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CNN Sunday Morning
Efforts to Bring Law, Order, Aid to Baghdad Continue
Aired April 20, 2003 - 08:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: In Baghdad, the situation is far from back to normal. Efforts still go on to bring order and aid to the Iraqi capital. Our Rula Amin is following developments there. She joins us now.
Rula, hello? Rule, are you with us?
RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Daryn, I'm with you.
Well, today in Baghdad the U.S. Marines have left and the U.S. Army is taking over. And with today also we saw the first patch of British troops arriving in the Iraqi capital. All this on a day when Christian Iraqis are celebrating Easter Sunday.
In St. Joseph's Church in the Karoda (ph) neighborhood, there were about 300 Chaldean Christians. At the sermon there was no talk of politics whatsoever, only prayers for peace and for those who were killed and wounded.
However, outside the church some Christians did express their uneasiness about some calls from some Iraqis to establish an Islamic state here. Christian Iraqis been living in Iraq for -- since the ancient years, and they say they've been living in a secular state and now they feel a bit uncomfortable with these calls for an Islamic state.
At the same time, we saw more Iraqis trying to get back to their normal life. In Saddam Medical School, after six weeks of almost no classes at all, more students now back at their desks. They are determined to go on, despite the fact that there is no system in place any more and the teachers who are back are not taking any salaries from anybody because they were dependent on the Iraqi government for their salaries. There is no government in place now, they're not getting any salaries. So they're basically volunteering there, but it's still a demonstration of their determination to get on with their lives after Saddam Hussein -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Well, speaking of Saddam Hussein, of course, there's much speculation here in the west about whether he is alive and where he might be, dead or alive. What about in Iraq? Do most people believe that Saddam Hussein is still alive?
AMIN: I think most of them probably do believe that he is alive, however, they are very curious to know where is he, what is he up to and how did he disappear? Because many of them are just amazed at the fact that after so many months of strong rhetoric that he was going to put up a very strong fight, overnight he disappeared and he seems that he had given orders to his troops to disappear from the streets, as well.
So there are those who were telling us that he was a traitor that he betrayed his country and didn't defend the capital and others think he had been betrayed. So many them are really very curious to know what happened to him and to his two sons and to their wealth, as well -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Rula Amin in Baghdad. Rula, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired April 20, 2003 - 08:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: In Baghdad, the situation is far from back to normal. Efforts still go on to bring order and aid to the Iraqi capital. Our Rula Amin is following developments there. She joins us now.
Rula, hello? Rule, are you with us?
RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Daryn, I'm with you.
Well, today in Baghdad the U.S. Marines have left and the U.S. Army is taking over. And with today also we saw the first patch of British troops arriving in the Iraqi capital. All this on a day when Christian Iraqis are celebrating Easter Sunday.
In St. Joseph's Church in the Karoda (ph) neighborhood, there were about 300 Chaldean Christians. At the sermon there was no talk of politics whatsoever, only prayers for peace and for those who were killed and wounded.
However, outside the church some Christians did express their uneasiness about some calls from some Iraqis to establish an Islamic state here. Christian Iraqis been living in Iraq for -- since the ancient years, and they say they've been living in a secular state and now they feel a bit uncomfortable with these calls for an Islamic state.
At the same time, we saw more Iraqis trying to get back to their normal life. In Saddam Medical School, after six weeks of almost no classes at all, more students now back at their desks. They are determined to go on, despite the fact that there is no system in place any more and the teachers who are back are not taking any salaries from anybody because they were dependent on the Iraqi government for their salaries. There is no government in place now, they're not getting any salaries. So they're basically volunteering there, but it's still a demonstration of their determination to get on with their lives after Saddam Hussein -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Well, speaking of Saddam Hussein, of course, there's much speculation here in the west about whether he is alive and where he might be, dead or alive. What about in Iraq? Do most people believe that Saddam Hussein is still alive?
AMIN: I think most of them probably do believe that he is alive, however, they are very curious to know where is he, what is he up to and how did he disappear? Because many of them are just amazed at the fact that after so many months of strong rhetoric that he was going to put up a very strong fight, overnight he disappeared and he seems that he had given orders to his troops to disappear from the streets, as well.
So there are those who were telling us that he was a traitor that he betrayed his country and didn't defend the capital and others think he had been betrayed. So many them are really very curious to know what happened to him and to his two sons and to their wealth, as well -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Rula Amin in Baghdad. Rula, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
