'Unterschätzt die Demokratie im Irak nicht!'

As someone who grew up in this country under the rule of Saddam, I have always been fascinated by the political discourse in post-2003 Iraq. Iraqi democracy is flawed and far from perfect. But it is extremely important to keep reminding people not to underestimate their relative ability to pick their leaders freely. Human memory is unfortunately short and especially for younger Iraqis who did not grow up in an ultimate autocracy, it becomes too easy to take for granted their relative capability of making a choice.

"Iraq is now a democracy, albeit an imperfect one. No one can force people to vote against their will if they do not want to."

Das schreibt Noor Ali angesichts der anstehenden Wahlen im Irak und verteidigt die Demokratie im Irak, so unvollkommen sie auch sein mag, gegen ihre Kritiker. Eine Erinnerung, dass sich seit 2003 trotz allem sehr viel in einem Land getan hat, das einst von einem der übelsten Diktatoren regiert wurde:

You say that there is no possibility for real change and that there is no reason to be hopeful? Well, that can often be true, but not always. This country was on the verge of falling apart permanently back in 2014, Da’ish had conquered large swathes of Iraqi territory and a third of Iraq was virtually occupied by them. Four years later, the heroes of the Iraqi armed forces have defeated Da’ish militarily. Although Da’ish has been trying to bounce back and reignite its insurgency, federal authority has been successfully restored in Kirkuk Province and other disputed territories. It is true that the general situation in this country can often be grim, but one can always find reasons to be hopeful about even under the most difficult circumstances. Succumbing to desperation and pessimism is certainly easier and feels more natural and less exhausting, but clinging to hope even when you have very few reasons to be hopeful about takes immense courage.

The other day I read that TIME Magazine had picked Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi as one of its 100 most influential people in the world for 2018, and I immediately remembered TIME’s infamous cover from June 2014: It had a burning map of Iraq drawn on it with a caption that read “The End of Iraq’’.

We have come a long way, but we are also still too far behind. This is a very critical time and we must do whatever it takes to keep the momentum going.

So no, your “there is no hope and nothing is really going to change’’ approach is not going to cut it this time, I am afraid. We can afford to be lazy and apathetic all year round but not on election day. Your vote matters, so please do not waste it.

Iraq is now a democracy, albeit an imperfect one. No one can force people to vote against their will if they do not want to. People are not going to be executed or imprisoned because they choose to abstain from voting. But if you are choosing to boycott the election now and then complain for the next four years about how corrupt and inadequate our government is then I have some bad news for you; you are a part of the problem. Sidelining yourself and silencing your own voice will only serve to help corruption thrive even more. There is still time to come around, Iraq needs you so please go the extra mile and vote.