Hussein Family Homes and Offices Revealed

Information on the private life of President Saddam Hussein’s family as well as his control of the Iraqi people was presented publicly for the first time on April 13.

Discovery of Hussein`s Secret House

The Times reported on April 3 that a two-story house was discovered in a wealthy neighborhood of Baghdad which was either used for secret meetings or as a hideout for the president.

Every part of the house is magnificently decorated like his other presidential palaces. There are numerous pictures of President Hussein with blondes on the walls and in the bedroom. There is a female body shaped lamp as well as colorful pillows in pink, blue, yellow and many more colors. Two sides of a bed, located in a large split-level area, are decorated with two enormous mirrors.

Palace of Hussein`s Eldest Son

In the palace of Uday Hussein, the eldest son of Saddam Hussein, located in the suburban region of Karada, were letters showing his true internal feelings about his father.

“Father desires to mark his part in history but there isn`t any warmth left and even I don’t have any love or generosity for him,” Uday wrote in an undated letter, according to Time Magazine.

“Since people are after the Hussein family, it is hard to remain a member of the family,” he wrote in another letter addressed to his uncle in 1990.

There were pieces of burned 50 & 100 U.S. dollar bills mixed with ashes in a safe found in the basement. “Uday used the bills to light his cigarettes,” claimed a neighbor.

The residents of this region stated that Uday`s palace was a ‘love nest’ for Uday to enjoy with his girlfriends. Among one of the love letters sent to Uday by many of his girlfriends, there is one that states, “remember me whenever you listen to the Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven,” with an envelope sealed with lipstick.

Discovery of Secret Police Documents

In the basement of the Iraqi Special Security Organization Headquarters led by Qusay, the second eldest son of President Hussein, an enormous office space, twice as large as a soccer field was discovered.

CBS of the U.S. reported on April 12 that in one office, there were a large amount of files with detailed personal descriptions of over one million people. The Times stated that these numerous files found either were somewhat burned or scattered around the shredder. The contents of the personal files range from attendance at government meetings to subjective comments such as ‘gossiper,’ ‘lucky to have a good wife,’ ‘the sister is terrible,’ etc.

sechepa@donga.com