Iraq in December 2005
Terms and expressions :
I used the terms listed here in a sparse manner
throughout this BLOG. Please refer to this when
needed.
- the elections -
- majority Shiite party, ticket number: 555, name : Al-E'tilaf
- Alawi secular party, ticket number: 731
- majority Sunni party, ticket number: 618
- majority Kurds party, ticket number 730
- food
- Masgoof : grilled/smoked trout
The extreme sense of danger conveyed to me by friends and family before the start of this trip far exceeded what I had to listen to on my previous trips to Baghdad. Once there, the sense of being in Baghdad numbed all danger that was around me. I guess being at home one naturally feels safe even if the home is falling apart.
The 'normal' state in Baghdad is armed U.S. hired mercenaries from Southeast Asia or South America forming a welcoming committee at the airport, on the streets I found masked and armed Iraqi police riding trucks, waving machine guns in the air, stopping traffic for no apparent reason, and sometimes firing their machine guns in the air. I also found U.S. and Iraqi Army personnel riding HUMVs or Toyota pick-up trucks, or in tanks moving in the middle of the roads among hundreds of civilian cars, in a display of force that brings more concern than a feeling of being protected.
I found in and out electricity, redefining the term "ac/dc". 4 explosions were heard during my first day in Baghdad, no word on the news about the casualties. One current bomb rule is : if it sounds like a bomb and it is not covered in the news, it must be in the "safe and heavily protected" green zone.
Elections were coming up in 3 days and people were getting ready for a 3-4 day curfew. The overall expectations of the elections were that campaign 555 (Shiite majority) was going to win by a smaller margin than the year before. 48 hours before the elections news poured in about Sunni secular leaders being assassinated.
On the streets, Iraqis were trying to go on with life. Shops were open, sounds of generators roaring as I passed from street to street. Traffic is chaotic, traffic officers helplessly trying to direct cars while traffic lights are half flashing half broken. The odd/even traffic system is in place to reduce the traffic congestion. For those not familiar with this system, it means if the license plate number is even then the car is allowed to be on the roads on certain days of the week, while odd numbers are used on other days. Of course that is the theory and the reality is a light year away.
There is still a hint of sweetness and simplicity of the Iraqi spirit as it tries to survive and prepare for an unknown fate.
Masked and armed men assassinated Mizher Al Delaymee a Sunni leader. He had spoken out against the backlash conducted by the new Iraqi army, the National Guard. He had also spoken of a potential civil war, which could be triggered by the Iraqi army policies. His relatives strongly believed that the National Guard militias took his life while he was campaigning in Al-Anbar (Province west of Iraq).
48 hours after arriving to Baghdad, and the effect of the curfew is starting to take a toll on me. The concept of being trapped inside the house because safety is not available is a harsh reality to experience. Some families in Baghdad have live-in guards who help keep an eye out on the house and help run errands especially the ones that involve being in crowded areas like shopping, getting gas, and the ones that require driving a long distance.
A childhood friend snuck out during the curfew and stopped by to visit with us today. it was great to see him despite the messages he carried of a hopeless situation and the expectations of more violence on the way.
Later that night we heard 4 large explosions followed by a series of machine gunfire thereby redefining the concept of a curfew. Are Iraqis hopeful for this instability to stop post elections on the 15th ? yes. Do Iraqis expect this hope to become a reality ? No. Far from it. Almost every one I spoke with expected the violence to increase and the situation to worsen.
The new democratic life style of house arrest and curfews is now irritating me. I am starting to understand it a little more, and further understand the reaction of Iraqis to this life style. Today, I woke up to the sound of sparse bullets being fired down the block from where I am staying, followed by police on loud speakers. I could not make out what was being said. It was strange not to wake up to the sounds of roosters mixed with traffic noise, and beautified by the sound of the Mosque prayers, which is what I remember as typical.
After a simple breakfast and a complex discussion with friends comparing life in Baghdad and life outside Baghdad. I decided to take a break from living in Baghdad and sink myself in helping my friend's children with their homework. After finishing that I tried to surf the Internet, however, between the waves of the electricity being off and on and the waves of bad Internet connections I stopped to keep what is left of my sanity.
The story of electricity is the one that gets the most coverage, after the security and safety story, thereby overshadowing the stories of garbage collection, heating gas availability, car gas availability, increased cost of living, declining levels of education at the schools, and many other attractive stories. As I am writing this, all of these basic services, which were working consistently before the war, are now working but in a sparse and random fashion, and on commission bases. We may still be reading about this in some of the news, or may have forgotten about them, or assumed that democracy has taken care of all of these services. The reality is the lack of these basic services handicaps the individual in all sense of the word.
This morning, when we were discussing the differences in life in Baghdad and other cities, we discussed education. the conversation was getting interesting where ideas were being transferred and the minds were kicking in. Then ... the electricity went off, and an amazing thing happened. My friend froze and had this blank look on her face. I asked "What's wrong ?" I was concerned, since electricity going out is a regular thing and I thought one would be used to it. 45 seconds later she responded saying I had to reschedule the entire set of house chores for the day since some of the chores require "Wattaneeya", translates to "National" however here it means electricity that is provided by the government, like vacuuming and washing clothes to mention a couple of chores.
This my friends, is the most simple and disgusting way of population control. Iraqi citizens, helplessly sitting in their homes, listening to bombs exploding, bullets being fired without control, a set of puppets with more loyalty to the US corrupt administration, the CIA, the Pentagon than to their country and their people. like rats, living under the protection of the occupier's insecure tunnels, and arguing about how to divide the benefits, and not the responsibilities, of ruling Iraq. On behalf of my friends and relatives enduring this life style, I would like to thank Mr. Bush and his administration for a job well undone.
So why no one has done any report on why electricity is so bad ? I think we should ask Oprah to look into this. Why Oprah ? It turns out her show comes on dish there and people love her, when there is electricity of course. Interestingly, the minister of electricity , imagine there is an entire ministry that does this, has publicly declared that "electricity is controlled by higher authorities than himself" and resigned shortly afterwards. I am certain he meant no other than the "Red, White, and Blue-the In God we trust" was/is behind this mess.
The day was spent in eating, discussing politics, watching a plethora of TV commercials for election candidates, which all had the same wonderful slogan : " United Iraq, Prosperous Iraq, Secure Iraq". Interestingly enough, only one party, 618, had "Free Iraq" in their slogan. much respect I have for them. I spent an hour or so trying to revive my math teaching skills to help my friend’s daughter understand how to derive the area of a triangle (1/2 x base x height) from the area of a rectangle.
Election Day
Early this morning, around 7 AM, a huge explosion was heard, then another one a couple of hours after that. The resistance, now official when a year ago the parties in charge were refusing to recognize its existence, and not the insurgents has proved to be able to work even through continuous days of curfew. I am planning on accompanying my friends today as they make their way to the neighborhood’s voting center. Why vote ? I asked. A quick answer came in the form of a question : " What other options do we have ?".
