This one I call the mud pole of death….
After 5 years of prison with torture and solitary confinements
My dad told me another story happened later . new government took over they were socialist
Under Abdel Kareem qasem the president of Iraq from 1958 to 1962 after he took over along with Abdel salam aref the his assistant who killed the royal family along with wasfi taher, Mohammed wasfi amen and taha al mahdawi and the revolutionary guards they kill the king and royal family in the rehab palace and hunted down many who tried to run to Iran to shah Iran or Jordan and managed to capture many of them before they cross the border ,captured by Shiia as Abdel Kareem was son of Shiia father and Kurdish mother so they kill many Sunnis and many nationalists.
Then the socialist brought many families who are friends of the royals I was young they brought us all as my dad was captured and my mom along with all other women who was working for the royal including the made ,cleaners and workers to a place and we thought they going to kill us ,but they lectured us and told us that new era has began and we must forget those royal and we will be punished if we say good thing about them to any one, or mention any thing about the royals! So they gave us some cakes and drinks my mom told me not to eat as she was afraid that it was poisoned, but I managed to eat some cake without telling her I was hungry and I am not letting this cake going away from my stomach , LOL I always hungry.
But nothing happened to me and I told my mom ,I said mom I am still alive you can eat some cake . The army brought large trucks and carry all of us and took u to an area called sahat al medan- bab al moadham , somewhere in Baghdad center round about where they hang people , usually oppositions and political oppositions , they never hang killers and thugs !!!!
So they let us see all the dead bodies or the royal families already killed and shot some at close range and some had their body parts cut off and put the rope around their dead body and hanged them my mom carried me and closed my eyes. later in 30 minutes another body came they said this is Nori al saeed he was the prime minster of Iraq in the royal family era and he was kicked and tortured and dead so many shots in his body and some army personnel start shooting at his dead body again!!!! I was so afraid but my hand still have the cake and I couldn’t eat I was wondering why they still killing a dead person!!!! I don’t know the meaning of revenge then …
Then the army ask all of us to watch and that’s will be the result of any person work against this new government , then they gave us flags and ask us to cheer the new revolution so they can take pictures and say even the royal friends are supporting them !!!!!after that they announce in the radio for the people to come and watch the royal hanging and the speeches and they gave 1 dinar to all those who come and free during and food they celebrate the death and killing of human been in this culture of death I grow up with . then they let us go. My mom was crying I asked her why are you crying mom , she said she loved the royal family and they were nice people and they were descended of the prophet and love the country, I told her but those people gave us
Cake so they are nice people , she said they give us cake now but they will give us shit later ,don’t ever trust people give you something for nothing, I didn’t understand then what the hell she was saying , all I know is this cake I have was real and delicious …….so we went back home
My mom carry me on her shoulder and hold the hand of my brother samir
( Sam), Sam later died in USA and he has his own story.Later we knew that many bodies were burned . my father was still in prison.
Because the train of death accident and my dad giving himself to police ,the socialist took pity on him and asked him to cooperate with them and work with them , so they cut his sentence short and now he is working as artists , calligrapher and painter for them painting communists pictures and banners , later he was taken to the ministry of defense and was given a good salary a driver and a house !!!!!!!!!!! wow my dad was worried and they told him he will be working directly with the president Abdul Kareem qasem as his own family portrait oil painter as the president saw the royal family pictures and asked who done this art and they told him it is an Iraqi man called Ramzi and he is in the prison now, So he asked for him and my dad become the new president family painter …………………
he also worked with jawad AL saleem a famous socialist artists in Iraq and graduated in Russia and he done many carving and statues for the city of Baghdad, with my dad they manage to do a large bronze statue for the president it was almost 12 feet long and my father later spend most his time with the president family house in al moshajar street in Baghdad and other places where the president family gathered so my dad can do the sketches and paint, and my dad manage to paint many of the children and family members along with the president father all oil paint and he became liked and transferred to the ministry of defense beside the president room .
A secret revolution was about to take a place my dad didn’t know that the nationalist now they want to revenge from this socialist president and they told him to leave as my dad told us later, he asked why should I leave the job he needs the money for the family and they told him we just advise you to resign or leave !!!!!!!! my dad thought it was a jock and they are jealous , the nationalist already infiltrated the ministry of defense and Abdel salam aref the assistant of the president was ready to take over with the help of the Baath party , army personnel some tribal men money from Saudi of course……and UK were helping allot as UK and USA do not like any government allied with Russia at that time. My dad later given a car and he was asked to drive a man his name TAHA YASEEN RAMADAN , later he become the third powerful man in Iraq in Saddam time.
Abd al-Karim Qasim PRESIDENT OF IRAQ 1958-1962. I remember I was watching the black and white TV when they asked him if he was a criminal , he said NO. and they shot him along others.
I came to liberate Iraq from UK hand and the Zionists, he was democratic and has nothing to do with communists
And they humiliated him ,laughed at him and then they made a quick army court and found him guilty of killing Iraqi politicians and destroying Iraq !!! he was tight on a chair and then the army judge order his execution to carry out those who killed him and judged him all were Shiia !!!!!so they spit on him and shot him with machine guns and later the people went in the street like what happened in Egypt now fighting each other the supporter of each party killing and revenging from each other the blood filled the streets , thousands of bodies dumped in the river many girls were taken from school and raped then killed as they are wife’s or daughter of other oppositions it was the dark age of Iraq in that time and was called the AL HARAS AL QAWMI REVOLUTION ,MANY WERE CRIMINAL , THUGS AND THIEVES , SOME TAKEN FROM THE prisons given a machine gun and told to kill and rape as he wish from this side or this town!!! Jews and Christian run away as many were raped and looted , their stores were stolen and it was a ciaos…….Then they came back for my dad again!!!!!!!!!!!!
