Wendell Steavenson is the author of the acclaimed book Stories I stole (2002) about the Caucasus republic of Georgia. She has worked for Time Magazine and has written for a variety of publications, including the Telegraph and Prospect. She is presently living in Iran.

Recent articles

Iraq after the war is a place of fragmentary meanings and fragile relationships. Our Tehran columnist, who stayed in the country for three weeks after the fall of Saddam, draws on poignant shards of memory to evoke the chasms of fear, confusion and longing opening up in Iraqi hearts in the moment of ‘freedom’.

Ambitious survivalists are peeling off from Saddam’s crumbling regime and taking the freedom road from Baghdad to Kurdistan. Three conceal their faces yet offer their secrets of the last days to our intrigued Tehran correspondent.

Sulaimaniya is following the war intently, judging the moment, weighing the possibilities. With memories of exile, conscription and chemical attack, Kurds have no illusions about the Iraqi regime. In freedom, they gaze upon the people of the south – human shields of an iron regime – with wonder and pity.

The frontier between Iraqi forces and Kurdish militias is a crossroads of uncertainty and fear. The long-awaited arrival of US forces raises Kurdish hopes of a return to Kirkuk and Mosul. But in the mountains, among the thousands of displaced civilians and bitter memories, there is still intense wariness of Saddam.

On the eve of war, the borderline between Free Kurdistan and Saddam’s forces is a place of rumour. Refugees from Kirkuk - a great oil city as well as the Kurds’ emotional capital – gather there, listen to the wind, and wait for the moment of return.