According to a number of Arabic sources, the biggest statue of Saddam Hussein in the Middle East will be erected in Jordan next Spring (2018). The solid bronze statue will reach over 25m high and will show Saddam standing upright in his military uniform with a gun strapped tightly to his waist. It will also have one hand raised, as if waving out to greet people. Saddam Hussein’s eldest daughter Raghad Hussein heads the fundraising campaign, and has collected 25 million dollars which will cover the initial costs of building of the sculpture. Once created it will be placed on a plot of land outside the capital, and will take centre stage in a gated garden where famous quotes from Saddam Hussein will be displayed. There will also be a permanent fire burning in front of the statue made of a unique French material which needs only to be charged every two years.
The migration of Iraqis to Jordan came in two main waves, the first being in the 1990’s in the aftermath of the gulf war, and the second following the American invasion of Iraq after 2003. The Iraqi diaspora have a strong presence in Amman, and are largely made up of middle class intellectuals and professionals.
It has been reported that the Jordanian government have agreed to aid in protecting the land as well as the statue itself. This has come after pressure from the Iraqi community, as well as the Iraqi clans and tribes on the the Iraqi-Jordanian border.
A scene which became an iconic moment during 2003 was when the towering bronze statue of Saddam in Baghdad was pulled down by the people. The scene which followed saw an American flag placed over Saddam’s face by an US officer. Although the imagery of the bronze statue of Saddam became symbolic of his downfall, to many it also marked the beginning of occupation in Iraq, and there were many questions raised over whether the scene was staged in the name of US propaganda.
14 years have passed since the fall of Saddam and many Iraqis who fled post 2003 have lost hope in returning. Iraqis hoping for a greater Iraq after Saddam's downfall were left devastated by the suffering and turmoil which followed. Kadhim al-Jabourri was one of the people who helped to topple the statue, he now claims that he would re-errect the statue if he could.
Until now there has been no official statement as to why the Iraqi community in Jordan pushed for the building of the statue, but it seems that the reasonings run much deeper than simply a celebration of Saddam as a political figure.
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