Palestinian Fedayin to recount his experience in the battle for Baghdad in Assisi
Jehad Hussein, born 1981 in Amman into a Palestinian family expelled from Hebron, a student at the university of Mustansereya in Baghdad, participated together with his brother Ramez and other remaining Palestinian students in the defence of Baghdad against the American invasion. His brother Ramez was killed in the battle around the “Police Tunnel” area. Ramez was studying computer science at the university of Baghdad. He was member in the “Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine” (PFLP) and had participated in many political activities supporting the Intifada in Baghdad.
The other students were captured by the American occupation troops and spent 50 days under miserable conditions in several detention camps.
Jehad was in his third study year for hotel management, as the American aggression on Iraq began. “Twelf Palestinian students stayed in Baghdad during the crisis living in the same building”. They decided to stay and to join the Arabic volunteers who came to defend Baghdad. “We felt ourselves committed as Arabs and as Palestinians. The USA are supporting Israel occupying our country, steeling the Arab resources and exploiting all the people of the Third World. It was a different battle field, but the enemy was the same”, explains Jehad.
The student group received the Arab volunteers in the Sudeir Hotel in Baghdad. “Volunteers from many Arab countries came. From Syria, Algeria, Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon etc. They were from different background: Islamic, Panarabist, Marxist and simple patriots”.
The Palestinian were taken to the Baladyt training camp. The camp were bombed and they had to move to an other one. “Every camp we were taken to, was bombed by the Americans. It was clear that many spies were active in Baghdad. Many died in the bombings.”
The student group took position in the Qadisiyya district and some participated in the airport battle. “At the beginning the Iraqis had some success and the American suffered many casualties. But for unexplained reasons, two brigades were withdrawn and sent to Najaf in the south, where they were completely destroyed on the road. These orders were given by Sufyan Tikriti.” At this stage, the brother of Jehad was killed in the battles around the Police Tunnel.
Like the other Arab volunteers, Jehad and his comrades were surprised by the “disappearance” of the Iraqi army. “We woke up in the morning and we found nobody there.”
On April 15th, Jehad and his comrades were arrested in the building in Qadisiyya. They spent 50 days being moved from one prisoner camp to another, living under inhuman conditions. Jehad was released by an American military tribunal. He describes the tribunal as a “caricature”. “The judge was eating chips and drinking Coca Cola. The way how he decided whether the prisoners are to be kept or to be released was completely arbitrary. He just looked at the faces and decided following his mood”. Four of Jehad´s comrades are still detained in Iraq. “Me and an other student were released. They gave us 5 $ each and let us go. We arrived in Baghdad on our own and from there I left Iraq for Jordan.”
Jehad doesn´t regret his experience in Iraq. “I´m waiting for the next chance to go back there. Now we know the Americans can be defeated after we tested their real power in guerrilla warfare and we know it is relative. With better organization we could have resisted much longer. I acted as a Palestinian, as an Arab and as an internationalist freedom fighter.”
