Living in Germany, Worrying about Iraq

The Iraqi family feels secure in Cologne, the Rhine River city with the towering Gothic cathedral. The husband and wife have jobs as agricultural specialists. They live in a modestly furnished apartment in a high-rise building. And their three children are working their way through the German school system.

But one fear hangs over their lives -- the fear that the regime of Saddam Hussein could harm the relatives they left behind in Iraq. So, they say that they will agree to talk with DW-WORLD about their country only under the condition that their surnames are not published. They prefer to be called just Mohamed and Madhia.

Under this veil of protection, they have much to say about life in Iraq today, their worries about a possible war and their thoughts about Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's opposition to the call to arms that U.S. President George W. Bush is likely to issue.

Fear of Saddam, not war

"We call our families in Iraq regularly," Mohamed says. "And I have to be honest with you: They are not afraid of a war because they have experience with war. But they are afraid of Saddam Hussein and how he will react if a war begins. They are afraid he will respond with chemical weapons, and that really troubles us."

The 42-year-old Mohamed, Madhia and their three children live in Cologne as political refugees. He was forced to flee Iraq eight years ago after the Iraqi secret service caught him conducting political activity.

In the years since then, the country he left has continued to fall apart. Iraq has the world's highest child mortality rate, says Hans von Sponeck, the United Nations' former coordinator of humanitarian assistance for Iraq. Of 1,000 children, 131 will die before they reach the age of five. Many areas of Baghdad have no electricity. Potable water is in short supply throughout the country. And the literacy rate is the lowest in the world, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

"We are suffering from chronic stress," psychologist Hisham Hamid recently told the Associated Press in Baghdad

3.5 million refugees expected

If a war starts, the situation is expected to become even worse. The United Nations predicts that at least 10 million people in Iraq would need to be supplied with food assistance. Every second Iraqi would not have potable water, and up to 3.5 million people could become refugees.

Suspecting that such troubles lie ahead, Madhia says she opposes any armed overthrow of Saddam.

"We want Saddam Hussein out," she says. "But what happens afterward in Iraq? That is our worry. Because the war is not justified. The result would be much more dangerous."

Because of such worries, the family also appreciates the opposition to a possible war expressed by Schröder. "We are very pleased about that because war is not a viable alternative to today's situation," Madhia says.