Most of the political parties are neatly broken based on Sunni or Shiite. This must be what Mr. Bush meant when he announced, about 3 years ago, "mission is accomplished". Mission is : planting roots for endless future violence, and nurturing the right elements for a massive civil war.
My friends, a married Sunni and Shiite as a good number of Iraqis are, have a great concern that a non-secular government will win the elections. The reaction to the fact that 555 running ticket, Al-I'tilaf, which combines most of the Shiite parties is mixed with anger and fear. The secular Sunni parties are divided between those who do not mention the occupation and those who do. Naturally neither Kurdish parties nor the Shiite parties mention the occupation in their TV commercial campaigns. which I find interesting to say the least. The Iraqi family, that is financially capable, is tired, helpless, and waiting for their immigration papers to come through from Canada, US, Australia, or New Zealand. There is not even a decent grass-root national movement that is inspiring hope. The political seen is extremely polarized. The Arab Sunnis on one hand are dealing with the loss of central power and fighting to get it back. The Shiites have majority of power but internally disoriented and divided on many issues, which include, but not limited to, federalism, and balance of loyalty for Iraq and/or Iran. The Kurds, have some power and are internally divided on being a part of one unified Iraq or on creating their own quasi-independent Kurdish region. It is worth mentioning that none of the factions who seek unified Iraq in these three main groups represent a critical popular mass to make a difference. They are, however, the ones that have the control of their armed militias. On top of all that, most of the leaderships of these factions have demonstrated a healthy appetite for serving their own personal interests and increase their own personal wealth.
The fear of violence post elections is, as I mentioned, great. The source of the fear is whichever government comes in, there will be a massive backlash against those who do not agree with the government philosophically, and religiously. There will also be revenge taken against those who are/were in power. A Shiite friend who's relative was killed by a Sunni gang said that if he was a president for a day he would bomb the A'adamiyah, a Sunni concentrated area of Baghdad. On the other side, if a Sunni government takes control there will be a large retaliation against the Shiite power elements in the National Guard and other government positions that have been carrying out secret prisons and assassinations.
These divisions do not stop here, there is a backlash against the Kurds who helped destroy Falloujah. There will be backlashes between occupation supporters and non-supporters, and the list goes on. The main source of the fear is if these backlashes spill to the streets, no one, including the United States and the minority coalition armies, will be able to contain them.
I went to the election center near by, with my friends, to vote and watch the process. The location was a school situated in the middle of a side street. Both sides of the street were blocked by checkpoints allowing pedestrians only. The voter will then walk from the first checkpoint to the second checkpoint located about 30 feet away from the first check point towards the school. There, the voter gets body searched, all equipment that has cameras in them, like mobile phones are checked in with one of the guards. The voter reaches the gate of the school where some more guards present to visually inspect you and direct you to the voting room. We then walked through the school yard to one of three voting rooms. The voter then walks to the first station where her/his name is looked up, after that is verified a voting sheet is handed to the voter. The voter walks to a podium where he/she can fill the voting sheet, then the voter drops the sheet into the ballot box. The most interesting thing about the experience was the fear associated with the entire process. We constantly were looking over our shoulders anticipating some violent action. Once we exited the street there was some sense of relief.
I tried to vote, but my registration papers did not work for that center and I needed to go to a center further away. With the curfew in place, voting was no longer possible for me. The elections and the , supposedly, more active participation of the Sunnis seem to be the only hope Iraqis have today and the only "project" that we feel we can be responsible for. In a strange way, it is equal to a child deprived of x-mass gifts, looking forward to this year’s gift and hoping the gift would be functional. Later that evening we spent time talking and projecting the distribution of votes in the elections. 555, 618, Alawee is the current projected order. Boy were we off!.
One more day until the curfew is lifted, we have planned a fun activity for Saturday and I think I will be extending my trip for a couple of more days.
Today I woke up early to do some reading. The weather was windy and cloudy, as I was reading a ray of sunlight pierced through the window accompanied with sounds of a few bombs and bullets. Normally, a ray of sunlight on a cloudy day gives a sense of hope and it is associated with good and warm feeling. Not sure where to place the sounds of bombs and bullets in this picture.
I spent most of the day reading newspapers and searching for info on where and how reconstruction money is being spent and for signs of economical activities that could be one of the main remedies to help Iraq post invasion and in spite the occupation. Before my trip a friend had asked me to focus on the positive things that are keeping families together. I learned that the Iraqi family is going through what many families outside Iraq are going through plus some. The family I am staying with is facing many challenges.
First there seems to be less hope than 2 years ago, second, the minds of the husband and the wife are stuck in a vicious loop. I am sure somewhere in the world there is a "disorder" category for it. The loop is presented by the following main actions :
wake up, watch TV, eat lunch, watch TV, take a nap, wake up, watch TV, have dinner, watch TV, go to sleep. There is no work, no regular and worry-free socializing with others except via SMS, there is no travel, and basically no life as Iraqis used to know it.
This life style is fostering a deep sense of depression and desperation. When I tried to speak with them about the need to recognize the mental state they are in and the stronger need to try to combat it and the need to creatively avoid it, I received push backs. it is worth it, I feel, to expand on this a little more. Almost every Iraqi I know living in the United States is hungry to learn of a way where he or she can help improve the situation in Iraq in a strictly apolitical and humanitarian way. Every time I return to Iraq I am equipped with the hunger to help. So I try to observe and suggest. However these suggestions and observations as they are communicated to my friends and family living in Iraq are initially rejected, then categorized as dreamland approach, finally an initial acceptance is reached with a requirement to demonstrate. A simple example, I was speaking with my friend's wife about using the Internet to get recipes for new dishes. It did not take much to convince her that it is a doable and a 'cool' thing to do. When the time came to demonstrate how, the electricity decided to take an indefinite lunch break, there by shattering that simple effort. the obstacles grow from electricity and on. This clearly illustrated to me why it has become more natural to sit back and be passive about the situation and submitting to the current conditions and their dire consequences.
This morning the sweet sounds of Baghdad's chaotic bumper-to-bumper traffic overpowered any sound of shells or bombs. Today is the first day of freedom from the house arrest imposed, due to the elections. I took advantage of that and went to check out the shops in the city. We went to Al-Sina'a Street where most of the technology shops are. It was understandably not very crowded, and people were trying to go on with their daily routines as much as they possibly can. Talking to few shop owners the initial response to how things are was mixed, but quickly converged. One safe assumption to make on the initial response to the question "how are things?" is the general or polite one. The follow up questions easily scratch the surface and the complaints come pouring out, frustrations build up, and back to the homey state of depression. This was so sad that I stopped striking conversations after the second shop. In addition to that, the spirit of "freedom of speech" seemed more constrained than my first visit in 2003. I attributed that to the fact that the average person is now as afraid, if not more afraid, from indiscriminately talking about the current situation due to the new democratic practices by the current powers. It seems that even the initial perceived freedom people exercised in the form of open government criticism has now vanished.
