The Freedom Square
The Freedom Monument is an illustrated record designed by the artist, Jawad Selim, through symbols, through which he wanted to describe events that accompanied the history of Iraq, during which he mixed ancient and modernity, as the monument permeated the ancient Babylonian, Assyrian and Sumerian arts and inscriptions in addition to the narration of the events of the July 14, 1958 revolution and its role in changing from the monarchy to the republican system.
most important thing that attracts the person when he looks at the monument at first glance is the soldier who breaks the prison bars in the center of the monument because of its strength, determination and a turning point that conveys the story of the monument from the stage of turmoil Anger and suffering lead to peace and prosperity.
the monument consists of 14 bronze castings, representing 25 figures, on a travertine slab, raised 6 meters off the ground.
The monument is 10 meters in height and 50 meters long.
The figures, which are in bas-relief, are intended to evoke Babylonian, Assyrian, and Arab artworks.
What do the symbols of the Freedom Monument mean?
the symbols depict the historic Iraqi events up to the 14 July Revolution led by Abdul Karim Qasim which is a key date that marks the beginning of Republican rule in Iraq.
The far-right represents the pre-revolution while the far left side represents the post-revolution
the first piece represents the sharp movement of the head of a runaway horse, and surrounded by three men, one of them stands and raises a banner.
the second piece of the monument depicts the pioneers of the revolutions they are
represented by a group of people carrying banners“Innocence and hope show the way, leaping off the marble background towards us in the shape of a child, the only completely three-dimensional
the figure of the relief”
the fourth main piece is the crying woman the sculptor here wanted to point out the important role of Iraqi women in all revolutions and uprisings in Iraq.
The fifth piece is the Iraqi martyr immortalizing the memory of all those martyrs and representing the tragedy with martyrdom as its major theme However, throughout history the Iraqi people gave hundreds of thousands of martyrs for the sake of freedom.
the sixth piece with the mother and child, in this panel and the previous one,
Jawad Salim expresses the idea of death and birth or death for lif.
the seventh piece is the political prisoner was apparently a very important topic for Jawad
Salim and the idea of the political prisoner was one of the topics that
preoccupied Jawad Salim throughout the fifties.
the eighth piece is the center of the monument and the main subject represented by the soldier expresses the event of the revolution, the remaining bronze panels to the far left of the monument express the post-revolution period, So, the viewer will see the peace, Tigris & Euphrates, the
agriculture, the ox, and finally industry.
The fourteenth and final piece is a worker carrying a hammer represents the announcement of the victory of the Iraqi working class this is because of the 14 July revolution in one of its greatest aspects, a victory for the Iraqi working class.
Now Days
These days the site witnessed The 2019–2021 Iraqi protests which are a series of protests that consist of demonstrations, marches, sit-ins, and civil disobedience.
the protest started on the first of October 2019 set by civil activists on social media, spreading over the central and southern provinces of Iraq to protest corruption, unemployment, and inefficient public services.
The protest then escalated into calls to overthrow the Iraqi government and the government in return used live bullets, marksmen, hot water, hot pepper gas, and tear gas against protesters, leading to many deaths and injuries.
The protesters called for the end of the sectarian political system created by the US after the US-led invasion in 2003 and marked by sectarian divides between Shias and Sunnis.