Three years ago I was  with a group of teachers on a boat at Coeur d'Alene Lake in Idaho, sharing good times with some American friends from that area on their Independence Day, July 4th.

It was so nice to share with people their happiness--as well as their distress. We were 13 teachers from all over Iraq -- Muslims and Christians, Arabs and Kurds -- who had the chance to take a course in training in English as a second language with new technology at Eastern Washington University (EWU) in Washington state.

I still remember that day and night as if it were yesterday. We set out at 7 in the morning from Cheney, Wash., going to Idaho where the lake is and where the celebration would take place. It was a new and amazing event to be watched and attended. We were in the middle of Coeur d'Alene Lake when the fireworks started as the beginning of the Independence Day celebration.

I had taken at least 100 photos for that event. Meanwhile, a young American guy who was on the boat surprised me by saying " Shako Mako," which is a way of starting a conversation to ask about one's health in Iraq. He was an American contractor who used to have some contracts in Iraq, and he came here twice. He heard me talking with one of my friends in Arabic, and he recognized our language, which made him long to be in Iraq and and to communicate with Iraqis--even though he had been there only twice.

  Remembering these lovely days and nights, I just want to say to the American people: Happy Independence Day!

Especially to those who welcomed us in the USA during that six-week training course and those who know that Iraq should have its own independence--sooner rather than later.