Iraqis in America battle with the decision to lend a voice

It has been more than two decades since Zaineb Istrabadi left Iraq and came to the United States. Now serving as a faculty member of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, Istrabadi has chosen not to vote in Sunday's Iraqi parliamentary elections, although she is eligible.\nIraqi expatriates and citizens temporarily abroad in 14 countries will be able to vote in the first elections in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime during a three-day period beginning Friday.\nIstrabadi said class commitments and concerns over the ethics of influencing an election in a country she left so long ago played into her decision not to vote.\n"A part of me feels uncomfortable in participating in a vote telling Iraqis in Iraq what kind of government they should live under or who should lead them," Istrabadi said.\nThere are five cities in the United States where eligible Iraqis can register to vote and cast a ballot in the elections. For Iraqis living in Indiana, the closest voting sites are Chicago and Nashville, Tenn. \nRawand Darwesh, an Iraqi Fulbright scholar and former IU student currently studying at American University in Washington, D.C., said he registered Monday in the U.S. capital to vote. Darwesh is currently completing his master's degree in broadcast communication and plans on joining the television industry in Iraq after graduating. \nHe said this weekend's elections will play a pivotal role in Iraqi history. Darwesh, who is from the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, said his family back home would also vote and added that the political climate of the region they live in is calm.\n"Iraqis want to participate in the election, their first election ever," Darwesh said. "The former Baath party came in a coup, as did the regimes before it, and before that we had the royal family."\nIstrabadi expressed concern for the safety of her family members spread about in the Iraqi cities of Baghdad, Najaf and Karbala who choose to participate at the polls. \nInsurgents fighting against the interim Iraqi government and multinational forces in Iraq have frequently struck at Iraqi authorities and election officials. Rebel groups have stepped up attacks in the run-up to the vote and some have vowed to disrupt the elections. Several Sunni political groups have called for a boycott of the election, including the Iraqi Islamic party, the largest mainstream Sunni party in the country. \nDespite the political instability, Darwesh said he hoped the elections favor moderate parties and help establish democratic governance. \n"The outcome is unpredictable," he said, "but we hope the secular parties will come to power." \nThe election is slated to select 275 members who will form the Transitional National Assembly. The Assembly will pen a new Iraqi constitution which will be brought to a national referendum on Oct. 15. If voted down, the Assembly will recompose the constitution, and the referendum will be repeated. Upon approval of the constitution, general elections will be scheduled and a new government formed. Assembly representatives from both the transitional and permanent government will select a president and two vice presidents who will select a prime minister.\nKadhim Shaaban, a Bloomington resident who immigrated to the United States from Baghdad before the regime of Saddam Hussein came to power, said because he had become a naturalized American citizen he did not inquire about his eligibility to vote in this weekend's election. Shaaban said he stays in close contact with his relatives in Baghdad, many of whom were interested in voting but would abstain because of what he described as an abnormal political environment.\n"Daily life in Baghdad is miserable, without exaggeration," he said. "There is no water, electricity or kerosene with which to cook or to heat people's houses. Add the daily danger to life, and also most of the people do not know who the candidates are." \nShaaban said he felt the elections should have been postponed. \n"The election will divide the country," he said. "We all want democracy and freedom, but this setup is flawed because there is no security and a big portion of the population is boycotting it."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Rami Chami at rchami@indiana.edu.