After visiting the shops we went and picked up some groceries for dinner. The grocery shop we went to was considered one of the nicest ones and most expensive by current standards in Baghdad today. However, it was sad to see the Grand Canyon like contrast between the inside of the shop and outside the shop. As we were entering the shop I could not help notice a large open trash container covered with an inch thick of moving grey and black bodies. Closer, but not too close, inspection revealed the inch thick layer to be of the famous Iraqi flies, the most persistent flies on earth. This immediately made me question the sense of ownership that we Iraqis, living in Iraq, have of the country. I admit it is probably a weak and desperate generalization to make, however the sharp contrast in the images immediately made me question the shop owner commitment to his immediate shop surroundings. With the infrastructure still waking up from the destruction served by the occupiers the local people have yet to develop a sense of ownership.
For lunch we had beautiful and exciting plans. We were going to an area called "AL-GRAY'AT" to experience one of the most famous dishes in Baghdad, the Masgoof. I choose not to describe this famous dish because I will quickly develop a severe case of Masgoof withdrawal and have to catch the next plane back to Iraq. The drive was cautious. The area we were in is known to have some elements of the resistance. The restaurant is situated on Dijla (one of the rivers that makes mesopotamia). The fact that we were in a family mode with children made the locals less nervous but still not at complete ease. We ordered two fish plus appetizers. The famous warm Arabic bread was brought out covering the freshly grilled fish soaked in tangy tomato sauce and the appetite gates were wide open at that point.
We wrapped up our feast before sunset in order to avoid the possibilities of getting stuck in an unpleasent situation. On the way home we can see the long lines of cars forming around the gas stations in various shapes and lengths. Once home, the topic of going to "AL-GRAY'AT" was quickly communicated in a festive mood to friends and relatives. Our quest to taste what we have known as normal in the midst of this current democratic mess has been accomplished.
At night, with full stomachs we gathered enough energy to talk more politics and possible solutions. My friends interestingly think that federalism , once implemented will bring more peace to Baghdad. the justification was that the focus of the resistance will be shifted to the new centers of power. Will this really be the case ? I have doubts. As we were going back and forth in our discussions, the electricity went off signaling the end of the "election electricity schedule", not that there is any formal electricity schedule that gets published, and the return of the "guess when the electricity will be on schedule". At such late hours of the night, 1 am, the owner of the generator does not turn the generator on. So we continued our conversations in the dark. I started talking again about the need to be more positive and provide positive examples to the children at these hard times. I think a breakthrough was made, I planted some seeds of thought in my friend’s head. Allah Kareem.
Today I am back on the streets. I have two appointments and we have plans to go out for lunch. Imagine some attempt at reclaiming a normal life style. With the continuous sirens taking over the airwaves I am having my doubts about the lunch plans.
I am noticing a strange effect since arriving here. Due to the 5-day curfew, I saw the United States military presence once on my way from the airport to the city. Not seeing the US military in the high frequency I experienced during my past two visits, has shifted my focus from the illegal occupation to the state of Iraq, and the miserable conditions under which the Iraqis are living under today. I view this as a reconfirmation of the opinion that the invading US forces should not be in the cities and should be more concerned with securing the borders of this fragile country.
The elections results will not be formally posted for about 2-3 weeks from today. Every one was trying to find out whom their friends voted for. It reminded me of my elementary school mid term exams, where my friends and I used to compare answers once the test was over to guess what our scores would be. Of course the difference here is not what grade will the voters get, but how their lives will be affected because they are of a certain religion or belief. The family I am staying with, in narrow-minded and rigid US lingo, is a Sunni and Shiite couple. Most of their circle of friends voted for Alawi or 618 list. So the general expectations, based on the higher Sunni participation in this election, were that the percentage gained by the Shiite and the Kurds would be lower than the last elections. The other expectation was that the Sunnis list and Alawi's list would represent a critical minority in the Parliament. Naturally, all day and night the media were broadcasting the complaints of the Sunni and Alawi parties about unfair voting practices which ranged from burning down Sunni voting centers, not providing enough voting polls for Sunni areas, to intimidations of voters in the Kurdish and Shiite areas.
The mood here is wildly swinging from hope to desperation. The current government headed by Al-Ja'fari is known to have done very little towards stabilizing the situation and a lot towards overlooking the mismanagement of the country's affairs. This is creating jitters of fear and anxiety, which could climax into violence if the same government stays in power.
It is sad and disheartening to see the results of the United States foreign policy, which by theory was supposed to promote democracy to protect the rights of the minorities, take a reverse role where the majority is taking this opportunity to take revenge and persecute minorities. This is proving that the democracy and hope carrot Mr. Bush dangled in front of his people to get approval to invade and stay in Iraq is nothing but a lie.
Today, I met with Dr. Miriam who works for the ministry of health (AKA the black market gold mine). I was able to confirm earlier stories and reports of truly sick practices and conditions, which I listed a few below, in the current health sector in Iraq :
1- blood that was donated to hospitals is being sold on the black market instead of giving it to the patients.
2- severe lack of equipment in intensive care units
3- closing down of entire sections of hospitals due to lack of staff and equipment.
4- accounting practices that make ENRON seems like the general accounting office. and many more issues that I am overlooking here and hopefully will add later.
The day ended nicely with the , now usual, sound of mortar shells falling on the green zone.
In this chaos there is order. the order is represented by the regular sounds of low flying military helicopters, mortar shells (most popular), car bombs, and sounds of siren.
Today preliminary results of the elections were announced on TV, with the Shiite majority winning by large margins in most of central and south provinces. The early expectations of the voting distribution were shattered. This election had more Sunni participation, less Shiite voting, yet the numbers still came out with margins of difference for the Shiite larger than the last elections where most Sunnis did not take part in. In addition to that the huge jump in voting violations, reported violations went from 190 on the eve of Election Day to 1000 today. Both of these elements added to the already tense situation and sent waves of anger and discontent. Through many conversations I had with Sunni friends who expressed their fear of a civil war erupting if the preliminary results were not sanitized. Just for the record, the results of the last two voting events , the first parliament election, and voting on the constitution, were heavily sanitized to demonstrate a positive image of the US roll in the region.
