Britain's Iraqi Exiles Eager to Return Home

The exiles remember their tears and laughter, the festive phone calls and frantic channel-surfing to confirm their dream come true. And many recall the thought that raced through their minds with the strange speed of that statue tumbling down: Time to go home.

"Of course, all of us want to go back and see our families and have some kind of role in post-Saddam Iraq," said Ahmed Shames, 28, leader of a pro-democracy group here.

"Our plan roughly now is to go to Iraq and make sure the process of democratization takes place, to make sure the transitional government remains transitional.

"We want there to be a representative government leading to a truly democratic Iraq," he added. "Hopefully, I'll be there in a matter of weeks."

Though Shames is politically active, he has a day job working for the London subway system. Like the vast majority of the estimated 300,000 Iraqi immigrants and refugees in Britain, he is not part of the high-profile elite whose intrigues and aspirations have been backed by diplomats, politicians and intelligence agents in the United States, Britain, Iran and elsewhere.

Many "professional exiles" have already hurried to Iraq to stake out turf in the evolving political landscape.

Despite the euphoria in the exile community, most Iraqis here have strained to build new lives while holding on to hopes of a return. The reality is complicated: For social, cultural and economic reasons, many expatriates will find it difficult to move back to a homeland devastated by war and tyranny.

Zuhair Naher, a 40-year-old dentist, arrived with his family in Britain when he was 9. He has a practice, young children, commitments and entanglements in his adopted homeland. An energetic member of the Shiite party Al Dawa, he wants to contribute to transforming Iraq into an Islamic state along the democratic lines of Turkey or Lebanon. But he does not intend to move overnight.

"For those who have spent a short time here, it is easier," Naher said. "For those with businesses, kids in school, it's different. But they want to help out as much as they can.

"There is a huge role for exiles to play with expertise, financial and moral support. Many people here have been supporting extended families there," he said.