Iraqi Women Take On Roles Of Dead or Missing Husbands

"If those people are so good to the animals," she said, "I was expecting good things."

But the invasion and its aftermath brought more troubles than blessings.

When the family's rent rose from about $20 a month to more than $80, Abadi moved into the building that had housed Saddam Hussein's Baath Party after the structure had been looted and set ablaze.

"During Saddam's time, no one had a right to raise rent on the people," she said. "After the invasion, the rules were gone."

The building had no windows or doors, she said. Inside she found mounds of debris and ashes. "It took me one day just to clear a path so I could sleep," she said.

Soon, 27 other Shiite families joined her, each occupying a small room. They got the electricity running and the water flowing and began operating like an extended family that included 43 children. Only eight of the families were led by men.

After the invasion, crime became rampant in Baghdad. Then sectarian violence flared. Mass bombings became routine. Kidnappings occurred daily.

Abadi's husband and a friend were taken in July 2005.

"They entered an area they weren't supposed to enter," she said, sounding numb. "Armed men took them with their car."

Betoul Jawad, 45, lost her husband in July 2006. Men called her and asked for prepaid phone cards as a condition to let her speak to her husband. She bought the cards but did not get him on the line. The men stopped calling.

"We lost contact with him," she said. "We don't know anything."

A third woman interrupted to provide the name of her husband. "Can you run his name through the computer?" she asked.