07 April 2003
Graduate of Saddam University Talks about Defection, Life in the U.S.
(Omar Muhammad says Iraq under Saddam afflicted by "brain drain") (1080) By Nino Kader Washington File Special Correspondent Washington -- Omar Muhammad, a graduate of the elite Saddam University in Baghdad, fled his country in the 1990's as did many other highly educated Iraqis in the "brain drain" that has afflicted Iraq under the rule of Saddam Hussein. Sitting in blue jeans on the floor of his living room in New Jersey while his two children chased each other, Omar talked about his life in Iraq and why he came to the United States. "Iraqis are not allowed to leave the country, even for vacation, if they hold a Ph.D. or other advanced degrees," Omar said. Nonetheless, he said, people found a way out. "Except for one college professor I had, every one of them is now gone," he said. "At the beginning of my senior year in college my advisor fled the country illegally. I got a new advisor and two weeks later he fled. My third advisor stayed with me through graduation and on through graduate school. Now he has also left," he said. Saddam University is the most prestigious university in Iraq, providing full scholarship to all its students. "It is the top university in the country and was like the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) of Iraq. Everything was in English, there were around ten people per class, and the professors were from all over the world. I studied civil engineering," said Omar. While he spoke, he attempted to assemble a doll-house, a birthday present for his six-year-old daughter. The son of a wealthy businessman, Omar graduated in 1994 and was drafted into the military, which put him to work on presidential palace construction. After a brief military stint, Muhammad returned to graduate school at Saddam University where he began to think about life outside Iraq. Omar's next job, one with the United Nations in Iraq, led him to disillusionment over corruption and the huge income gaps between the wealthy and the poor. "I was disgusted at how the U.N. was purchasing over-priced pencils at the expense of the Iraqi government who signed off on it because they too were getting a cut. The only people suffering [from this arrangement] were the people of Iraq," he said. It was becoming clear that in the future Iraq would only get worse under Saddam, he said. Omar remembered going to an opulent party at the Sheraton Hotel in Baghdad and seeing a five-year-old boy with dirty blond hair sitting with his baby sister on the street. "He was selling cigarettes and I spoke to him and he replied in excellent Arabic. I could not believe how much the sanctions had affected us. I bought cigarettes from him even though I don't smoke and as I was leaving I saw him straightening out his sister's clothes and telling her to tuck-in her shirt. He was just five years old and here he was taking care of his sister. It was cold and she was crying and he was hugging and consoling her and it brought me to tears," he said. "I really felt a lot of anger towards Saddam. No child should be placed in that situation. And that child wouldn't have been in that situation if it hadn't been for Saddam," Omar said. He said, at that time in 1996, he decided to leave Iraq. "Basically people have to forge papers or change names and drive across the border pretending to be an average Joe going on vacation," Omar said. While preparing his escape, he did not quit his job, which might have aroused suspicion from the authorities. "I just didn't show up for work the next day and my wife and I snuck out of the country through Jordan, without even telling our friends. We had to bring extra gas with us for the 14-hour drive through the desert. Upon arriving in Jordan, we found out that my wife was pregnant," he said. With a family to care for and a baby on the way, Omar needed to find a home. "I wasn't planning on coming to the United States initially. My options were South Africa, Malaysia and the United States," Omar said. "I had jobs lined up in all three places." He opted to take a job in New Jersey in information technology, which he had learned in addition to civil engineering. He had developed software for several clients in Iraq at the same time he worked for the United Nations. Omar said he had always admired the U.S. constitution, especially its guarantee of freedom of speech and other personal freedoms. "The first amendment guarantees that you can say whatever you want. Personal freedoms are a sacred thing to me. I have seen them stripped away in Iraq and I know what it is liked to be stripped of everything," he said. Omar said his ambitions in life are modest, as are those of most people. "All that people really want is a house, a minivan and some kids. Generally people don't want to be rich or rule the world," he said. Describing his early days in the United States, Omar said, "there was no prejudice against Iraqis per se, because a person is a person. As long as I met the visa requirements I was in." Omar said he hopes to return to Iraq for a visit in the future and show his children where their parents came from. "But I am an American now and my kids are too," he added. Omar has mixed feelings about the U.S.-led war on Iraq. "I know what damage and destruction war brings, but I know that we can't get rid of Saddam any other way. And after the war I will be able to see my family again. On the other hand a lot of innocent people are going to die," he said. "Sometimes I feel that the American government doesn't really understand Iraq," he said. "What they have been told is either by Israelis or by the Iraqi opposition." "No one speaks for the common man," he said. "At least the invasion will bring Americans into contact with Iraqis because what they watch on TV is inaccurate," said Omar. (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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