Bet-Shmuel has lived in exile ever since. But on Monday, he went to a Skokie, Ill., community center to raise his voice once again, this time registering to vote in the Iraqi national elections at the end of this month.

All day, hundreds of Iraqi expatriates and their children streamed into the Skokie site to sign up for their chance to take part in the historic vote.

They joined thousands in four other American cities and locations around the world, from London to Sydney. While few expatriates showed up Monday in Syria and Jordan, participants elsewhere were more enthusiastic, with one Iraqi resident of Berlin remarking that “the future of the world is democracy.”

Many traveled far to register, and they will have to return at the end of next week to cast their ballots. U.S. residents will vote Jan. 28-30 at the Chicago sites and in Detroit, Los Angeles, Nashville and Washington.

But distance did not deter a group of men who fled Iraq after the first Gulf War, and ended up in Lincoln, Neb. After driving all night to reach Skokie around 10 a.m., the five men registered in a matter of minutes, and filed back into their SUV for a nine-hour drive home.

On this day, they were all part of a larger Iraqi family, one that still maintained cultural and religious differences but also shared a desire that their homeland finally enjoy freedom and a bright day.

“I’m so happy. Is this reality? I feel like I’m dreaming,” said Bet-Shmuel, 54, of Skokie, a member of Iraq’s ancient Assyrian Christian minority. “All these years, I always had hope that I would see this day.”

 

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