Under the Political complexities and Saddam Hussein's poisonous distrust of everything and everyone had warped the development of normal relationships. How could a love between two so dissimilar individuals, from fundamentally disparate cultural and family backgrounds, survive in the midst of terror, pursuit, uncertainty and deep despair? Who was I to trust? In my heart I felt a deep connection with this foreigner from the west, but when he was accused by the government of high treason and espionage, what was I to believe? Young, and with far less experience of life than Stern, how could I deal with the doubts society raised in me, and the opinions and actions of my family who, resorting to threats and warnings of dire consequences, put pressure on me to end this relationship? My life became a journey from anxiety and confusion to total despair. I was threatened and tyrannised by the regime and its villains who were determined to force me to collaborate with them. Warned by his driver that he was in imminent danger, Stern realised he had to flee the country and escape the clutches of Saddam's Secret Service agents. From then on, my situation became precarious as I was subjected to arbitrary arrest, interrogation and humiliation. My family, although considered cultivated for those times, would not have accepted that Stern and I should be a couple. Their ignorance of our relationship could only protect them to some extent from the attentions of the Secret Service, so I decided I had no option but to leave the country too. A mutual friend of us has helped me to plan my escape and offered me the sanctuary of his house in Germany. My flight to freedom and happiness could begin. Today, more than thirty years later, I can tell my story of the highs and lows of a forbidden relationship in a country controlled by the military and Saddam's Secret Police. It is a tale of love that survived against all the odds, in a country where sorrow-filled lives disrupted by pursuit and pressured by insurgencies were becoming the norm; a country where the ruling elite were increasingly shielding themselves from the lives of ordinary people so that they could ruthlessly pursue their selfish ambitions without even a nod to human rights and personal dignity. At this stage in world history, we are experiencing a resurgence of these horrors. Dictatorial and ruthless regimes are destroying the fabric of society and allowing age-old virtues and values to decay, while sorrow brings nations, societies and people to despair. Only love - the greatest power in the world - can restore empathy, cooperation and meaningful contact in a state of mutual trust. My 'Escape to Happiness' is the true story of a forbidden relationship that was almost destroyed by a dictatorship that lasted three decades. I offer it as a manifesto for what really matters in any relationship: follow the language of your heart and remain unshakeable in your love.
