“In the end, after the Americans go, history will come to see their presence here as a curse on this country. But this is a curse we can bear. Gradually we will heal the wounds. Already as an Iraqi you can have a sense of self-respect in looking at other countries in the Middle East. None of them have endured what we have. The problem now is that we are still not free despite all the sacrifices. The occupier is still here.”

The following is an excerpt from Hassan Ali’s account of life in Sadr City during the six years following the invasion. To read more excerpts from Voices from Iraq: A People’s History, 2003-2009.

Despite all of the suffering that I have seen in the past six years, I believe life is better now than it was during the time of Saddam Hussein. You want to know why? I’ll explain. I’ll put it to you in very simple terms. You always had one thing over these past years since the invasion that you never had in Saddam times. Throughout all the violence of the last six years, all the explosions and all the murders every day for months all around, you could always go to your bed and sleep in peace each night no matter what happened during the day. You could never sleep in peace during Saddam times. You never knew if someone would be coming for you in the middle of the night. If someone from your area was picked up by the intelligence, you could not sleep for weeks. You knew he was somewhere being tortured, saying names to make the pain stop, maybe your name. And they would come for you next. During Saddam times the city was quiet in the day, sure. But living through those nights was terror. That’s the difference. That’s why it’s better now than it was before….

You have to make sacrifices for freedom. And sacrifices have been made. In the end, after the Americans go, history will come to see their presence here as a curse on this country. But this is a curse we can bear. Gradually we will heal the wounds. Already as an Iraqi you can have a sense of self-respect in looking at other countries in the Middle East. None of them have endured what we have. The problem now is that we are still not free despite all the sacrifices. The occupier is still here.