EVERETT — The usual quiet of a Sunday in downtown Everett was broken by the chants and cheers of local Iraqis who gathered to celebrate what they were calling the "best days of their lives."
The enemy had been caught.
Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was in the hands of American forces. He was found Saturday in an underground crawl space near his hometown of Tikrit.
"Those people who captured Saddam are our angels," said Iraqi immigrant Imad Al-Turfy. "I am a newborn today. Thank you, Mr. President George Bush and all the American people who stand by us, and don’t give up."
Al-Turfy, who fled Iraq a decade ago, and about two dozen other local Iraqis gathered on Colby Avenue about 11 a.m. Sunday after learning earlier in the morning that the manhunt for Hussein was over.
They waved American and Iraqi flags and were greeted by honks and waves from passing drivers. They sang and marched and tore a picture of Hussein into pieces.
"I was dreaming for this all my life. Thank you, U.S., for making my dream come true," said Iraqi immigrant Raad Alzawady.
The word spread quickly Sunday among the Iraqi community in Everett — the largest in Washington state, according to the Refugee and Immigrant Forum in Snohomish County.
"I didn’t think it was real until I saw it with my own eyes. I was just shaking, almost dying," Al-Turfy said.
Mazin Al-Ramahy, who left Iraq nine years ago because of the civil war, heard from a friend about 3 a.m.
"I jumped out of bed. I was shocked. Today really is the happiest day of my life," he said.
Manal Alisheeqer, 18, said she will be able to return to Iraq. She and her parents fled their home when she was just 5 and they have many family members still there.
"We had to leave because he was killing our people," she said of Hussein. "It is safe to go back."
Rose Loven said the day is cause for celebration. She only wishes her sister were here see it.
"She was killed before she saw victory," said Loven, an Iraqi woman who provides translation and other services to Iraqi immigrants.
Loven said her sister, 26, was in the Kurdish Army fighting against Hussein. Soldiers came in the middle of the night and shot her in front of Loven and her family.
"My cousin, my best friend and so many others were killed," the Marysville woman said. "He hurt a lot of people."
The vast majority of Iraqi immigrants living in Everett are political refugees who escaped during and after the 1991 Gulf War because they feared being imprisoned or executed.
Loven is not convinced the fighting in Iraq is over.
"There will still be killing and robbing until someone tough comes to take care," she said.
But Mohammad Al-Ghazli, 14, said the people of Iraq should not fear Hussein any more.
"They don’t need to be afraid. They thought he would come back. He didn’t even fire once," Al-Ghazli said. "All the regime’s fighting — what are they fighting for now?"
Alzawady said Hussein’s capture should be a message to all terrorists.
"No matter where they are staying they will end up just like Saddam," he said. "From the big castle to a rat hole — he got what he deserved."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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