In a conversation with a friend from west of Iraq today, he explained the mood in that region was so tense that people "had their hands on the trigger" waiting for action to break out. the Shiite Sunni couple that I am spending much time with is now speaking in a language which I did not hear a year ago. There is a clear and angry reference to their religious backgrounds as they discuss politics with each other. Though this couple is a very loving couple, educated, and aware, I could only imagine the effect of such dynamics on uneducated and unaware mixed families in the rest of the country. The news of the Kurdish militia (Peshmurga) recalling their elements from the National Guard while constantly confirming their intentions to declare an independent state, and of the claims of AL-Badr's militia controlling tanks hidden in the date palm farms in Karbala awaiting orders to shell Baghdad. All of this, is painting a very dark and grim picture of the near future in Iraq.
Later this morning I went with my friend to the elementary school where her daughter is attending. I was hoping that I can take permission to interview some students for a media project. Unfortunately, I was given a long application that required the approval of half of the ministry of education, which quickly killed that effort. while I was at the school I chatted with my sister's teacher, who is now the assistant to the principal. She expressed her discontent and sadness about what is taking place to the education system. For example, the textbooks that schools were supposed to get 2 years ago, are still on order. The reconstruction of the school was still incomplete. The education level of the teachers and their training is in regress. This school in 1972 was a catholic school and was run by nuns. After the break out of the war in 2003, the school tried to gain its old status as a private school. In 2003 there was a lot of hope that this was going to take place. now, the issue has been tabled indefinitely after the ministry of education introduced impossible processes to follow, which discouraged the administration of the school. I mentioned before , on the 14th of December, that I was helping my friend's daughter learn how to find the area of a triangle (which is 1/2 x base x height). The next day, at lunch, she anxiously told me that the rule I taught her was incorrect. Of course, choking on my food, I asked her to bring the homework to see what the instructor has told her. She brought the homework and to my great disappointment, I discovered that the basic rules of geometry no longer applied in that school. The teacher had evolved her own version of geometry. It is of great sadness to see the same system that taught me geometry and equipped me with the tools and the knowledge, to the level where I was pointing out errors in my instructor's geometry solutions at ISU, reach this state. I must also say that this means the room to help and give back is immense and every little area of life in Iraq is in need of attention and caring. In retrospect this great room of potential need is only stemming out of the great destruction imposed by the democraticze-on-our-terms-or-else machine made in the USA.
Good morning, my friends said, did you hear the big explosion ? this must be the new morning greeting in Baghdad. luckily or not, I missed that portion of the daily morning program. Throughout my trip, I tried to counter the ultra pessimism point of views which I faced with optimistic outlook. However, this is really difficult to genuinely sustain with constant stream of mistakes and screw-ups by the occupying power and by the corrupt government. the best employer in Iraq is the Iraqi government. to strip an entire staff of the ministry of health because of religious alliance, and because of working with a previous government, is but one example of adding more fuel to the existing fire and is a sure way to destroy all positive efforts others have contributed towards a stable and free Iraq.
Some of the stories that I hear reminded me of some of the examples in Jarred Diamond book, Collapse. Some of the basic resources a civilized society needs are not available. This is turning the have not(s) onto the have(s). Electricity, as everyone knows, maybe with the exception of the US government, is not available in an adequate fashion. so people pay monthly per amp to a local generator owner. Neighbors regularly get into quarrels about the payment and distribution of this highly desirable commodity. These actions are coming from people whom I have known to be educated and well to do. At least they used to be, and now they are feeling the pinch.
Imagine a person in a unfamiliar pitch-black room. with arms moving frantically looking for a light switch, a match, or anything to shed some light on what is around. if you can imagine that, you have a tiny idea what the civil society in Iraq is going through today in the new, occupied but democratic Iraq.
The person is Iraq civil society, the room is Iraq's future, and the light is the hope that is yet to be found. It has reached a point where hope comes and fades away more frequently than the electricity does in Baghdad. logically, there isn't a reason to be optimistic. the US has demonstrated a massive incapability, ignorance, and arrogance in managing the mess it has created. The Iraqi political scene is more decorated than the holiday tree at the Rockefeller center in NYC with slogans and banners of free, and prosperous Iraq. However, the political machine in Iraq has shown amazing ineptness at getting the simplest things people need not to mention the utilization of the country's wealth for personal use. Meanwhile the Iraqis are living day-to-day dodging bombs, explosions, and kidnappings, while looking for jobs and constant secure income. Most working people there have written off their lives and goals and only seeking an exit for their children out of this mess.
Sept 22nd. 2005
- 40 million dollars were allocated by AL-Ja'fari to support pilgrimage to Najaf and Karbala
- Rapid growth in black market for gasoline and heating oil. every 100 liters bought from the government gas stations cost 10,000 Dinars, which is traded back on the black market for about 30,000 Dinars. Dealers in black market continue on doing that until they sell about 1000 liters daily. 1,500.00 Dinars is about $1. Prices for heating oil and gasoline increased 5 times its mentioned values causing the purchasing power of 10,000.00 Dinars to purchase 20 liters only.
Note : this is one of the reasons why in Baghdad today the average length of the waiting line for gasoline is about 2 miles. People that are in the waiting line sometimes wait over night until their turn is reached.
- ministry of trade to establish a contract to buy sugar from Iran for the amount of 400,000 tons.
Al-Sabah Sept 23rd, 2005
- Friday Market in Baghdad : A different sign that cannot be imitated. Markets for used clothes, animals and a third market prohibited for women!!!.
- how much oil can Iraq produce ? Oil production is expected to increase by 30,000 barrels a day. to 1.8 million barrels a day by next June.
Note: @ approximately $60.00 a barrel, Iraq's daily income from oil exports, theoretically, could be around 10 million dollars daily.
- Zakho district in Dihok is undergoing the drill of the first oil well, which is managed completely by the current government in Kurdistan.
Zakho, a district of Dihok providence in northern Iraq is undergoing it first oil well drill, which is managed by the government of Kurdish region, allegedly under the full knowledge of the central government in Iraq. Based on the new constitution that has not been implemented and ratified yet. The article states that "Negeer Van Barazani, relative of the president of Kurdistan, prime minister of Arbil, has said that the new constitution gives the Kurdish government the right to run the entire oil production operation and contract it out to whoever they wish". The article also mentions how the government in Kurdish region is planning on using the revenue of the oil exports to compensate the Kurds for the suffering they faced under the previous government.
Note : It cannot be any more clear than this that Iraq is being divided economically to full fill the greed and ambitions of radical ethnic groups in Iraq. I am sure this will also include buying weapons and re-enforcing the elements that strengthens the separation of the region from Iraq.
- death counter: violence claimed the lives of 1400 Iraqis in Nov 2005.
I used the terms listed here in a sparse manner
throughout this BLOG. Please refer to this when
needed.
