Freedom Square offers Refuge for Basra Residents

Qazem said, “Militias and the local government have cut down the trees on university campuses in Basra so that students don’t have the opportunity to be intimate with girls there. In Hurriyah Square, young men and women sit freely next to each other, without being harassed,” taking advantage of the fact that the militias, strangely enough, have not yet targeted the square.

Hurriyah Square has turned into a civil center for the young generation in Basra, after restrictions were imposed in most of the other areas in the province. In general, women do not walk around Basra without being veiled; however, there are plenty of unveiled women in the square who look more liberated in their Western-style outfits.

Amira, 20, who only gave Al-Monitor her first name, said, “The square’s visitors are intellectuals and will not harass women without veils.”

“No one has attacked us — neither the local government nor the militias,” said Khamissi. “Things have been smooth so far.”

The Freedom Monument in the middle of the square looks rather unattractive and those who go there seem to agree. However, the artists that Al-Monitor met with agreed on the fact that there is no other place for them to go to.

Amira said: “Terrorists vandalize and destroy everything. The square might be next, after they destroyed the Bridge of Love in Babil on Nov. 11.” She added that the youth will look for another place if the square is ever threatened.