I am in Pittsburgh for a several days for the PodCamp Pittsburgh press tour. On my way into the city from the airport, I had a great chat with my cab driver who was Iraqi.
This guy had led an unbelievable life. He was drafted into Saddam Hussein’s army and was part of the force that invaded Kuwait. When the Americans landed to eject the Iraqi’s he deserted from the army and was kept in a camp for 5 years.
He could not go to Iraq without facing execution by Saddam, but it took years before he found asylum in the USA.
He said over 20,000 Iraqi soldiers deserted the army during the Kuwait struggle eventually finding there way to the USA, Britain and Scandinavia. I knew nothing about this chapter of history and felt lucky to meet this guy and hear his story.
Special bonus fact: he is originally from Najaf, one of the cities that has seen some of the toughest fighting during the US occupation of Iraq. I am glad he is able to have landed safely in the USA.
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2 responses so far ↓
raquelita // Oct 20, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Thanks for sharing this slice of history. I didn’t know we ejected the Iraqis.
Jonny // Oct 20, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Raquelita,
We didn’t eject them. Many of the Iraqi troops who had invaded Kuwait deserted and surrendered to coalition forces. They were then kept in camps where they were in limbo for many years, until they found an asylum country. No ejection that I’m aware of.
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