America was something Muhammod Murad knew only from television until the United States toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime.

That opened the doors to the world for the young man from Baghdad, who is among the first Iraqis in 14 years to come to the United States as Fulbright students.

Murad, 25, is studying to receive a master’s degree in linguistics at Kansas University. He is the only Iraqi student at KU. He has come to learn, but also to teach.

“It’s not just a study mission,” he said. “I’m here to bridge the gaps.”

Murad grew up with strife all around. He recalls the Iran-Iraq War. When he was a little boy, he would ask his father why the nation was fighting and why there was war.

His father would lie to him. He would tell Murad that Iran tried to invade Iraq, and that was why there was fighting. Murad’s father lied because he feared the young boy would blab what his father said and those words might fall on the wrong ears.

Murad said he is no politician, but as an Iraqi you learn politics. It is so important to your life.

“All I saw was severe war, meaningless and stupid war,” he said.

When Murad was 11, the Gulf War broke out after Saddam’s regime invaded Kuwait.

“It was stupid, also meaningless,” Murad said of the conflict instigated by the regime. “Life became difficult, but it stayed normal.”

Murad said Iraqis continued with their daily lives. They lived with electricity outages and water shortages. When there was no water, Murad would fill buckets with river water.

It was difficult to travel, he said. America, Europe and the rest of the world were just images on the television.

Liberating force

Murad was finishing his bachelor’s degree in Baghdad when the United States invaded in March 2003.

He was months from graduating. Before the invasion, he worried about pursuing a master’s degree. To further his education, he would have to deal with officials probing him.

They would ask whether he was a member of the Baath party, he said, or why he didn’t join the party.

But the invasion changed that – and many other things.

He recalls walking down the street in Baghdad when U.S. troops dropped in nearby.

“I was like: ‘Oh my God, I hope they don’t shoot me,'” he said.

The Iraqi people expected the convoys and the missiles, he said.

“We’re used to it,” he said. “It’s a part of life there.”

But the toppling of a statue of Saddam Hussein in central Baghdad that April caught Murad off guard.

“It was like a dream,” he said. “I didn’t believe it.”

He is proud that more than 8 million Iraqis voted in recent elections, including himself.

“We showed the whole world that we support democracy and freedom,” he said.

See the world

When Saddam’s rule ended, Murad stepped out into the world.

As a member of the International Republican Institute, he went to Indonesia to observe elections. He visited Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

Iraqis want to travel, he said. “They want to see the world.”

The Fulbright program, an international scholarship program organized by the U.S. State Department, worked with Iraq from 1952 until 1989, when it was suspended for political reasons.

In October 2003, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage announced the reopening of the program. The first group of students and scholars came to the U.S. in February 2004. Murad is among fewer than 40 students who are part of the second group since the program’s rebirth.

“Many of my Iraqi fellows aren’t as lucky as me,” he said.

Murad speaks Arabic, English and some Kurdish. He wants to learn more languages. He wants to play sports here, football or swimming.

“I’m not very good at basketball,” he said.

He plans to visit Hollywood, Washington, D.C., and Florida. He wants to see Lake Superior.

And he has wishes for Iraq, too.

He said it is too soon for the United States to withdraw troops. It would betray Iraqis if America left, he said, because the country has become a sanctuary for terrorists.

He wants things to be normal in Iraq. He said news reports often make it seem as if all Iraqis are looters and all scenes are mob-filled. That is not the full picture, he said. He wants Iraqis to be viewed like any other people in the world.

“We are not different after all, ” he said.