Khaberni - Kadhim Al-Jubouri, who attempted to topple the statue of the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein with a heavy hammer when American invasion forces entered Baghdad ten years ago, now wishes he had never done it.
The British newspaper The Guardian reported from Baghdad that Al-Jubouri had become a well-known figure and a symbol of Baghdad’s fall in 2003, and that the photos of him hammering the statue were published on the front pages of newspapers and magazines worldwide.
Now, years after the incident, Al-Jubouri expresses his deep regret for what he did that evening and what it symbolized.
Al-Jubouri, a 52-year-old former strongman and motorcycle parts shop owner, said, "I hated Saddam Hussein. I had dreamed for five years of toppling that statue. But what followed was bitterly disappointing."
He added, "We had one dictator, and now we have hundreds. Nothing has changed for the better," echoing the sentiment of a large segment of citizens in a country plagued by political problems and corruption, where killing still occurs daily.
When asked by The Guardian about why he was imprisoned for ten years during Saddam Hussein’s regime, he said, "The reason was somewhat political." He explained that he was imprisoned in 1986 and released in 1996 after protesting that Saddam’s son Uday had not paid him for repairing his motorcycle.
He mentioned that he regretted what he did two years after the American occupation of his country, which he said he detested. Al-Jubouri has not changed since then. Nothing could change him, not even the end of the occupation and the handover of power to the Iraqis.
He added that under Saddam there was security, and there was corruption, but it was not comparable to the corruption occurring today. Essentials like electricity and gas were more than adequately available. Two years after the end of Saddam's rule, he saw no positive change; then, phenomena like killing, looting, and sectarian violence began and have not ceased to this day.
Al-Jubouri blames the destruction of Iraq on Iraqi politicians and on the Americans. He believes that things will worsen as long as the political parties that run the country continue.
