Twenty years after his fall, Saddam Hussein remains revered in Jordan

Middle East

Twenty years after his fall, Saddam Hussein remains revered in Jordan

Banished from public life in Iraq, the face of the dictator is still displayed in an uninhibited way on the hulls of cellphones or cars of the Jordanians, who see him as a hero.

Posted8 avril 2023, 11:36

“Jordanians are convinced that Saddam Hussein (…) valiantly defended Arab causes. We all love it,” said Shaher Abu Sharkh, 67, who sells mobile phone accessories in Amman.

AFP

Twenty years after the fall of his regime, the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein continues to arouse the admiration of many Jordanians, who see in him a “hero” of the Arab and Palestinian causes. While his portraits and the symbols associated with his reign have completely disappeared from public life in Iraq, his face is omnipresent in Jordan, whether on the stickers adorning car windows or the shells of mobile phones bearing his likeness.

On March 20, 2003, 150,000 Americans and 40,000 Britons were deployed for a lightning intervention. Three weeks are enough to seal the fate of Saddam Hussein’s regime and take control of Baghdad on April 9. After a nine-month hunt, he was arrested on December 13, 2003, then tried and hanged at the end of 2006. His party, the Baas, was dissolved and from now on, anyone showing his photos or slogans linked to his fallen regime can be subject to of legal proceedings.

400 dollars for a watch bearing the effigy of the dictator

In the streets of old Baghdad, however, one finds in antique shops various relics displaying the face of the former dictator. “I sell this to collectors,” says a seller who wishes to remain anonymous. At a watchmaker in the old town, you can find, if you insist a little, watches with the face of the ex-leader dating from the 90s. One of them costs 400 dollars, indicates the watchmaker, who also wishes to remain anonymous.

In Jordan, however, the face of Saddam is displayed in a more unbridled way and many Jordanians openly express their nostalgia for the former strongman of Iraq. “Tens of thousands of Jordanians have obtained degrees in Iraqi universities thanks to scholarships offered” under Saddam, explains Jordanian MP Khalil Attiyeh.

“After Saddam, the country was looted by corrupt people”

Saddam Hussein also supported the Palestinian cause and helped “the families of the Palestinian martyrs to rebuild the houses demolished by the enemy” Israeli, he adds. It is for these reasons that “Jordanians adore him, do not forget him and keep his photos, showing their loyalty to this heroic leader”, explains the MP.

Salameh Blewi, a 67-year-old entrepreneur who frequented Baghdad in the 1980s, calls him “a dignified and honest Arab leader with honorable positions”. “Despite the war with Iran (1980-1988), Iraq was a rich country, but after Saddam, the country was looted by the corrupt,” he says. Since the fall of the regime, “the wasted money has exceeded 600 billion dollars”, accused the former Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazimi in a television interview in March.

Considered the leader of the Arab nation

“Jordanians are convinced that Saddam Hussein (…) valiantly defended Arab causes. We all love it,” said Shaher Abu Sharkh, 67, who sells mobile phone accessories in Amman. “The Arabs considered Saddam as the leader of the Arab nation”, confirms a former Iraqi diplomat, who was stationed in Amman. The former Iraqi tyrant “endeared himself to many Arabs in Jordan, Palestine, Egypt and other countries during his lifetime, and even after his death,” he says.

(AFP)