Remembered mostly in the minds of most because of the US Army torture scandal, this is Abu Gharib prison near Baghdad, Iraq. I remember it differently. I was held there in 1993 for 8 months as a hostage by Saddam Hussein. Then it was used as an infamous prison for any opposition to his regime and thousands were executed here. The story of my imprisonment is not the point of this blog however, the point of the blog is my journey through life since..Prior to being placed in Abu Gharib, I was held in solitary confinement in a secret building in Baghdad. I was questioned for two weeks and had loaded guns held against my head. Many times I thought and accepted my death and during these moments of terror and sometimes peace, I wondered at 23 years of age what my life would have been like.
I felt disappointed, angry, sometimes ashamed how I had behaved in my short life and vowed to make life better if I got through the present situation. I was sentenced to 8 years and sent to Abu Gharib where I had time to ponder how life would be 8 years later and how I would change during my time in prison.
Hopefully this blog will show some of my dreams I had while sitting for endless hours in a cell in Iraq and how some of them I have made come true. Now 18 years later, each of my posts reflect what I imagined my life could be after a gun is put to your head or 8 years of your life might be taken away. It's meant to offer hope.
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