The Freedom Tower Age

The design for the new building that will be built in place of the World Trade Centers was revealed in the media today…the building is expected to be completed by the year 2010. It is being named “The Freedom Tower” and will be the tallest building in the world upon its completion…next to the building a memorial will be built commemorating all those who lost their lives to the terror attacks of 9/11. Click here for more details and here is a picture of the future building:


Now, when I read this piece of news an image flickered in my mind about what the world would be like in the summer of 2010 (or at least how I wish it would be like)…here is what I saw:

It is July 2010, the year the Freedom Tower has opened to the public, and among the many tourists traveling to New York City to marvel at the new building are many Iraqis who decided to escape Iraq’s summer heat and visit the Big Apple, the city that everyone talks about. At the same time, on the other side of the world, Iraq is seeing a large number of crowds like never before in the country’s history as many American tourists decided to take a vacation to the much talked about cultural and historical sites in Iraq that have only recently been restored and opened for tourism again.

Thus, simultaneously, as the Iraqi tourists are being amazed by the sight of the Freedom Tower and other skyscrapers that define NYC, American tourists are being fascinated by the gates of Babylon, the statue of the Winged Bull, and the many cultural centers and museums that once, not long ago, used to serve as palaces for the thugs who ruled the country.

This rush in tourism between the two countries is proving to the few skeptical people left around in the world that the war initiated 7 years ago has been won, and the experiment of Democracy in Iraq has proved to be successful. Iraqis have truly demonstrated to the world that they are a people of courage; their strong will and determination along with the help of their best ally, the U.S., have granted them their long-sought dream of a free country where peace roams around without being disturbed by terror and fear!

Sure there is still a lot more work to be done around the country in all aspects of life, but steady progress is being made daily. People have jobs. Profits are flowing into the country from the two main sources: oil and tourism. Above all, security has been established and there no longer exists fear of the kind people were experiencing several years ago. There is no longer fear of explosions from cars in public places; no longer fear of leaving ones home and not being able to make it back in one piece, no longer fear of having a random bullet strike the wrong person who happened to be standing at the wrong place in the wrong time. Iraqis have fought terror for a long time, and they were now reaping and enjoying the fruits of their long battle; and oh boy how good it tastes!

Now back to the present, 2005: some might criticize my vision above as being childish or unrealistic; they might say that I am just dreaming and it will never be like that. I am here to tell those people that without dreaming a person cannot achieve anything; dreams create ambitions, ambitions lead to motivation and hard work, which in turn lead to results. Furthermore, dreams give people hope, and the one very important thing that Iraqis need right now and should not give up on is HOPE…so, keep holding on to your hope and your dreams, and one day they WILL become reality-your reality!