Painful memories linger as Iraqi exiles celebrate the dictator's fall

The Kurdish-born dissident Dilshad Hafiz was speechless when heard of Saddam Hussein's capture, and finally felt his father's and brother's executions had been avenged.

"I picked up the phone at 6am and couldn't believe what my relatives were telling me. They were in Kurdistan and everyone was out celebrating on the streets, Saddam the dictator had been arrested and was about to face justice," he said.

Mr Hafiz, who experienced six months of torture and imprisonment, said Saddam's ignominious capture was the symbolic end of his brutal era of dictatorship and he hoped it marked the advent of lasting peace in his homeland. "It's like a shadow lifting for all of us. When I stared at the images of Saddam I thought of my father and my brother and all the others who lost their lives. They can finally rest now," said Mr Hafiz.

He was not alone in celebrating. London's Iraqi community had gathered in Hyde Park and Edgware Road to rejoice while others handed out sweets to strangers in Trafalgar Square. For those at the Iraqi Community Association in West London it was also a moment to reflect on decades of oppression. Basil Jaber, 28, an interpreter who left Baghdad in 1980 after his father was condemned to death in absentia, said the capture exposed Saddam as a hypocrite and coward. "He encouraged so many millions to die for his cause yet he was not man enough to do the same," he said. Adnan Rojeob, a university lecturer, and Iraqi exile, said: "When America won the war was an important occasion but Iraqis still lived under the shadow of Saddam. That has now been lifted, this is the true victory. People still feared he might come back, that can't happen now."

But despite the capture and the jubilation, Mr Rojeob said painful memories still lingered. "I myself was tortured at the age of 16 and I was forced to flee my country. My sister was told to leave but that she couldn't take three of her sons with her, she never knew what happened to them until their names appeared on a list for bodies found in a mass grave years later," he said.

Avesta Mageed and Mahabad Ahmed, members of the Kurdish Association, dismissed the dissent from parts of the Arab world over Saddam's arrest. Mrs Mageed said: "Everyone except the traitors are happy. For those who think he is a symbol of some good are complete outsiders. The people who suffered under him know what kind of a symbol he was."

Mrs Mageed, 33, who left Iraq when she was 21, said she held the dictator personally responsible for the terror he wreaked on millions of Kurds.

"He did not directly affect me but he changed my whole life. My family are scattered everywhere and my world changed. I hope this can put an end to all those who questioned Tony Blair for what he did. I would want to thank him personally if I could. He has made so many of us indescribably happy."