Where Saddam’s larger-than-life statue was toppled by his people in Paradise Square in central Baghdad, watched live by much of the world on the morning on April 9, a new statue has arisen.

Dark green, with a sun and crescent held aloft by three figures, its creators say it is a symbol of hope for the new Iraq. “We give this work as a present to every Iraqi who loves life,” said the sculptor, Basim Hamad. “This is a beautiful square where Saddam fell down, but that does not mean that Baghdad has fallen down. It’s part of the continuing life of Baghdad — we want to show the world that the Iraqi mind will show its best all the time.”

The sculpture is meant to represent the two rivers of Iraq, the Tigris and the Euphrates. The crescent moon represents Islamic civilisation, and the sun represents the Sumerians, who flourished in these lands around 6,000 years ago. The three figures represent a rather smaller-than-average Iraqi family.

With limited government in Baghdad, the Saddam-less pedestal was adopted without any official backing by the Najeen group of 30 artists, film directors, musicians, writers and sculptors, of whom Hamad is a member.

Yesterday, the group gathered to publicly celebrate the launching of the statue in front of the international media.

However, some members of the Iraqi public were sceptical. “Iraq is a great country, but this is not a great sculpture. It is nothing!” said one.

• The number of Iraqi children suffering from acute malnutrition has nearly doubled since the end of the war, climbing from 4per cent to 7.7 per cent, a Unicef official said yesterday. “Malnutrition really is a very good indicator for the overall well-being of children. It depends on access to food, clean water, proper sanitation, proper hygiene. Iraqi children have none of them.”

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