many Iraqis disagree about possible solutions, there seems to be a consensus on the issues that need to be addressed immediately. The gas crisis and garbage cleanup are on everyone's minds. Before seeing this film, I had no idea that Iraqis were waiting all day in lines spanning city block after city block just to fill up their tanks. One man said, "I thought we were an oil country. Why can't we get any gas? We never had these problems under Saddam." This made me wonder what the connection is between the Iraqi gas crisis and the motivations of U.S. politicians. The lack of a municipal garbage service has also been devastating, especially for orphan children living in city streets. The heaping garbage is not only a daily symbol of Iraq's current instability, it threatens the health of all Iraqis. Many people living surrounded by garbage wonder why it is taking so long for the Americans to rebuild Iraq as they have promised.

Another issue on many Iraqis minds is, of course, the high levels of violence as a result of the occupation by American troops. This film is dedicated to Sa'ad Fakher, an Iraqi producer killed during the production. His friends said that he was the first to praise the fall of Saddam and the American occupation, and yet he was mistakenly shot at least twenty times by American soldiers while riding in his car. Many Iraqis asked the camera, "What is terrorism? How is what the Americans are doing not terrorism? If you say that to them they do not understand. If Iraq took over the U.S., wouldn't they fight back? We are not terrorists. We are part of the resistance. If the U.S. does not get out, we will have to kick them out." This made me realize that during American political debates about whether to (and how to) get out of Iraq, we have forgotten to ask the Iraqis what they think. This unwillingness to let Iraqis vote the U.S. out or even protest against American troops is undemocratic and, at best, colonialism. Some children that were interviewed in this film (those who are still able to attend school) showed the camera their drawings of warheads and bomb shelters. One girls said, "We used to draw pretty, colorful things, but now we have to draw war. I don't know why, we just have to."