A Generation Learns to Say No

Social Revolution

 

On my first research trip to Baghdad in April 2021, a year after the protests at Tahrir Square had ended, people were still full of hope and pride. Whenever I asked what the “October Revolution” had changed, the answer was always the same: We learned to say NO. The parents’ generation witnessed the end of Saddam’s regime but didn’t dare make a sound. However, this younger generation, which grew up after 2003 and has free access to the internet, has developed a new kind of courage and, following the victory over ISIS, a strong sense of self-confidence. They took to the streets, demanding a democratic voice. They are asking for what was promised in 2003. They demand what others around the world have: a good life. They are the outcry of a newly forming civil society after the war.

 

Many of the protesters, like the protagonists Milo and Khalili, were not politically organized before. Like many at Tahrir Square, they had an almost romantic vision of revolution and the potential for societal change. They thought big and were ready to give everything, even their lives.

 

In addition to political change, they sparked a social revolution. Alongside political movements, new subcultures and artistic expressions emerged. 

 

Four Years Later

 

Prominent activists have either gone into exile or been persecuted into silence. Even the masses who took part in the protests have fallen quiet. “But a new generation will come, one that will fight back again,” Milo is sure.

 

In the summer of 2024, recently graduated doctors took to the streets in Baghdad to protest for jobs, echoing the beginnings of the “October Revolution” in 2019. In the West, people look away, content that Iraq is becoming more stable under the new government, allowing for investments. For the general population, however, history seems to be repeating itself.