There is the Iraq you think you know. And there is the Iraq protestors have spent recent weeks creating in Baghdad's Tahrir Square.

In a world of tyrants and of militarized police, the Iraq being built by people on the streets of Baghdad gives me hope.

Photos: @aya_mansour_11_

It's an Iraq where marginalized voices are listened to, where people defend one another from police attacks, where they open libraries and cook food, and create murals and express their thoughts and feelings, far from the oppressive watch of political leaders.

An Iraq that was always there, beneath the surface - an Iraq we couldn't see, an Iraq 16 years ago was bathed in blood by a US invasion, an Iraq that the media spent years burying beneath reports of deaths, an Iraq that struggled to survive in the most harrowing of circumstances.

An Iraq that Saddam Hussein repressed into submission, that US bombs and guns tried to silence into rubble, and that political leaders and armed groups like ISIS and Asaib al-Haq have since tried to repress into non-existence.

It is an Iraq that perseveres no matter the obstacles, an Iraq unafraid to speak its name and demand a better future. An Iraq willing to risk it all for that future.

It may seem far away. But the thing about freedom is that it's always connected; we can't be free if others are in chains. Especially not when we helped build those chains.
They fight for Iraq's freedom; they fight for all of our freedom.

This is a revolution you won't find properly shown in the news; the only way to see what's happening is to follow people on the ground.