Interview in the June edition of Autlook, the magazine of the Association of University Teachers (AUT) by Gary Kent
Abdullah Muhsin fled Iraq in the late 70s with $150 and a copy of Doestoevsky's Notes from the Underground.
His "crime" was that he was openly antagonistic towards Saddam Hussein’s Baath party: "I refused to join their bogus student union and openly put in a blank ballot paper in their fixed elections. My friends thought I was crazy but I was young. They planted dissident literature in my desk, called me a traitor and beat me. I was constantly followed." Like many of his contemporaries, he realised that the threat of execution could soon be visited upon him and eventually decided on exile..
He initially settled in Italy where he continued campaigning against Saddam. But the regime's long arm reached out to him: "Saddam's goons attacked me three times. A friend was stabbed when we were handing out leaflets at Rome University."
He married an English woman and moved to Kent, had two children and activism took a backseat for a while.
Abdullah is now the foreign representative in London for an organisation that calls itself the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU).
He opposed the invasion but says it is "time to move on and use our new freedoms to build a united and federal Iraq."
Twelve new unions have been established and the IFTU has won increasing international support in the last year.
"Independent unions have risen from the ashes of decades of repression, turmoil and war. Individual union conferences will culminate in a full national meeting to openly elect a national leadership and the IFTU has started a weekly newspaper. Our leaders have just met the UN Special Envoy who agreed that unions have a crucial role in Iraq's future."
Abdullah tirelessly criss-crosses the world to brief unions and opinion-formers to win political and practical support for the IFTU.
"Iraqi unions lack even basic office furniture, let alone computers, phones and faxes, and need training in simple things like negotiating skills. Several unions have been very generous. The Parliamentary branch of the TGWU is sponsoring mobile phones for union organisers. The Fire Brigades Union has just delivered hundreds of badly needed fire-resistant uniforms. The TUC and the Foreign Office are backing an independent labour movement in Iraq."
He is furious with the Americans for creating a climate that has been fertile for insurrection: "We warned that dark forces were roaming free, organising and buying arms but they were left alone while the borders were left open. We said that there with so many young men without jobs or hope that the devil makes work for idle hands. We stressed that non-sectarian trade unions could help build a vibrant civil society. But this was ignored."
As for the photos of alleged brutality against prisoners: "whether genuine or not, the only people who benefit are those pursuing a fascist agenda. If genuine, we completely condemn it. People are working flat out to create civil society in Iraq and this only makes things harder."
But Abdullah remains optimistic: "We cannot afford pessimism. It is essential that power is handed over to Iraqis, the UN plays a major role and that elections proceed quickly.”
Abdullah has travelled through Iraq, with union delegations, three times since the fall of Saddam and has extensive knowledge of conditions on the ground from meeting union members and ministers.
He made a point, on his last trip, of examining the education system: "Schools and colleges were ravaged by war and sanctions. Some primary schools in the south are still housed in mud huts because Saddam discriminated against the Shias there. Universities were isolated from the outside world, lack basic facilities because of sanctions and many were burnt and looted. We need overseas academics to help fundamentally rebuild and restructure our system. A decent education system is the key to both democracy and prosperity. The Saddam nightmare is over but we have a long way to go."
Abdullah Muhsin is happy to address AUT meetings and academic seminars. He can be contacted on 07931 416344 or at abdullahmuhsin@iraqitradeunions.org