Life During Wartime: Young Iraqis Speak Out

Jan. 24, 2007 — -- Americans rarely get to see and hear from the young people who are Iraq's future.

"Good Morning America" anchor Chris Cuomo, who is reporting from Iraq this week, sat down with a group of 20-something Iraqis to talk about their opinions and aspirations.

Hamsa and Mustafa are studying to be dentists. Cuomo also interviewed Iraqi students who were in medical school. They are all among the ambitious young people caught between their dreams and what seems to be a never-ending war.

Hiba Aal-Yassin: Everybody around the world. They're living their lives normally. We are not.

Cuomo: What is the big problem right now?

Mustafa Al-Tukmachi: The most important problem is the security. We are not safe.

Going to school can be a matter of life and death for these Iraqis. Last week, an attack on a Baghdad university killed 70 people.

Hamsa Khaled: We can't go to college because we don't have our professors. They are targeted all the time. I like to graduate, and most people here are like that, but my parents would not prefer me to go.

Hiba Aal-Yassin: The insurgents they don't want education. When there is no learning, no education, they will capture everything in their hands. And this is what they want.

The students also talked about the conflict between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

Hiba Aal-Yassin: Before I didn't know if I was Sunni or Shia. Our problem here is not the Sunni and Shia thing. We are just thinking it's about security.

Nadeem Aziz: The biggest problem right now is the ignorant people that are listening to people coming from outside trying to spread this sectarian … war.

As for the American involvement in the country, these students said they were grateful Saddam Hussein was no longer in power. There is confusion, however, about the plan since then and frustration about when U.S. troops will leave.

Hamsa Jamal: No one would love that some morning opening the door and see some American soldier putting his weapon against your head. So when the resistance is fighting the American, they have their reasons. No one loves the foreign occupation.