'Our freedom over our security'

Abbas al-Khashali is a journalist at Deutsche Welle who covers Iraqi and Middle Eastern news for the Arabic-language service. He has been living in Germany for 15 years and has observed the situation in his native country change since before the US-led invasion in 2003.

Al-Khashali says Iraqis prize their freedom over security concerns and believes that the country is finding itself stifled by the inability of its citizens to deal with democracy. But that, too, is changing, he says.

DW: How have all these years of conflict in Iraq affected your life?

Abbas al-Khashali: I have been living in Germany for 15 years now. It is a different experience to observe what's going on in Iraq from here than if you were there in person. But I keep up with my friends and family there and try to analyze the situation accordingly.

My family is dispersed all over the country, and the situation is different from place to place. But sometimes you hear about an attack and you check the exact geography to determine whether anyone you know might possibly be affected or not. I talk to my family on the phone all the time, so I know what is going on there - sometimes even before it is reported in the news. But, whether I'm at work or with my family, Iraq is always on my mind. That's what it does to your life. You worry a lot.

DW: Does that worry ever conflict with your work?

We focus not only on Iraq here in the Arabic-language department, but on the whole of the Middle East, and most of our work actually involves analysis across the region, so I get to take my mind off of Iraq occasionally.

DW: What are the differences in terms of media coverage between Iraqi media and global news outlets?

It's actually all the same. You get private media as well as government media in Iraq. It's the same as anywhere else, and everyone is pursuing an agenda. So I no longer believe everything that the media says. Whether you live here or in Iraq, the media are very selective about the news they wish to cover.

The only difference that I do notice between Iraqi and European media is that sometimes I just find the kind of issues that the news decide to cover here quite trivial, even funny. I mean, you can't compare the situation in Iraq with European democracy, but the social problems here are so small compared to Iraq.

DW: How do you feel about those disparities?

I cannot do anything for the people in Iraq, but when I follow the news that come out of there and compare it to what makes the news here, it makes me want to do more for Iraqis. But all that I can do as a journalist is to open other people's eyes and their minds to what's going on. That's all I can do.

DW: How have things changed over the years? Do you see any kind of improvement?

Before 2003, we had a dictatorship under Saddam Hussein. Now we have a democracy. But there's no culture of democracy among the people of Iraq. You cannot import democracy, especially not to a place like Iraq. So what we witness now is a system of chaos. There's still a lot of work to be done.

But Iraq is better off today than it was under Saddam. You may not feel secure, but we're Iraqis, and we always choose our freedom over our security.

DW: You said that there is still a lot of work to be done - for whom?

The politicians in Iraq have to try a lot harder, but so do the people. Many politicians in Iraq are corrupted.That has to change, and people have to stop accepting it. The good news is that Iraqis are gradually beginning to take to the streets in protest. They say: "We can remove you from power." This was unimaginable under Saddam. They would have killed you for doing that.

DW: What would Iraq look like today if it were still run by the Baathists?

Well, if America hadn't invaded Iraq, we probably would have had our own Arab Spring. In fact, I think that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was the first step toward the Arab Spring movement. It created a domino effect that got mobilized once people had access to technology. We didn't have social media and smartphones then, but, as soon as those things became available in the Middle East and the Maghreb, people looked at how Iraq had changed and decided that they could create change in their countries as well.

DW: What are your expectations for Iraq's future?

There's been some talk to divide Iraq up into three or four countries, just to keep all the conflicting ethnicities apart. I'm not sure if that's a good idea. There are many things that bring all Iraqis together - much more than those that divide us. But our neighbors, like Iran and Saudi Arabia, don't see it that way. They want division. Most people are grateful for the freedom they gained. The Shiites are happy. The Kurds are happy. And, together, they already make up more than 75 percent of the population.

Iraqis just have to sit together and discuss what they want for their future.

DW: Is there any basis for Iraqis to truly come together and leave all their ethnic differences behind?

I think that most of the differences are actually made up. Politicians use these differences as a pretext to gain power, both in Iraq and abroad.

DW: How so?

We were left in a vacuum after the US left Iraq, and now everyone is rushing in to try to fill this vacuum. Corrupt politicians, "Islamic State," you name it. The US did not successfully build a new Iraq. They left everything half finished. This was a big mistake by the likes of (US envoy) Paul Bremer. But I don't see any reason why we should not be able to overcome these divisions and move on.

DW: Do foreign politicians still play a role?

Of course they do. They love to talk about Iraq, but they have no clue about the reality there. They just play with the feelings of people. As a journalist, I have to be objective about news from Iraq, but I think that the word "Iraq" has become a fashionable slogan, I would even call it "soft propaganda." Politicians want to look like they care about the Middle East, but in the end they all leave Iraq with nothing but empty promises.

DW: You mentioned the self-declared Islamic State earlier. How big a threat is IS for Iraq?

IS is a joke. They will disappear in six to 12 months. There is enough international will to destroy them, so IS will be defeated. They're just a phenomenon of what can happen in a country that is left without direction. They're just a bunch of people who look at the worst part of the history of Islam and want to repeat it. As soon as they lose their money, weapons and support, IS will be no more. That is beginning to happen. With so much bad news coming out of Iraq anyway, I cannot take IS seriously.

DW: How do you create a distance for yourself from the news that pours out of Iraq?

I'm surrounded by another culture here in Germany, and that helps a lot. Also, I don't have a TV at home - it's enough for me to follow the news at work.

When I get fed up, I go on holiday. And I don't go on holiday in Iraq. Instead, I go somewhere else and invite my family in Iraq to come with me. That way we all get to have some distance from the reality in the country, and spend time together.

DW: Despite all the bad news, do you still consider Iraq your home?

It's not all bad news. There are many positive things in Iraq, too. People are beginning to understand what it means to live under a democracy. They are demonstrating on the streets. That's huge. People are changing, and they want to change the country. That gives me hope and pride, but I don't know if that means that Iraq is still my home.

My homeland is where I feel safe, good and comfortable. I think when you come from a situation like ours, you take your home with you wherever you go.