While it’s the Greeks who lay claim to the invention of democracy, it was the people here who actually gave them the tools. The concept of private property, the notion of a constitutional assembly and the idea that men and their rulers were equal before their gods came first in this land between two rivers.
Perhaps the most pervasive aspect of Saddam Hussein’s legacy is that he was able to throttle all such notions out of the minds of his people. But since his departure, Iraqis and foreigners have been at work trying to reseed those ideas. But whose democracy will it be?
At this point it’s back to basics, how to run a meeting, how to decide who gets to make decisions. Of the people, by the people, for the people, but with the people.
Guests:
Amal Rassam, former Professor of Anthropology at the City University of New York, currently a contractor with RTI International
Emad Saleh, member of the District Council of Al-Mansour.