Iraqi shopkeeper Anwar holds wristwatches bearing portraits of Saddam Hussein at his Baghdad shop. Sabah Arar / AFP
Iraqi shopkeeper Anwar holds wristwatches bearing portraits of Saddam Hussein at his Baghdad shop. Sabah Arar / AFP

Ten years after his death, some Iraqis are nostalgic for Saddam Hussein’s rule



BAGHDAD // Shopkeeper Anwar sells Saddam Hussein photos, coins and postage stamps that keep the former president alive 10 years after his execution and cater to customers nostalgic for his rule.

While Saddam was brutal to those who opposed him, and led his country into two disastrous wars, there are those who still look back fondly on his time in power, especially in comparison to the years of devastating internal violence and ineffective governance that followed his overthrow in 2003.

In his antique shop, Anwar proudly caresses a leather holster stamped with the words: “On behalf of President Saddam Hussein.”

“It was a gift that Saddam gave to deserving officers,” said Anwar, a young man who may be his own best customer for Saddam memorabilia.

“I am constantly looking for items related to Saddam, but when I find them, I often keep them for myself.”

Offering a line of reasoning often used to support the ex-president, Anwar, who mainly trades in more innocuous, non-political items, said: “Saddam Hussein knew how to control the country.”

“And I say this as a son of the south,” he added, indicating that he is a member of Iraq’s Shiite majority, which was the target – along with Iraqi Kurds – of deadly oppression under Saddam’s rule.

In a macabre twist of irony, Saddam was hanged inside one of his own regime’s former torture centres a decade ago on December 30, 2006.

The centre was located in the military intelligence headquarters in the Kadhimiyah district of northern Baghdad.

Officials who witnessed the predawn execution say Saddam, 69, remained defiant to the end, railing against his Iranian and American enemies and praising insurgents who had pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war.

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ISIL in Iraq

In secret phone calls, Mosul residents tell of being afraid to leave their homes

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“I didn’t see any signs of fear,” then national security adviser Mowaffak Al Rubaie, who oversaw the execution, said in 2013.

“I didn’t hear any regret from him, I didn’t hear any request for mercy from God ... or request for pardon.”

Mr Al Rubaie said he pulled the lever to hang Saddam, but it did not work. An unidentified person then pulled it a second time, killing him.

The former strongman was executed after being found guilty of crimes against humanity for the 1982 killing of 148 Shiites in the town of Dujail. The massacre followed an assassination attempt against him there.

The day after his death, Saddam was buried in the village of Awja, his birthplace near Tikrit, 160 kilometres north of Baghdad.

It was also near Tikrit, just over three years before on December 13, 2003, that Saddam was captured by US forces. Washington had offered a US$25 million (Dh91.8m) reward for his capture.

After being overthrown by the US-led invasion, Saddam was on the run for eight months with the help of bodyguards from his family, according to local tribal leaders.

But one betrayed him, leading American troops to Saddam’s hiding place after himself being detained.

Far from the luxury of his presidential palaces, Saddam was found hiding on a farm down what American troops called a “rathole”, an underground hideout with enough space for a person to lie down in, equipped with an air vent and an exhaust fan.

As he peered out from his den, he announced in English: “I am the president of Iraq and I want to negotiate,” US army officers said.

The 1982 killings in Dujail was “the day of the end of the head of the snake that reduced Iraqis to the rank of humiliated citizens”, says Khalaf Abdulsamad, a lawmaker from the Shiite Dawa party which has held the Iraqi premiership since 2006.

Saddam countered dissent with prison, torture and death, started a disastrous 1980-1988 war with Iran, and invaded Kuwait in 1990, leading to years of punishing sanctions.

But his rule also offered stability, quality education, health care, employment and services for most of the population – commodities that have often been in short supply in the years since his fall.

The 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq unleashed years of sectarian violence, including frequent bombings, kidnappings and executions that peaked from 2006-2008.

That violence was sharply reduced by the combination of Sunni Arab tribesmen joining forces with American troops, and the US military’s “surge” of additional forces in Iraq.

But it was not to last: violence steadily rose in the years after the US military withdrew in 2011, driven in large part by widespread anger among Sunni Arabs with then-prime minister Nouri Al Maliki’s government.

Mr Al Maliki’s heavy-handed response to anti-government protests led to the government losing control of one entire city and shifting parts of a second in early 2014.

Six months later, ISIL launched a sweeping offensive across territory north and west of Baghdad, overrunning large swathes.

Iraqi forces have pushed the extremists back, but doing so has devastated Sunni Arab cities and towns, laying the groundwork for further discontent and conflict.

In Anwar’s shop, Ilaf, a law studen, criticised both Iraq’s past and present leadership.

“Saddam Hussein was an enormous serpent,” he said.

“Today, it is a multitude of small serpents that lead us.”

* Agence France-Presse

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Squid Game season two

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk 

Stars:  Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun

Rating: 4.5/5

Company profile

Name: Infinite8

Based: Dubai

Launch year: 2017

Number of employees: 90

Sector: Online gaming industry

Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

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How to get there

Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
 

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

While you're here
Planes grounded by coronavirus

British Airways: Cancels all direct flights to and from mainland China 

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific: Cutting capacity to/from mainland China by 50 per cent from Jan. 30

Chicago-based United Airlines: Reducing flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong

Ai Seoul:  Suspended all flights to China

Finnair: Suspending flights to Nanjing and Beijing Daxing until the end of March

Indonesia's Lion Air: Suspending all flights to China from February

South Korea's Asiana Airlines,  Jeju Air  and Jin Air: Suspend all flights

What to watch out for:

Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways

The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof

The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history

Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure

Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used

Pakistan v New Zealand Test series

Pakistan: Sarfraz (c), Hafeez, Imam, Azhar, Sohail, Shafiq, Azam, Saad, Yasir, Asif, Abbas, Hassan, Afridi, Ashraf, Hamza

New Zealand: Williamson (c), Blundell, Boult, De Grandhomme, Henry, Latham, Nicholls, Ajaz, Raval, Sodhi, Somerville, Southee, Taylor, Wagner

Umpires: Bruce Oxerford (AUS) and Ian Gould (ENG); TV umpire: Paul Reiffel (AUS); Match referee: David Boon (AUS)

Tickets and schedule: Entry is free for all spectators. Gates open at 9am. Play commences at 10am