The new nationalist took my dad to prison again and they accused him of been communist that mean the death penalty !!….after many days of torture they broke his hip and shoulder and then dump his body in the MUD POLE OF DEATH…where they tight you up and let you swim in this mud pole so if u slip u never go up and you suffocate but he manage to live again , I THINK MY DAD IS A CAT with 9 souls……..he managed to stay in the corner put his face around his shoulder and manage to breath until the guard came to clean those who died and took my dad to his cell……
Then they put him upside down tight his leg to a large steal ceiling fan specially design for torture and let the fan turn until he lose conscious and they hit him with rubber sticks and put water on him. and my dad keep telling them he is not communist at all and he believe in God , so they use to ask him to recite some Quran and he did and they let him go and asked to sign a paper denouncing the socialist and that he was treated nice in prison!!!!
So he did and he cooperate for them , it is like history repeating itself again and my dad in the middle of it. By then my dad know how to survive and keep his sanity he was tall 6,4 f strong broad shoulder as he was heavy weight lifting and play sport too so that somehow helped him to survive longer , He said the worse thing when they use to put him in solitary confinement , and in Iraq it was different than here in USA as here they put you in cell alone with washroom a bead on the floor and 3 meals , NOT IN IRAQ…….he use to be told to pick a number from 1 to 5 as each number has different solitary confinement it is like the prize is right where you choice the door and guess the prize but here in Iraq the price is wrong and whatever you choice it will be your selection of torture.
So he said he choice number 1 they asked him why u choice 1 he said God is one so all they laugh, (( I am crying writing this remembering my dead father god bless him and how he stand and face those thugs who I want to kill over and over and over again if I have my hand on them now )). So they took him to number one it was an iron cabin good for one person so u stand in it you can sit or sleep there is small halls for breathing and they leave you for 30 or 40 days they give you 2 small meals and some water , take u to washroom only once a day and shower you once a week with hose like a horse, The man who saved him was
TAHA YASEEN RAMDAN he wasn’t famous at that time but he had some connections and ask about my dad and they told him in which prison he was so he helped him to be removed to a nice prison. And again my dad was asked to be the new painter, portrait and calligrapher for the prison he told them he did this before and look where is landed him!!! They told him don’t worry this new government will last forever !!!!!!!!!ha ha ….my dad had a doubt but had no choice just to work for them to make his life better and he was allowed to shower every day get 3 measly and go for a walk in the prison garden.
And allowed his family to see him by now we were 3 male and 3 sisters …
My mother used to take me to prison to see my dad as other don’t like to go and I want to see my dad.
We are allowed to visit twice a month so one time I decided when my little brain to get my dad out of prison like what happen in the movie….so I took a small tiny shovel , small garden tool..while I was I kept them outside the prison under a tree, and then we went in of course the guards have to check every body and even they break the cake my mom baked as they afraid if there is a gun inside as in that time they don’t have x-ray machines to inspect and Arabs don’t care , THAT’S WHY WE ARE STILL THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES. Not JUST in technology but in behavior too.
So went with my mom and I managed to know where is my dad cell is and count the distant by feet I was only 10 years old , My dad was in shekels so they release the shackles from the prisoners to sit with their families and most families cry and hugs and it was like a drama seen from one life to live…..So I left them with their tears and laughter’s and went with my plan after all I have to save my dad…told my mom I am going to washroom , and then left the prison , the guard asked where is my mom I said I want to buy a cake from outside , so I went to the tree where I hid my tools and took the tools and went to the prison wall from outside after I measured the distant where my father where might be,and started to dig. I was so tired but happy trying to help my dad , and suddenly a guard captured me from my shirt , what are you doing digging here little boy he asked? I going to dig a tunnel.
WHY , the guard asked ?
I want to get my father out of this prison, I missed him and then we can run away, I said .
HA HA , and he laugh so loud and he said come with me don’t be afraid …
He took me to his officer and he asked me to tell him what I was doing , so told them and then all laugh so loud and the officer took my tool and asked who is your father , I told him his name after while they brought him and the officer gave him tea and cigarette and told him you have a brave son and he told him the story and all laughed but my dad he was looking at me…(( somebody going to get hurt )),,he apologize to them and the officer told him it is OK he made us laugh and asked me never to do that again so they gave me cake ..wow I said CAKE ….I should dig more often so you can give me more cake .They all laugh again , and he gave me all the cake to take home . My dad didn’t like it , and he told me never to do it again. I asked my mom never to bring me again.
Four weeks later my mom wanted to go and honest to God I saw a vision it wasn’t a dream it was like a vision of a train falling and asked my mom not to go please the train will fall , thank god my mom was very superstitious and believe in me as I always had real dreams when I was young in that day that train fall from the track and many got injured , few dead and it was all over the news .
Thank you for reading
Steve Ramsey, PhD .Canada