- the elections -
- majority Shiite party, ticket number: 555, name : Al-E'tilaf
- Alawi secular party, ticket number: 731
- majority Sunni party, ticket number: 618
- majority Kurds party, ticket number 730
- food
- Masgoof : grilled/smoked trout
Monday, Dec 12 2005. Baghdad, Iraq
The extreme sense of danger conveyed to me by friends and family before the start of this trip far exceeded what I had to listen to on my previous trips to Baghdad. Once there, the sense of being in Baghdad numbed all danger that was around me. I guess being at home one naturally feels safe even if the home is falling apart.
The 'normal' state in Baghdad is armed U.S. hired mercenaries from Southeast Asia or South America forming a welcoming committee at the airport, on the streets I found masked and armed Iraqi police riding trucks, waving machine guns in the air, stopping traffic for no apparent reason, and sometimes firing their machine guns in the air. I also found U.S. and Iraqi Army personnel riding HUMVs or Toyota pick-up trucks, or in tanks moving in the middle of the roads among hundreds of civilian cars, in a display of force that brings more concern than a feeling of being protected.
I found in and out electricity, redefining the term "ac/dc". 4 explosions were heard during my first day in Baghdad, no word on the news about the casualties. One current bomb rule is : if it sounds like a bomb and it is not covered in the news, it must be in the "safe and heavily protected" green zone.
Elections were coming up in 3 days and people were getting ready for a 3-4 day curfew. The overall expectations of the elections were that campaign 555 (Shiite majority) was going to win by a smaller margin than the year before. 48 hours before the elections news poured in about Sunni secular leaders being assassinated.
On the streets, Iraqis were trying to go on with life. Shops were open, sounds of generators roaring as I passed from street to street. Traffic is chaotic, traffic officers helplessly trying to direct cars while traffic lights are half flashing half broken. The odd/even traffic system is in place to reduce the traffic congestion. For those not familiar with this system, it means if the license plate number is even then the car is allowed to be on the roads on certain days of the week, while odd numbers are used on other days. Of course that is the theory and the reality is a light year away.
There is still a hint of sweetness and simplicity of the Iraqi spirit as it tries to survive and prepare for an unknown fate.
Tuesday, Dec 13th 2005. Baghdad Iraq.
Masked and armed men assassinated Mizher Al Delaymee a Sunni leader. He had spoken out against the backlash conducted by the new Iraqi army, the National Guard. He had also spoken of a potential civil war, which could be triggered by the Iraqi army policies. His relatives strongly believed that the National Guard militias took his life while he was campaigning in Al-Anbar (Province west of Iraq).
48 hours after arriving to Baghdad, and the effect of the curfew is starting to take a toll on me. The concept of being trapped inside the house because safety is not available is a harsh reality to experience. Some families in Baghdad have live-in guards who help keep an eye out on the house and help run errands especially the ones that involve being in crowded areas like shopping, getting gas, and the ones that require driving a long distance.
A childhood friend snuck out during the curfew and stopped by to visit with us today. it was great to see him despite the messages he carried of a hopeless situation and the expectations of more violence on the way.
Later that night we heard 4 large explosions followed by a series of machine gunfire thereby redefining the concept of a curfew. Are Iraqis hopeful for this instability to stop post elections on the 15th ? yes. Do Iraqis expect this hope to become a reality ? No. Far from it. Almost every one I spoke with expected the violence to increase and the situation to worsen.
Wednesday, Dec 14th 2005. Baghdad, Iraq.
The new democratic life style of house arrest and curfews is now irritating me. I am starting to understand it a little more, and further understand the reaction of Iraqis to this life style. Today, I woke up to the sound of sparse bullets being fired down the block from where I am staying, followed by police on loud speakers. I could not make out what was being said. It was strange not to wake up to the sounds of roosters mixed with traffic noise, and beautified by the sound of the Mosque prayers, which is what I remember as typical.
After a simple breakfast and a complex discussion with friends comparing life in Baghdad and life outside Baghdad. I decided to take a break from living in Baghdad and sink myself in helping my friend's children with their homework. After finishing that I tried to surf the Internet, however, between the waves of the electricity being off and on and the waves of bad Internet connections I stopped to keep what is left of my sanity.
The story of electricity is the one that gets the most coverage, after the security and safety story, thereby overshadowing the stories of garbage collection, heating gas availability, car gas availability, increased cost of living, declining levels of education at the schools, and many other attractive stories. As I am writing this, all of these basic services, which were working consistently before the war, are now working but in a sparse and random fashion, and on commission bases. We may still be reading about this in some of the news, or may have forgotten about them, or assumed that democracy has taken care of all of these services. The reality is the lack of these basic services handicaps the individual in all sense of the word.
This morning, when we were discussing the differences in life in Baghdad and other cities, we discussed education. the conversation was getting interesting where ideas were being transferred and the minds were kicking in. Then ... the electricity went off, and an amazing thing happened. My friend froze and had this blank look on her face. I asked "What's wrong ?" I was concerned, since electricity going out is a regular thing and I thought one would be used to it. 45 seconds later she responded saying I had to reschedule the entire set of house chores for the day since some of the chores require "Wattaneeya", translates to "National" however here it means electricity that is provided by the government, like vacuuming and washing clothes to mention a couple of chores.
This my friends, is the most simple and disgusting way of population control. Iraqi citizens, helplessly sitting in their homes, listening to bombs exploding, bullets being fired without control, a set of puppets with more loyalty to the US corrupt administration, the CIA, the Pentagon than to their country and their people. like rats, living under the protection of the occupier's insecure tunnels, and arguing about how to divide the benefits, and not the responsibilities, of ruling Iraq. On behalf of my friends and relatives enduring this life style, I would like to thank Mr. Bush and his administration for a job well undone.
So why no one has done any report on why electricity is so bad ? I think we should ask Oprah to look into this. Why Oprah ? It turns out her show comes on dish there and people love her, when there is electricity of course. Interestingly, the minister of electricity , imagine there is an entire ministry that does this, has publicly declared that "electricity is controlled by higher authorities than himself" and resigned shortly afterwards. I am certain he meant no other than the "Red, White, and Blue-the In God we trust" was/is behind this mess.
The day was spent in eating, discussing politics, watching a plethora of TV commercials for election candidates, which all had the same wonderful slogan : " United Iraq, Prosperous Iraq, Secure Iraq". Interestingly enough, only one party, 618, had "Free Iraq" in their slogan. much respect I have for them. I spent an hour or so trying to revive my math teaching skills to help my friend’s daughter understand how to derive the area of a triangle (1/2 x base x height) from the area of a rectangle.
Thursday, Dec 15th 2005. Baghdad, Iraq.
Election Day
Early this morning, around 7 AM, a huge explosion was heard, then another one a couple of hours after that. The resistance, now official when a year ago the parties in charge were refusing to recognize its existence, and not the insurgents has proved to be able to work even through continuous days of curfew. I am planning on accompanying my friends today as they make their way to the neighborhood’s voting center. Why vote ? I asked. A quick answer came in the form of a question : " What other options do we have ?".
