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Weeping schoolgirls wish happy birthday Saddam
"AWJA, Iraq (Reuters) - Hundreds of Iraqi schoolchildren were brought to the modest mausoleum of Saddam Hussein on Monday to celebrate the birthday of the executed dictator in the village where he was born.
Saddam, who was hanged in late 2006 for crimes against humanity, is hated in much of Iraq. But in parts of his native Salahuddin Province, especially among his fellow Sunni Arabs, he is still revered.
"Bush, Bush you low-life! Saddam's blood is not cheap!" a crowd of pupils in white uniforms from a nearby girls' school chanted while standing around Saddam's grave in the mausoleum where he is buried among displays and photos of his reign.
"There are two things we will never give up: Saddam and Iraq!" the girls chanted. Several of them wept.
They entered the building carrying a banner which read: "We will not forget you, Papa Saddam," and kissed the dictator's grave.
"There is no martyr like Saddam. We are here to celebrate his birthday. Happy birthday, and God willing he will go to paradise," a girl named Tiba, 11, told Reuters.
Faten Abdel Qader, one of the organizers, said Saddam's legacy was the memory of a time of peace.:
Weeping schoolgirls wish happy birthday Saddam | U.S. | Reuters
"AWJA, Iraq (Reuters) - Hundreds of Iraqi schoolchildren were brought to the modest mausoleum of Saddam Hussein on Monday to celebrate the birthday of the executed dictator in the village where he was born.
Saddam, who was hanged in late 2006 for crimes against humanity, is hated in much of Iraq. But in parts of his native Salahuddin Province, especially among his fellow Sunni Arabs, he is still revered.
"Bush, Bush you low-life! Saddam's blood is not cheap!" a crowd of pupils in white uniforms from a nearby girls' school chanted while standing around Saddam's grave in the mausoleum where he is buried among displays and photos of his reign.
"There are two things we will never give up: Saddam and Iraq!" the girls chanted. Several of them wept.
They entered the building carrying a banner which read: "We will not forget you, Papa Saddam," and kissed the dictator's grave.
"There is no martyr like Saddam. We are here to celebrate his birthday. Happy birthday, and God willing he will go to paradise," a girl named Tiba, 11, told Reuters.
Faten Abdel Qader, one of the organizers, said Saddam's legacy was the memory of a time of peace.:
Weeping schoolgirls wish happy birthday Saddam | U.S. | Reuters