Hull Kurds celebrate Saddam capture. By Mo

It's Sunday evening in Hull, December 13th, 6 o'clock in the evening when I am interrupted from writing up my Sunday football report (I am following a Kurdish Sunday league football team) by a phone call from a friend, Heather. "I'm looking out of my window (Middleton Street, Hull) and seeing crowds of Kurdish young men dancing in the dimly lit street". Minutes later, I jumped in the car and headed around to Middleton Street to join the celebrations.

There was a crowd of maybe 50 or more people at the corner of Middleton Street and Spring Bank doing what only they know best, Kurdish dancing, whistling, waving flags doing anything to express a total joy and relief at the news of Saddam's capture.

Cars enter the street hooting horns, bandannas flying. This is truly a night to celebrate. Kurdish people are dancing and jumping for joy in the street. The Local constabulary look on with understanding and ignore the earlier resident's noise complaints. I think they are used to spending time here.

This is after all, a historic night to remember and they did well to keep abreast of international events in order to allow this congregation to celebrate something as heaven sent for these Kurds as it was for the Jews after Hitler's suicide at the end of World War two .

Many of the men dancing with glee and singing too (music compliments of a car stereo) have had one or many or all their family members gassed by Saddam's forces in the north of the country.They are in disbelief at hearing the news.

"Every town in Iraq is celebrating tonight" I am told, "We have spoken to our families on the telephone. They have seen it on Sky TV this morning, everyone is overjoyed"

They sing and dance to their lost ones, just mainly young men. We have a lot to be proud of in this city to have fostered and cared for them in their time of need. In time to come Hull will be seen as a true friend of the future Iraq and I am proud we have taken our small part in this historic event that will see the building of a new strong, free, democratic, Kurdish and Arabic nation.

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