Most of the political parties are neatly broken based on Sunni or Shiite. This must be what Mr. Bush meant when he announced, about 3 years ago, "mission is accomplished". Mission is : planting roots for endless future violence, and nurturing the right elements for a massive civil war.
My friends, a married Sunni and Shiite as a good number of Iraqis are, have a great concern that a non-secular government will win the elections. The reaction to the fact that 555 running ticket, Al-I'tilaf, which combines most of the Shiite parties is mixed with anger and fear. The secular Sunni parties are divided between those who do not mention the occupation and those who do. Naturally neither Kurdish parties nor the Shiite parties mention the occupation in their TV commercial campaigns. which I find interesting to say the least. The Iraqi family, that is financially capable, is tired, helpless, and waiting for their immigration papers to come through from Canada, US, Australia, or New Zealand. There is not even a decent grass-root national movement that is inspiring hope. The political seen is extremely polarized. The Arab Sunnis on one hand are dealing with the loss of central power and fighting to get it back. The Shiites have majority of power but internally disoriented and divided on many issues, which include, but not limited to, federalism, and balance of loyalty for Iraq and/or Iran. The Kurds, have some power and are internally divided on being a part of one unified Iraq or on creating their own quasi-independent Kurdish region. It is worth mentioning that none of the factions who seek unified Iraq in these three main groups represent a critical popular mass to make a difference. They are, however, the ones that have the control of their armed militias. On top of all that, most of the leaderships of these factions have demonstrated a healthy appetite for serving their own personal interests and increase their own personal wealth.
The fear of violence post elections is, as I mentioned, great. The source of the fear is whichever government comes in, there will be a massive backlash against those who do not agree with the government philosophically, and religiously. There will also be revenge taken against those who are/were in power. A Shiite friend who's relative was killed by a Sunni gang said that if he was a president for a day he would bomb the A'adamiyah, a Sunni concentrated area of Baghdad. On the other side, if a Sunni government takes control there will be a large retaliation against the Shiite power elements in the National Guard and other government positions that have been carrying out secret prisons and assassinations.
These divisions do not stop here, there is a backlash against the Kurds who helped destroy Falloujah. There will be backlashes between occupation supporters and non-supporters, and the list goes on. The main source of the fear is if these backlashes spill to the streets, no one, including the United States and the minority coalition armies, will be able to contain them.
I went to the election center near by, with my friends, to vote and watch the process. The location was a school situated in the middle of a side street. Both sides of the street were blocked by checkpoints allowing pedestrians only. The voter will then walk from the first checkpoint to the second checkpoint located about 30 feet away from the first check point towards the school. There, the voter gets body searched, all equipment that has cameras in them, like mobile phones are checked in with one of the guards. The voter reaches the gate of the school where some more guards present to visually inspect you and direct you to the voting room. We then walked through the school yard to one of three voting rooms. The voter then walks to the first station where her/his name is looked up, after that is verified a voting sheet is handed to the voter. The voter walks to a podium where he/she can fill the voting sheet, then the voter drops the sheet into the ballot box. The most interesting thing about the experience was the fear associated with the entire process. We constantly were looking over our shoulders anticipating some violent action. Once we exited the street there was some sense of relief.
I tried to vote, but my registration papers did not work for that center and I needed to go to a center further away. With the curfew in place, voting was no longer possible for me. The elections and the , supposedly, more active participation of the Sunnis seem to be the only hope Iraqis have today and the only "project" that we feel we can be responsible for. In a strange way, it is equal to a child deprived of x-mass gifts, looking forward to this year’s gift and hoping the gift would be functional. Later that evening we spent time talking and projecting the distribution of votes in the elections. 555, 618, Alawee is the current projected order. Boy were we off!.
One more day until the curfew is lifted, we have planned a fun activity for Saturday and I think I will be extending my trip for a couple of more days.
Friday, Dec 16th 2005. Baghdad, Iraq.
Today I woke up early to do some reading. The weather was windy and cloudy, as I was reading a ray of sunlight pierced through the window accompanied with sounds of a few bombs and bullets. Normally, a ray of sunlight on a cloudy day gives a sense of hope and it is associated with good and warm feeling. Not sure where to place the sounds of bombs and bullets in this picture.
I spent most of the day reading newspapers and searching for info on where and how reconstruction money is being spent and for signs of economical activities that could be one of the main remedies to help Iraq post invasion and in spite the occupation. Before my trip a friend had asked me to focus on the positive things that are keeping families together. I learned that the Iraqi family is going through what many families outside Iraq are going through plus some. The family I am staying with is facing many challenges.
First there seems to be less hope than 2 years ago, second, the minds of the husband and the wife are stuck in a vicious loop. I am sure somewhere in the world there is a "disorder" category for it. The loop is presented by the following main actions :
wake up, watch TV, eat lunch, watch TV, take a nap, wake up, watch TV, have dinner, watch TV, go to sleep. There is no work, no regular and worry-free socializing with others except via SMS, there is no travel, and basically no life as Iraqis used to know it.
This life style is fostering a deep sense of depression and desperation. When I tried to speak with them about the need to recognize the mental state they are in and the stronger need to try to combat it and the need to creatively avoid it, I received push backs. it is worth it, I feel, to expand on this a little more. Almost every Iraqi I know living in the United States is hungry to learn of a way where he or she can help improve the situation in Iraq in a strictly apolitical and humanitarian way. Every time I return to Iraq I am equipped with the hunger to help. So I try to observe and suggest. However these suggestions and observations as they are communicated to my friends and family living in Iraq are initially rejected, then categorized as dreamland approach, finally an initial acceptance is reached with a requirement to demonstrate. A simple example, I was speaking with my friend's wife about using the Internet to get recipes for new dishes. It did not take much to convince her that it is a doable and a 'cool' thing to do. When the time came to demonstrate how, the electricity decided to take an indefinite lunch break, there by shattering that simple effort. the obstacles grow from electricity and on. This clearly illustrated to me why it has become more natural to sit back and be passive about the situation and submitting to the current conditions and their dire consequences.
Saturday, Dec 17th 2005. Baghdad Iraq.
This morning the sweet sounds of Baghdad's chaotic bumper-to-bumper traffic overpowered any sound of shells or bombs. Today is the first day of freedom from the house arrest imposed, due to the elections. I took advantage of that and went to check out the shops in the city. We went to Al-Sina'a Street where most of the technology shops are. It was understandably not very crowded, and people were trying to go on with their daily routines as much as they possibly can. Talking to few shop owners the initial response to how things are was mixed, but quickly converged. One safe assumption to make on the initial response to the question "how are things?" is the general or polite one. The follow up questions easily scratch the surface and the complaints come pouring out, frustrations build up, and back to the homey state of depression. This was so sad that I stopped striking conversations after the second shop. In addition to that, the spirit of "freedom of speech" seemed more constrained than my first visit in 2003. I attributed that to the fact that the average person is now as afraid, if not more afraid, from indiscriminately talking about the current situation due to the new democratic practices by the current powers. It seems that even the initial perceived freedom people exercised in the form of open government criticism has now vanished.
