View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Columbia University Academic Commons Diminishing Returns: An Anthropological Study of Iraqis in the UK Zainab Saleh Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2011 © 2011 Zainab Saleh All rights reserved ABSTRACT Diminishing Returns: An Anthropological Study of Iraqis in the UK Zainab Saleh This dissertation is an ethnographic study of the Iraqi diasporic community in the UK. It is based on two years of fieldwork research I conducted there between 2006-2008. I approach the formation of the diasporic community in light of utopian visions of a past colored by colonial struggle and high national aspirations, and in light of subsequent political developments that resulted in oppression, exile, and even occupation after 2003. I read the displacement of Iraqis as an example of the failure of the postcolonial state, represented by the emergence of the Baath regime in the 1960s and Saddam Hussein’s rise to power in 1979. Throughout, I examine the heightened salience of sectarianism among Iraqis in exile and in Iraq since the 1990s. Instead of understanding sectarianism as a return to traditional loyalties, I argue that it is deeply linked to the issue of power and identity politics, which the Iraqi opposition to Saddam Hussein’s regime in the UK employed while in exile and institutionalized after the fall of the regime in 2003 with the support of the US Administration. This dissertation is, also, an ethnographic study of Iraq, and aims to make up for the dearth in anthropological studies on Iraq during the last four decades. In addition to questions related to exile and life in the UK, I seek to tease out accounts about Iraq, and about life in Iraq under Saddam Hussein’s regime. The great majority of Iraqis fled Iraq because of Saddam Hussein’s brutal oppression, and they all had family members who were killed, tortured or disappeared. With their hopes of return to Iraq shattered after the 2003 US occupation, these Iraqis have been reliving these tragedies every single day in the UK. This is the reality that travels with, and defines, them. Through the use of life history methodologies with Iraqi exiles from different socioeconomic backgrounds, I document the different social and political scenes prior to and after the late 1970s; the persecution suffered under Saddam Hussein's regime since the late 1970s; the journey to and life in exile in London; relationships among members of the diasporic Iraqi community therein; and the ways in which those in exile reconfigure the past in relation to the present developments. Table of Contents Prologue 1 Introduction 13 Chapter One: The Iraqi Community in the UK: An Overview 44 Chapter Two: Khalil 65 Chapter Three: Hanan 103 Chapter Four: Hazar 131 Chapter Five: Ali 166 Chapter Six: Rasha 195 Conclusion 231 Bibliography 242 i Acknowledgements This dissertation project would not have seen the light of day without the constant support and cooperation of several Iraqis in London. I am very grateful for their patience with my constant questions and inquiries, and for their willingness to share some of their most personal and traumatic memories with me. As an Iraqi who lived under Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, I especially value their openness and the trust they have invested in me. Words cannot express my deep appreciation for their generosity and hospitality. Although I cannot list their names here for confidentiality purposes, I would like to thank each and every one of them, especially those who allowed me to record the long hours of interviews I conducted with them. Though I cannot thank you by name, your trust and openness has overwhelmed me. My great thanks go to my dissertation committee for their intellectual support, critique and guidance. Brinkley Messick has shown remarkable patience throughout the bumpy eight-year Ph.D. journey, and has always encouraged and respected my academic choices. Michael Taussig has been kind enough to take me as a student after I came back from the field, and to push me to think about writing. Without his suggestions, this dissertation would not have seen the light. Nadia Abu El-Haj always pushed me to think critically, and offered provoking ideas and feedback. Partha Chatterjee was very supportive in the last few months of my write-up, and provided brilliant comments on my writing method. Sinan Antoon engaged with my work critically and creatively, and has always been supportive in moments of doubt. Without the generous Dissertation Fieldwork Grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation, my fieldwork in the UK would not have been possible. Mary Beth Moss was ii very generous and patient. She lent me her support when my trip to Iran fell out due to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, and she made sure that I could use the grant in my project in the UK instead. The support and patience of the people at Columbia’s department of anthropology over the years has been phenomenal. Many thanks to Marilyn Astwood, Juana Cabrea, Michael Chin, Xiomara Perez-Betances, Patrick McMorrow, and Joyce Monges. I also would like to thank my friends whose love and unconditional loyalty enabled me to go on. Rosie Bsheer brought laughter and intellectual challenge from the beginning. Her confidence in my abilities and constant encouragement are much appreciated. Her support, at the personal and academic levels, is tremendous. I do not know where to start to thank Jon Carter, whose help dates back to the first presentation I had to give during my first year as a doctoral student. If it were not for him, I would not have survived at Columbia. Not only has he been generous with his time and advice, at every stage of my studies, but he has also made his family my family. I would love to thank his parents, Peggy and Harold Carter, his brother and sister-in-law, Dan and Jen Carter, and his niece Brielle for all the love they have shown me. I enjoyed getting to know Christina Verano Carter when she joined the Carter family. Again, she was generous with her time, feedback, and love. I would like to express my gratitude and thanks to Antina von Schnitzler, Thushara Hewage, Anush Kapadia, Maya Mikdashi, Yogesh Chandrani, Nick Fabian, Reema Semaan, Roberty Greeley, Rosemary Hicks, Ryan Chaney, Sue Nahm, Rodney Collins, Morgan Pecelli, and Adrania Garriga-Lopez. Many thanks to Ulla Kjellstrand, who made my stay in London much more pleasant. I will always cherish our conversations and her provoking questions about my iii research. My daily chats with her about my days in London enabled me to reflect on my encounters and see things in a different perspective. Her cozy house became my home away from home. Her daughter, Maya Kjellstrand, has been wonderful and lovely as well. Also in the UK, Nadia Hamdan Gattan played a huge role in my research. Nadia went out of her way to introduce me to Iraqis. I would like to thank her persistent efforts to maintain our friendship, cook the best Iraqi food outside of Iraq for me, and for her patience with my moodiness. Words fail to depict her lovely character and the fun atmosphere she creates wherever she goes. Finally, I would love to thank Karim and Zaara, the world’s most amazing cats. Not only did they keep my company during the long hours of writing, they cheered me up when I was depressed. Their purring and relentless demands for attention brought smiles and warmth to my life during that lonely period. iv 1 Prologue The Fall of Saddam Hussein: Images, Media and Diaspora I. The Fall of the Statue I vividly remember April 9th, 2003 – the day Saddam Hussein’s statue was brought down by the American army, who had just entered Baghdad. I was in the library, trying to work. It was hard to for me to focus with the war going on. I kept returning to the computer terminals to check the news. During one of many visits to these terminals, there was breaking news about the fall of the regime – footage of Saddam’s statue in the Firdous Square wrapped by the American flag and by the Iraqi flag after a short while, and brought down by American soldiers while Iraqis looked on aired time and again. I watched the fall of the statue ten minutes after the actual event took place. I gazed at the screen, trying to absorb the idea that this act indicated the end of Saddam’s regime as the news flash kept reminding me. Was Saddam’s removal that straightforward and obvious? It took the fall of one of his statues, which filled the streets of Iraq, to end his regime? What about Saddam himself, who was still on the run? The news flash was inviting me to rejoice in the fall of the regime, but I did not feel joyful. If anything, I felt sadness and a sense of belatedness – what if this had happened in the 1980s, after the Gulf War in 1991 or later in the 1990s? Things would have been very different personally and nationally. I would not have lost my mother and 2 sister, and Iraqis would not have lived through more oppression and the blockade, whose devastating impacts do not seem to be appreciated by people outside Iraq. I could not bring myself to study anymore, so I packed my books and went back to my apartment.