MICHELE NORRIS, host:
As Thursday's election in Iraq approaches, we're hearing from Iraqis about what they think of the vote and the state of their country. Yenar Jabbar(ph) is an English student at Baghdad University. She has her undergraduate degree, but no job.
Ms. YENAR JABBAR (Student, Baghdad University): I am not satisfied with the military operations here. Now I damn and curse every American I see in the streets. It's something that's changed in my mind. Like, a couple days ago, I didn't think the same way, but now I do. This morning, I was thinking about this. I said, `What will I do if I see an American soldier in the street? I won't stand seeing them again.'
You know, I'm fed up with the Army and with killing, with bullets, with weapons. I just want to live normal life, just like any other person in the rest of the world. But that doesn't mean this is the end of life. There is still something inside called hope. Without hope, I wouldn't be living now.
The last two times I was very happy, very glad for the elections, and I--by the way, there is something to be mentioned, that I had to argue with Mom and Dad, and I was about to leave home because they didn't want me to participate in the elections because we are living in a very dangerous place, and they said, `You will get killed.' But I said, `If I'm not going to participate, then I'll leave home.' Daddy said, `OK, go. Go out. I don't want to see you here.' But within 10, 15 minutes, he changed his mind, and he came with me, and we went and voted, and that was something.
And the coming elections on December, I'm not very hopeful about them because there are many different parties, and I don't know who to vote to. And also, I have to decide.
NORRIS: Yenar Jabbar is a student at Baghdad University.
And you can find complete coverage of Iraq's election, including a Q&A with an Islamic and legal scholar, at npr.org.
MELISSA BLOCK (Host): This is NPR, National Public Radio. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.