After visiting the shops we went and picked up some groceries for dinner. The grocery shop we went to was considered one of the nicest ones and most expensive by current standards in Baghdad today. However, it was sad to see the Grand Canyon like contrast between the inside of the shop and outside the shop. As we were entering the shop I could not help notice a large open trash container covered with an inch thick of moving grey and black bodies. Closer, but not too close, inspection revealed the inch thick layer to be of the famous Iraqi flies, the most persistent flies on earth. This immediately made me question the sense of ownership that we Iraqis, living in Iraq, have of the country. I admit it is probably a weak and desperate generalization to make, however the sharp contrast in the images immediately made me question the shop owner commitment to his immediate shop surroundings. With the infrastructure still waking up from the destruction served by the occupiers the local people have yet to develop a sense of ownership.
For lunch we had beautiful and exciting plans. We were going to an area called "AL-GRAY'AT" to experience one of the most famous dishes in Baghdad, the Masgoof. I choose not to describe this famous dish because I will quickly develop a severe case of Masgoof withdrawal and have to catch the next plane back to Iraq. The drive was cautious. The area we were in is known to have some elements of the resistance. The restaurant is situated on Dijla (one of the rivers that makes mesopotamia). The fact that we were in a family mode with children made the locals less nervous but still not at complete ease. We ordered two fish plus appetizers. The famous warm Arabic bread was brought out covering the freshly grilled fish soaked in tangy tomato sauce and the appetite gates were wide open at that point.
We wrapped up our feast before sunset in order to avoid the possibilities of getting stuck in an unpleasent situation. On the way home we can see the long lines of cars forming around the gas stations in various shapes and lengths. Once home, the topic of going to "AL-GRAY'AT" was quickly communicated in a festive mood to friends and relatives. Our quest to taste what we have known as normal in the midst of this current democratic mess has been accomplished.
At night, with full stomachs we gathered enough energy to talk more politics and possible solutions. My friends interestingly think that federalism , once implemented will bring more peace to Baghdad. the justification was that the focus of the resistance will be shifted to the new centers of power. Will this really be the case ? I have doubts. As we were going back and forth in our discussions, the electricity went off signaling the end of the "election electricity schedule", not that there is any formal electricity schedule that gets published, and the return of the "guess when the electricity will be on schedule". At such late hours of the night, 1 am, the owner of the generator does not turn the generator on. So we continued our conversations in the dark. I started talking again about the need to be more positive and provide positive examples to the children at these hard times. I think a breakthrough was made, I planted some seeds of thought in my friend’s head. Allah Kareem.
Sunday, Dec 18th 2005. Baghdad Iraq.
Today I am back on the streets. I have two appointments and we have plans to go out for lunch. Imagine some attempt at reclaiming a normal life style. With the continuous sirens taking over the airwaves I am having my doubts about the lunch plans.
I am noticing a strange effect since arriving here. Due to the 5-day curfew, I saw the United States military presence once on my way from the airport to the city. Not seeing the US military in the high frequency I experienced during my past two visits, has shifted my focus from the illegal occupation to the state of Iraq, and the miserable conditions under which the Iraqis are living under today. I view this as a reconfirmation of the opinion that the invading US forces should not be in the cities and should be more concerned with securing the borders of this fragile country.
The elections results will not be formally posted for about 2-3 weeks from today. Every one was trying to find out whom their friends voted for. It reminded me of my elementary school mid term exams, where my friends and I used to compare answers once the test was over to guess what our scores would be. Of course the difference here is not what grade will the voters get, but how their lives will be affected because they are of a certain religion or belief. The family I am staying with, in narrow-minded and rigid US lingo, is a Sunni and Shiite couple. Most of their circle of friends voted for Alawi or 618 list. So the general expectations, based on the higher Sunni participation in this election, were that the percentage gained by the Shiite and the Kurds would be lower than the last elections. The other expectation was that the Sunnis list and Alawi's list would represent a critical minority in the Parliament. Naturally, all day and night the media were broadcasting the complaints of the Sunni and Alawi parties about unfair voting practices which ranged from burning down Sunni voting centers, not providing enough voting polls for Sunni areas, to intimidations of voters in the Kurdish and Shiite areas.
The mood here is wildly swinging from hope to desperation. The current government headed by Al-Ja'fari is known to have done very little towards stabilizing the situation and a lot towards overlooking the mismanagement of the country's affairs. This is creating jitters of fear and anxiety, which could climax into violence if the same government stays in power.
It is sad and disheartening to see the results of the United States foreign policy, which by theory was supposed to promote democracy to protect the rights of the minorities, take a reverse role where the majority is taking this opportunity to take revenge and persecute minorities. This is proving that the democracy and hope carrot Mr. Bush dangled in front of his people to get approval to invade and stay in Iraq is nothing but a lie.
Today, I met with Dr. Miriam who works for the ministry of health (AKA the black market gold mine). I was able to confirm earlier stories and reports of truly sick practices and conditions, which I listed a few below, in the current health sector in Iraq :
1- blood that was donated to hospitals is being sold on the black market instead of giving it to the patients.
2- severe lack of equipment in intensive care units
3- closing down of entire sections of hospitals due to lack of staff and equipment.
4- accounting practices that make ENRON seems like the general accounting office. and many more issues that I am overlooking here and hopefully will add later.
The day ended nicely with the , now usual, sound of mortar shells falling on the green zone.
Monday, Dec 19th 2005. Baghdad Iraq.
In this chaos there is order. the order is represented by the regular sounds of low flying military helicopters, mortar shells (most popular), car bombs, and sounds of siren.
Today preliminary results of the elections were announced on TV, with the Shiite majority winning by large margins in most of central and south provinces. The early expectations of the voting distribution were shattered. This election had more Sunni participation, less Shiite voting, yet the numbers still came out with margins of difference for the Shiite larger than the last elections where most Sunnis did not take part in. In addition to that the huge jump in voting violations, reported violations went from 190 on the eve of Election Day to 1000 today. Both of these elements added to the already tense situation and sent waves of anger and discontent. Through many conversations I had with Sunni friends who expressed their fear of a civil war erupting if the preliminary results were not sanitized. Just for the record, the results of the last two voting events , the first parliament election, and voting on the constitution, were heavily sanitized to demonstrate a positive image of the US roll in the region.
