CHICAGO - (KRT) - Three decades ago, Shlimon Bet-Shmuel performed a song in a Baghdad concert that would force him to flee his Iraqi homeland: "Sacrifice isn't enough if someone wants freedom and a bright day," he sang, going on to denounce an infamous massacre of minority Assyrians.

Bet-Shmuel has lived in exile ever since. But on Monday, he went to a Skokie, Ill., community center to raise his voice once again, this time registering to vote in the Iraqi national elections at the end of this month.

All day, hundreds of Iraqi expatriates and their children streamed into the Skokie site, as well as the Donald E. Stephens Convention Centerin Rosemont, Ill., to sign up for their chance to take part in the historic vote.

They joined thousands in four other American cities and locations around the world, from London to Sydney. While few expatriates showed up Monday in Syria and Jordan, participants elsewhere were more enthusiastic, with one Iraqi resident of Berlin remarking that "the future of the world is democracy."

Many traveled far to register, and they will have to return at the end of next week to cast their ballots. U.S. residents will vote Jan. 28-30 at the Chicago sites and in Detroit, Los Angeles, Nashville and Washington.

But distance did not deter a group of men who fled Iraq after the first Gulf War, and ended up in Lincoln, Neb. After driving all night to reach Skokie around 10 a.m., the five men registered in a matter of minutes, and filed back into their SUV for a nine-hour drive home.

On this day, they were all part of a larger Iraqi family, one that still maintained cultural and religious differences but also shared a desire that their homeland finally enjoy freedom and a bright day.

"I'm so happy. Is this reality? I feel like I'm dreaming," said Bet-Shmuel, 54, of Skokie, a member of Iraq's ancient Assyrian Christian minority. "All these years, I always had hope that I would see this day."

A 72-year-old Skokie man dug up his yellowed Iraqi military registration card, issued when he was 18, from his basement. At the time of the picture, Henry Shaoul still had hair - and hopes for his homeland that would eventually be dashed. On Monday, he said he was optimistic again.

Ramena Bouto, 19, has lived her whole life here but learned Iraq's sad history from her parents. She brought their passports to confirm her right to Iraqi citizenship, allowing her to vote under the election's rules.

The voting is open to anyone older than 18 who has the right to claim citizenship. That includes those born in Iraq who have acquired U.S. citizenship, and their U.S.-born children.

The International Organization for Migration, a nongovernmental organization based in Geneva, will organize voting for expatriates in 14 countries, including an estimated 240,000 voters eligible to vote in the United States.

At the Skokie registration site prospective voters looked as if they had won some sort of prize as they cheerfully strolled in with envelopes full of documents.

Even the inconvenience caused by the limited polling sites - some Iraqi leaders are so frustrated by the logistics that they are calling for an election boycott - did not dampen the spirits of Talib Almusawi and his friends from Nebraska.

Almusawi, 33, who moved to Lincoln in 1996 after five years as a refugee in Saudi Arabia, has found work at a printing company and gotten used to the harsh Midwest winters. He hopes to return to Iraq some day with his family.

"We have to vote," Almusawi said. "Our people in Iraq are all going to vote even though it isn't safe. They don't care. How could we care about nine hours of driving or some cold?"

As dire news continues to spread about the deadly conditions faced by election planners in Iraq, several voters said they couldn't help but take comfort in the casual yet businesslike atmosphere in Skokie.

But even though election organizers in Chicago said the FBI has assured them that no threats have been made here, about a dozen security guards and police officers lingered near the Skokie center's entrance. Visitors and voters walked through metal detectors.

"There are certain dark forces that want to prevent the Iraqis from voting," said Zaia Lachin, 55, of Chicago, as he registered. "It's important to show the world that they will fail. This vote sends that message."

Voters, however, continued to grumble over a lack of information about the candidates for the 275-seat National Assembly. Some candidates have been sending out campaign pitches over the Internet, but many are unknowns here.

The Chicago area's active Assyrian community has been the beneficiary of more sophisticated campaign coverage. Community leaders have invited Assyrian candidates to conduct radio interviews, and are even staging a campaign rally Sunday in Lincolnwood.

Iraqis say they also have enjoyed mixed success in encouraging their U.S.-born children to vote. Some feel far-removed from Iraq's difficulties. Others, like 36-year-old Brian Shaoul of Chicago, said they see want to help relatives still in Iraq.

Shaoul visited Iraq under different circumstances in 1991, taking on Saddam Hussein's regime as a U.S. Marine during the first Gulf War. This week, he is using his father's Iraqi military registration to sign up to vote.

"When I was fighting there, I wasn't sure we were doing anything to help Iraq," Shaoul said. "But a free election, that is something that can make a difference."

After months of depressing news from Iraq, it seemed like nearly everyone in Skokie was an optimist on Monday.

Bet-Shmuel, the musician, said he looks forward to returning to Iraq to perform one of his newest songs, a lullaby called "My Child." He wrote the song to honor Iraq's infancy as a liberated country.

"I'll be able to feel that Iraq is truly free when I can go there and express myself and sing this song," he said. "That's the meaning of freedom, right?"