Throughout the past years our people were subjected to the misfortune and calamity of wars, which has left its negative imprint and continues to the present. The Iraqi civil society was the victim of the reckless politics pursued by the previous regime with our neighbors, on the economic as well as on the military level. The consequences of these practices have clearly marked the whole society and in particular the poorer stratum of the population.

The previous regime did its best to deprive the Iraqi people of their liberty. The government bureaucracy forced the recruitment of both males and females and forced the early brainwashing of the Iraqi children in order to recruit them. Various schemes were used such as the propagation of fear and the spreading of rumors of harsh punishments to anyone refusing to adhere to the wishes of the regime. Plans were actually put into effect to convince the population of the necessity to enroll in the army in order to ward off all external enemies.

Time was allocated for civil employees after working hours for military practice. The Ba’th Party network concentrated its effort on civilians in general. There was no way to escape; even in school and university these practices were mandatory. The party’s major aim was set on the children. The regime made sure that military training in specialized centers was well publicized in order to prepare the youth militarily to face up the enemy (as it claimed). The system succeeded: hundreds of children whom they called “Saddam’s Youth” were regimented and asked to perform duties way beyond what a child could bear, using methods contrary to all acknowledged human or children rights such as making them eat raw meat, train and fight continuously, jump from heights. In addition, they were submitted to constant affronts and beatings, under the pretext of preparing a strong youth capable of defending the country against its enemies. In reality, the regime was doing all this to protect itself and thus have the whole population under its control.

Children could be dismissed from school for not attending this military training; this military training was also used as an incentive to promotion to higher school grades. As a result to this lopsided emphasis, the level of education and the degree of respect that children exhibit toward their teachers have dropped markedly. The regime, therefore, created an unhealthy environment in the intellectual and the psychological realm, which has left its effects on the entire Iraqi family and especially on the children, who constitute the larger majority of society.