"Three Years"

"Three years.
Three years of isolation.
Three years of torture.
Three years of constant pain.
Three years of prison under Saddam Hussein.

Out of the eleven of us that were captured, tortured and imprisoned I was the only one who came out alive, praise be to God. And for what you ask? Why did I have to face such hardship? Such misery? Such fate? Why was I sent to prison, you ask? Well let me tell you.

When I was 15, I was put into prison in Iraq because of the anti-tyranny, anti-Saddam graffiti my friends and I plastered over the walls of Basra. We got away with it for a while, until my friend had written "Saddam will not last, Long Live Khomeini" on the wall of his neighbor. He was then taken in by the police, tortured and interrogated until he gave the names of eleven of us; eleven of his closest friends. After he had given the names, he was executed, like the majority of prisoners.

When I was taken in, the suffering they inflicted upon me was incomprehensible by anyone who had not gone through it themselves. I was abused. I was tortured; physically and psychologically. I was starved. I was kept awake through out the length of the night; waiting for the next beating, the next abuse, the next form of pain that was going to be inflicted upon me for simply disagreeing with a murderous tyrant who threatened the lives of my people. Through out the day we were given little food, and sometimes none at all. We were hardly given any water. Ramadan, the month that was supposed to be joyous and celebrated, was the worst for us. We were given one glass of water for the whole day and the tiniest bit of food; unable to satisfy even the smallest of creatures. I remember drinking a gulp at futoor and attempting to save some for suhoor, but it was all in vain as I was constantly thirsty. Many of the people in the prison died due to the lack of water, food and the poor hygiene. I was one of the lucky ones to have lived.

My father passed away shortly after I was released. He had been grieving for me during my time in prison and had refused to eat. This had in time, resulted in a fatal gall bladder problem. He had undergone several operations in attempt to fix the issue, but they had all failed. I will forever live with this guilt; if I wasn't put into prison for such a silly thing my father would not have died the way he did.

These memories will never leave me and I continue to be reminded of them every day." -Jamal Mohsin (IRAQ)