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In and Around Iraq, Gloom Takes a Holiday
Shiite Muslim women and girls hold hands during prayers at a shrine in Baghdad to mark Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that concludes Ramadan, a month-long period of daytime fasting. Many celebrated by going out with their families.
(By Hadi Mizban -- Associated Press)
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Adil Faisal, 30, a resident of the Kadhimiya neighborhood, strolled the sidewalk with his two wives and his daughters. "We feel the situation is improving and calm these days," Faisal said. "The security forces are doing their best to provide security for the people."
Faisal said in spite of the violence this year, things felt safer than the year before, giving him hope that the country would eventually be secure. "It's hard to restore safety within a year or two only," he said.
In Tikrit, the home town of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, residents crowded into restaurants and amusement parks, children played soccer in the streets and police set up barriers to keep vehicles away from pedestrians.
Ammar Saob, 30, brought his family to an amusement park in the center of the city that reopened Thursday after standing deserted since the U.S. invasion in 2003. "We weren't afraid to go out," Saob said. "We need to be happy and we will be happy."
A roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi police convoy in Tikrit earlier in the day, but no one was injured.
In Mosul, a northern city where violence has increased this year, residents said they could hardly recognize their neighborhoods. Children frolicked in the streets, and families came together, visiting relatives. Iraqi police and army patrols kept a heavy presence in the city, which has been relatively quiet for 10 days, and shops, usually shuttered by the time the moon rises, stayed open until 11 on Wednesday night.
Muhammed Ibrahim, 22, a college student, said the recent constitutional referendum buoyed residents and made them feel safer about going outside during Eid. "Nothing happened so far. We hope this will last and they don't interrupt our happiness," he said.
Saie Mousa, 40, who owns a small grocery, said he was hopeful about the future: "We cannot deny we are happy because we are in Eid, but the bigger happiness is because of these quiet days of security."
In Amman, Jordan, where many wealthy Iraqis have fled in the past two years, some people from Baghdad flocked to the King Abdullah Amusement Park to celebrate the Eid festival.
Omar Ahmed, 41, said he brought his wife and two children to Jordan four days ago so they did not have to worry about their safety. "We miss this in Baghdad," Ahmed said. "Ask my wife -- is she is happy or not?"
His wife laughed and smiled, as their 5-year-old son pulled at his father's hand, eager to get back to the rides. "I don't think she needs to answer," Ahmed said. "This is a good answer."
May Mufti, 41, who left her husband in Baghdad to bring their two sons and two daughters to Amman for Eid, watched as the children rode around a ring of bumper cars, knocking each other in fits of laughter.
"Look at them," she said. "You will never see them this safe and happy in Baghdad. We always lock them inside the house. That's why we came here to have fun."
Correspondent John Ward Anderson and special correspondents Omar Fekeiki in Baghdad, Salih Saif Aldin in Tikrit, Dlovan Brwari in Mosul and Naseer Nouri in Amman contributed to this report.