In a conversation with a friend from west of Iraq today, he explained the mood in that region was so tense that people "had their hands on the trigger" waiting for action to break out. the Shiite Sunni couple that I am spending much time with is now speaking in a language which I did not hear a year ago. There is a clear and angry reference to their religious backgrounds as they discuss politics with each other. Though this couple is a very loving couple, educated, and aware, I could only imagine the effect of such dynamics on uneducated and unaware mixed families in the rest of the country. The news of the Kurdish militia (Peshmurga) recalling their elements from the National Guard while constantly confirming their intentions to declare an independent state, and of the claims of AL-Badr's militia controlling tanks hidden in the date palm farms in Karbala awaiting orders to shell Baghdad. All of this, is painting a very dark and grim picture of the near future in Iraq.
Later this morning I went with my friend to the elementary school where her daughter is attending. I was hoping that I can take permission to interview some students for a media project. Unfortunately, I was given a long application that required the approval of half of the ministry of education, which quickly killed that effort. while I was at the school I chatted with my sister's teacher, who is now the assistant to the principal. She expressed her discontent and sadness about what is taking place to the education system. For example, the textbooks that schools were supposed to get 2 years ago, are still on order. The reconstruction of the school was still incomplete. The education level of the teachers and their training is in regress. This school in 1972 was a catholic school and was run by nuns. After the break out of the war in 2003, the school tried to gain its old status as a private school. In 2003 there was a lot of hope that this was going to take place. now, the issue has been tabled indefinitely after the ministry of education introduced impossible processes to follow, which discouraged the administration of the school. I mentioned before , on the 14th of December, that I was helping my friend's daughter learn how to find the area of a triangle (which is 1/2 x base x height). The next day, at lunch, she anxiously told me that the rule I taught her was incorrect. Of course, choking on my food, I asked her to bring the homework to see what the instructor has told her. She brought the homework and to my great disappointment, I discovered that the basic rules of geometry no longer applied in that school. The teacher had evolved her own version of geometry. It is of great sadness to see the same system that taught me geometry and equipped me with the tools and the knowledge, to the level where I was pointing out errors in my instructor's geometry solutions at ISU, reach this state. I must also say that this means the room to help and give back is immense and every little area of life in Iraq is in need of attention and caring. In retrospect this great room of potential need is only stemming out of the great destruction imposed by the democraticze-on-our-terms-or-else machine made in the USA.
Tue/Wed, Dec 20th/21st 2005. Baghdad Iraq.
Good morning, my friends said, did you hear the big explosion ? this must be the new morning greeting in Baghdad. luckily or not, I missed that portion of the daily morning program. Throughout my trip, I tried to counter the ultra pessimism point of views which I faced with optimistic outlook. However, this is really difficult to genuinely sustain with constant stream of mistakes and screw-ups by the occupying power and by the corrupt government. the best employer in Iraq is the Iraqi government. to strip an entire staff of the ministry of health because of religious alliance, and because of working with a previous government, is but one example of adding more fuel to the existing fire and is a sure way to destroy all positive efforts others have contributed towards a stable and free Iraq.
Some of the stories that I hear reminded me of some of the examples in Jarred Diamond book, Collapse. Some of the basic resources a civilized society needs are not available. This is turning the have not(s) onto the have(s). Electricity, as everyone knows, maybe with the exception of the US government, is not available in an adequate fashion. so people pay monthly per amp to a local generator owner. Neighbors regularly get into quarrels about the payment and distribution of this highly desirable commodity. These actions are coming from people whom I have known to be educated and well to do. At least they used to be, and now they are feeling the pinch.
Imagine a person in a unfamiliar pitch-black room. with arms moving frantically looking for a light switch, a match, or anything to shed some light on what is around. if you can imagine that, you have a tiny idea what the civil society in Iraq is going through today in the new, occupied but democratic Iraq.
The person is Iraq civil society, the room is Iraq's future, and the light is the hope that is yet to be found. It has reached a point where hope comes and fades away more frequently than the electricity does in Baghdad. logically, there isn't a reason to be optimistic. the US has demonstrated a massive incapability, ignorance, and arrogance in managing the mess it has created. The Iraqi political scene is more decorated than the holiday tree at the Rockefeller center in NYC with slogans and banners of free, and prosperous Iraq. However, the political machine in Iraq has shown amazing ineptness at getting the simplest things people need not to mention the utilization of the country's wealth for personal use. Meanwhile the Iraqis are living day-to-day dodging bombs, explosions, and kidnappings, while looking for jobs and constant secure income. Most working people there have written off their lives and goals and only seeking an exit for their children out of this mess.
Headlines of articles from Al-Sabah newspaper.
Sept 22nd. 2005
- 40 million dollars were allocated by AL-Ja'fari to support pilgrimage to Najaf and Karbala
- Rapid growth in black market for gasoline and heating oil. every 100 liters bought from the government gas stations cost 10,000 Dinars, which is traded back on the black market for about 30,000 Dinars. Dealers in black market continue on doing that until they sell about 1000 liters daily. 1,500.00 Dinars is about $1. Prices for heating oil and gasoline increased 5 times its mentioned values causing the purchasing power of 10,000.00 Dinars to purchase 20 liters only.
Note : this is one of the reasons why in Baghdad today the average length of the waiting line for gasoline is about 2 miles. People that are in the waiting line sometimes wait over night until their turn is reached.
- ministry of trade to establish a contract to buy sugar from Iran for the amount of 400,000 tons.
Al-Sabah Sept 23rd, 2005
- Friday Market in Baghdad : A different sign that cannot be imitated. Markets for used clothes, animals and a third market prohibited for women!!!.
- how much oil can Iraq produce ? Oil production is expected to increase by 30,000 barrels a day. to 1.8 million barrels a day by next June.
Note: @ approximately $60.00 a barrel, Iraq's daily income from oil exports, theoretically, could be around 10 million dollars daily.
- Zakho district in Dihok is undergoing the drill of the first oil well, which is managed completely by the current government in Kurdistan.
Zakho, a district of Dihok providence in northern Iraq is undergoing it first oil well drill, which is managed by the government of Kurdish region, allegedly under the full knowledge of the central government in Iraq. Based on the new constitution that has not been implemented and ratified yet. The article states that "Negeer Van Barazani, relative of the president of Kurdistan, prime minister of Arbil, has said that the new constitution gives the Kurdish government the right to run the entire oil production operation and contract it out to whoever they wish". The article also mentions how the government in Kurdish region is planning on using the revenue of the oil exports to compensate the Kurds for the suffering they faced under the previous government.
Note : It cannot be any more clear than this that Iraq is being divided economically to full fill the greed and ambitions of radical ethnic groups in Iraq. I am sure this will also include buying weapons and re-enforcing the elements that strengthens the separation of the region from Iraq.
- death counter: violence claimed the lives of 1400 Iraqis in Nov 2005.
posted by zaid at 2:06 AM
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