Twenty years ago this month, the US and several allies invaded Iraq, promising to rid the country of its alleged weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and to overthrow Saddam Hussein’s regime.
The US-led invasion plunged the country into war and sectarian violence. And the claims that Iraq harbored weapons of mass destruction turned out to be false. When coalition forces withdrew in 2011, they left behind a country marked by conflict and political instability – one that would continue to face challenges, including from the armed group ISIL (ISIS). More than 200,000 civilians have been killed in war-related violence since 2003, according to the Iraq Body Count Project.
Although reliable data is difficult to come by, it is estimated that about half of Iraq’s population of 42 million were born after 2003. About 60 percent of Iraqis are under the age of 25, and the most recent Iraq Labor Force Survey found that 36 percent of the country’s 15- to 24-year-olds — many of whom took their first steps during the American occupation — are not in education, employment or training.
Although their memories of the early period of the invasion are limited, many young Iraqis’ first memories include new homes, missing relatives, car bombs, confusion and fear. Formative years were spent indoors, observing curfews.
Today, political violence, unemployment, the climate crisis, rising cost of living – with nearly a third of the country living in poverty – and dysfunctional public services are some of the challenges facing young people in Iraq.
As a generation matures, Al Jazeera spoke to six Iraqis born in 2003 about how the invasion has shaped their lives and their thoughts and hopes for the future. Some are determined to contribute to a better Iraq, some want to leave and others just want peace.