5. Hussein Received A UNESCO Award For Raising Living Standards In Iraq
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is not someone you would necessarily associate with Saddam Hussein - yet they gave him an award in 1982. Although Hussein may have committed atrocities against certain ethnic groups within Iraq, he also dramatically raised living standards in the country and helped to eradicate illiteracy by developing free schools throughout the nation. Free schools and welfare benefits were almost non-existent in the Middle East during the 1970s and 1980s, so UNESCO decided to recognise Hussein's achievement with an award. Certainly a man of the people...
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
