From a besieged camp

Iranian left vulnerable as U.S. withdraws

By Mohammad Mohaddes
Washington Times


CAMP ASHRAF, Iraq.

I've lived in a state-controlled country, in which one is careful what one says for fear of "disappearing."

I've lived in a free country, going to school, being able to study what I want and say what I want -- with no fear of reprisal.

And I've lived in freedom in a sort of state of suspended animation -- free to do what I want and say what I want, but wondering how long that freedom would last.

Now, I am a hostage within that state, no longer feeling free. I am what the newspapers label an Iranian dissident; that means I have no use for the mullahs who rule my country and I want to see a thriving democracy where now there is a theocracy that spreads fear and terror around the world.

The first place I lived was Iran, a repressive society dominated by the mullahs who have perpetuated the rule established by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after the 1979 revolution that overthrew the shah.

Then, I went to the United States to study. But I longed to go back to help my country re-establish its place in the world as a beacon of freedom.

I knew, however, that I couldn't do that within present-day Iran. There, I knew I would be persecuted and face imprisonment or death if I dared to speak my mind. So I went to Iraq to join other Iranian exiles and work for the day that I could return home to a free Iran.

Now, I am a resident of Ashraf, a self-contained city about 60 miles north of Baghdad. It was built by my relatives and friends, all members of the People's Mujaheedin of Iran (PMOI), and it has a population of about 3,400. We have lived in peace here since coming to Iraq in 1986.

We have turned the desert into an oasis. We have constructed roads and buildings; a mosque, a university, a zoo, a park, stores and a shopping center; educational, social and sports facilities; swimming pools, and, yes, a cemetery. Sadly, that facility has been needed more than usual recently.