By Jack Fairweather in Baghdad
Hat tip: Tim Blair
No one messed with Saddam Hussein Karim. Being named after the Iraqi president meant respect and power, but that was before the dictator was overthrown and pulled out of a spider hole. Now the nation’s thousands of Saddams are queuing up to change their once illustrious moniker to something more in tune with the times. More than 300 are in the process of changing their names, and each day several forlorn-looking Saddams visit Baghdad’s directorate of citizenship, where deed polls are granted. Many more are too scared to own up in public and have quietly adopted a new identity. "It’s the most depressing thing in the world to be called Saddam Hussein," said Saddam Hussein Karim as he completed the final paperwork for his name change.
| "I think I'll just change my name to 'Bob.' Nobody has trouble with people named Bob. Whaddya think: 'Robert Mugabe Karim.' Has a ring to it, doesn't it?" |
Parents used to be given $200 if they used the name for their sons, now it brings discrimination and humiliation and fear of arrest or attack. Saddam Hadi said: "My parents thought if I was called Saddam I would get a head start in life. Instead they’ve given me a curse."
Well, at least she didn’t name you "Dennis Kucinich." |