Iraqi Americans, exiles celebrate, savor soccer win

DEARBORN, Mich (Reuters) - Hundreds of Iraqi expatriates poured into the streets of a Detroit suburb on Sunday to celebrate Iraq's upset victory in soccer's Asia Cup and to savor a rare moment of good news from home.

Police stopped traffic in Dearborn, Michigan for a spontaneous victory parade as dozens of cars draped in the Iraqi flag and trailing red, white, black and green balloons cruised the main drag of the largest Arab community in the United States, horns blaring.

"We've been through so much, but we've still fought and we were so strong and we did so well," said Adam Al-Emara, 29, after the national soccer team's 1-0 upset victory over Saudi Arabia.

Al-Emara's cousin, Yaroub Al-Emara, 30, said the Asia Cup win was especially important since it came over Saudi Arabia, which critics say has failed to crack down on the flow of militants headed to fight in Iraq, sometimes as suicide bombers.

"This is a real victory," he said. "We are telling them, we win with talent and intelligence, not terrorism."

Many Iraqis said they had not been able to reach relatives left back in Iraq, where phone lines were jammed.

So they headed to Warren Avenue, the gritty commercial strip in Dearborn that has become a rallying point for the exile community over the past decade and that hosted a jubilant vigil in December to mark the execution of Saddam Hussein.

A nearby Dollar 'n' More discount store was doing a brisk business in candy and balloons.

"I'm all out of Iraqi flags," said store owner Jamil Aoun, who said he was surprised by the sudden rush of business on a normally quiet Sunday. "Next time I'll keep more."

Ahmed Al-Mathab, 4, said his father woke him up to celebrate. "He was dancing in the house," he said.

Adil, his father, who has been in the United States since 1994, was thinking of family caught up in the war even as he bought candy for Ahmed.

"Everyday my family there is in pain," he said. "Today, they celebrate."