Iraqis yearn for the prewar days when Shiites and Sunnis coexisted

March 18, 2007
Iraqis yearn for the prewar days when Shiites and Sunnis coexisted

BAGHDAD, Iraq | Meshajjar Street once was known as the street of trees. The trees are only memories now.

Just like the practice of Sunni and Shiite Muslims mixing and intermarrying. That practice, too, is gone, along with any sense of safety for much of a city that once had nearly 6 million residents.

As the fourth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion arrives Tuesday, once-pleasant neighborhoods like Ghazaliyah have become a civil war's battle-weary front lines. Despite a significant drop in violence since a new Baghdad security plan began Feb. 15, many Iraqis express nostalgia for prewar days — even when Saddam Hussein steered the state.

"Ghazaliyah is now a cemetery," said Adil al-Qaisi, 28. "The streets are empty, and we live in our house like dead people."