Nostalgia for Saddam era explained

Emotional ties to the past are felt by different segments of Iraqi society and not limited to Saddam loyalists

AFP

Iraqi school children look at pictures of President Saddam Hussein during a visit to the Saddam Museum in Baghdad, 18 November, 1998.

Nostalgia for Saddam era explained

Rustum Mahmud

last update on 10 Apr 2023

Despite the cruelty and deprivation experienced by many Iraqis during the reign of Saddam Hussein, some look back at that period with a sense of nostalgia.

This feeling is not limited to Saddam loyalists, but these emotional ties to the past are felt by different segments of Iraqi society — citizens of different regions, sects, ethnicities, and political identities.

Iraqis long for the stability and rich social culture of those times. Since then, millions of Iraqis have been displaced or have become refugees. Additionally, many families have lost loved ones — including the primary breadwinners, dealing a huge financial and social blow to society at large.

Education and employment

During this time, Iraqis generally enjoyed stable employment with many enjoying high social and economic status because of their professions. A wide segment of Iraqi soldiers, along with their families, formed the dignitary class during this period as well.

AFP — Iraqi students leave Baghdad's Muntasseriya University under the watchful eye of their leader Saddam Hussein 20 February 2002.

The collapse of Saddam’s regime marked the beginning of Iraq's reengagement with the rest of the world after a prolonged period of isolation lasting at least two and a half decades.

As a result, Iraqis from rural areas and older generations are finding it challenging to adjust to the new economic, cultural and social realities.

After Saddam’s overthrow, members of the upper echelon of governance, administration, and economy under the previous regime lost their former social, authoritarian, and financial power and privileges.

Iraqis in Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Erbil, and other cities do not deny the tyrannical nature of the previous regime, nor do they deny the tragic and cruel events that took place.

Despite this, they often reminisce about various aspects of the past, such as the economic prosperity of the 1970s, the unified educational system across the country, and the sense of security and stability.

While Iraqis do not deny the tyrannical nature of the previous regime, they often reminisce about the economic prosperity of the 1970s, the unified educational system across the country, and the sense of security and stability.

They also fondly recall family gatherings around the TV that only had two channels, the popular Iraqi songs sung by millions, the university system that offered equal employment, the national sports teams' participation in international and regional tournaments, such as the World Cup in Mexico in 1986, or the fateful matches against Syria and Iran in the 1980s.

Getty — Two Iraqi men in Baghdad play the violin before a large poster of President Saddam Hussein.

They also miss the rains that produced fertile land, the freedom to travel across Iraq without worrying about their security or sectarian sensitivities, the films, plays, and popular poets whose productions were broadcast on a few media platforms, and Iraq's status as a powerful state that defended its borders and rights from neighbouring countries.

A universal phenomenon

This bittersweet nostalgia is not a uniquely Iraqi experience — it is felt by many nations which have undergone similar events. Nostalgia for a fallen regime — despite its cruel ways — is more of an expression of discontent with the present than a desire to return to the bloodshed of the past.

Studies have shown that the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly known as Zaire) also feel a sense of nostalgia for the reign of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled with an iron fist from 1965 to 1997.

Following the overthrow of Mobutu and the rule of Laurent Kabila, the Congolese experienced bitter political and tribal conflict producing internal divisions that resulted in local leadership becoming more powerful than the state.

Additionally, the Rwanda massacres spilled into Congo, causing millions of casualties, and reflecting the tribal congruence within the country. As a result, millions of people lost their jobs and stability. The devastated local economy meant that Congo had to import nearly everything.

Therefore, after two and a half decades of fragmentation and disintegration, the Congolese fondly recall the time when Mobutu ruled, much like what is happening in Iraq at present.

Similar nostalgia was observed in China after the end of the so-called Cultural Revolution between 1966 and 1976. Despite being the harshest period of the ruling regime's treatment of local communities, the time after the revolution brought an abundance of food and simplicity of life, which created a yearning for that era.

This nostalgia was an expression of the rejection of the new realities produced by the period of economic openness and the social changes that later came.

Similarly, in Iraq, nostalgia for the era of the Ba'ath Party regime is a rejection of what happened after its fall and the new reality that has eroded living standards.

Nostalgia for a fallen regime — despite its cruel ways — is more of an expression of discontent with the present than a desire to return to the bloodshed of the past. Similarly, in Iraq, nostalgia for the era of the Ba'ath Party regime is a rejection of what happened after its fall and the new reality that has eroded living standards.

Worsening sectarianism

Although sectarian policies were implemented by the former regime, sectarianism has now permeated all aspects of society, and has taken on a more ugly and violent form.

Sectarianism has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, destroyed social, family, and neighbourly relations, and uprooted entire towns and residential areas, which is far worse than the sectarianism practiced under Saddam.

Similarly, until the end of the previous era, Iraq was predominantly a rural country, with over 70% of its population residing in villages. These individuals embraced a traditional and moral lifestyle based on a clear social hierarchy, centred around family, community, and shared values such as generosity, conservatism, and mutual appreciation.

Collapse of the rural economy

However, according to local indicators, the Iraqi countryside has completely collapsed in recent years, with over 60% of it now deemed unlivable.

The collapse of the rural economy and the increasing reliance on oil rents by various Iraqi governments led to millions of rural people migrating to cities, resulting in the proliferation of slums, leading to different lifestyles and social values.

The balance of social and economic power shifted dramatically, with the upper rungs of the social ladder, previously reserved for local leaders, senior officials, and members of the state's administrative apparatus, now monopolised by new politicians, faction leaders, clerics, and numerous brokers.

However, for many individuals, nostalgia for the time of Saddam Hussein and the rule of the Ba'ath Party represents a form of national masculinity, especially for men and to some extent, traditional women.

Nostalgia for Saddam's era represents a form of national masculinity, especially for men. Under Saddam, Iraq was viewed as a mighty military state feared by neighbouring countries who didn't dare to violate its sovereignty as they do now.

In their view, Iraq under Saddam Hussein and the Ba'ath Party was a mighty military state, feared by neighbouring countries who didn't dare to interfere in its affairs or violate its sovereignty as they do now.

Now they see a weak Iraq 'defended' by a pathetic military which used to be the source of pride and admiration for Iraqis. They see the proliferation of militias and the deterioration of state institutions. They see neighbouring countries such as Iran and Turkey, violating Iraqi sovereignty on a daily basis.

AFP — A portrait of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein stands at the entrance of Saddam University in Baghdad 21 September 2002.

In their view, the power and prestige that Iraq once held has disappeared. Even for those who do not feel nostalgia for Saddam's era cannot argue the current state of affairs in Iraq — a country mired in chaos, poverty, corruption and crime.

Armed factions and political parties have looted billions of dollars from the Iraqi people, with no one held accountable. The new powers rule through bribes and corruption and control the only good thing that came with the collapse of the previous regime — free elections.

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