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| Iraq war 10 years on: 'We don't stay out late because we're still afraid' | Iraq war 10 years on: 'We don't stay out late because we're still afraid' |
| (21 days later) | |
| I first met Abdul Karim Hadi seven years ago. During the time of the Saddam Hussein regime, he was one of a small group of citizens' band radio enthusiasts, licensed by the state to broadcast from their own radio sets. His little electronics repair shop was situated across the road from the secret police headquarters. Once a place cluttered with the equipment he was repairing, today these days his shop – now up for sale – is bare and empty. | I first met Abdul Karim Hadi seven years ago. During the time of the Saddam Hussein regime, he was one of a small group of citizens' band radio enthusiasts, licensed by the state to broadcast from their own radio sets. His little electronics repair shop was situated across the road from the secret police headquarters. Once a place cluttered with the equipment he was repairing, today these days his shop – now up for sale – is bare and empty. |
| "Fine, I'm fine," Karim says in a weak voice by way of a greeting. He waves his hand in front of his face and laughs: "That's Baghdad 'fine'" – in other words, not very fine at all. | "Fine, I'm fine," Karim says in a weak voice by way of a greeting. He waves his hand in front of his face and laughs: "That's Baghdad 'fine'" – in other words, not very fine at all. |
| "Things have been getting worse again with the [Sunni] protests in Anbar province." He's referring to the growing political crisis in Iraq, which has fuelled weekly protests in Sunni areas in the west of the country, where widespread anger over arrests and exclusion from both employment and state institutions boiled over two months ago. | "Things have been getting worse again with the [Sunni] protests in Anbar province." He's referring to the growing political crisis in Iraq, which has fuelled weekly protests in Sunni areas in the west of the country, where widespread anger over arrests and exclusion from both employment and state institutions boiled over two months ago. |
| There is another reason he seems gloomier than last time we met. "I'm selling the shop. The rent is so expensive now and there's very little work. I have another workshop near my home in Haj al-Amel [one of the sprawling suburbs of Baghdad], where I fix computers and televisions. For a long time I hoped things might improve. Now I just feel sad, because it feels as though we're going backwards. The government is very bad. They're all thieves. They come to steal, not to build. The problem is that people still don't understand what government is for. | There is another reason he seems gloomier than last time we met. "I'm selling the shop. The rent is so expensive now and there's very little work. I have another workshop near my home in Haj al-Amel [one of the sprawling suburbs of Baghdad], where I fix computers and televisions. For a long time I hoped things might improve. Now I just feel sad, because it feels as though we're going backwards. The government is very bad. They're all thieves. They come to steal, not to build. The problem is that people still don't understand what government is for. |
| "There are six of us at home. I have three boys living with me and one girl, who got married and lives in Sydney. I'm going to be a grandfather in a month's time. | "There are six of us at home. I have three boys living with me and one girl, who got married and lives in Sydney. I'm going to be a grandfather in a month's time. |
| "I did best financially before the fall of Saddam, when the economy was under international sanctions. My job's fixing things. Because no one could buy new things, they had to have them repaired. Then my income was good. Now that there are new televisions and technology available, rich people don't want their things fixed. Poor people still do, though – for example, in my neighbourhood, Haj al-Amel. | "I did best financially before the fall of Saddam, when the economy was under international sanctions. My job's fixing things. Because no one could buy new things, they had to have them repaired. Then my income was good. Now that there are new televisions and technology available, rich people don't want their things fixed. Poor people still do, though – for example, in my neighbourhood, Haj al-Amel. |
| "The other thing is that under Saddam my rent was controlled, so it would only go up each year in little bits. In 2003 my lease cost $100 a month. The new government changed the law and last year my landlord put the rent up to $400. This is an expensive area. There are shops here that pay $1,000 a month. For me, it's no good. I earn barely half of what's required to cover the rent here." | "The other thing is that under Saddam my rent was controlled, so it would only go up each year in little bits. In 2003 my lease cost $100 a month. The new government changed the law and last year my landlord put the rent up to $400. This is an expensive area. There are shops here that pay $1,000 a month. For me, it's no good. I earn barely half of what's required to cover the rent here." |
| Two years ago Karim managed to take his family on holiday to Dohuk and Erbil in Kurdistan, now a popular destination for Baghdadis seeking to escape the capital for a few days. "The last time I'd taken my family away [before that] was in 1999, when we went to Mosul for a week. | Two years ago Karim managed to take his family on holiday to Dohuk and Erbil in Kurdistan, now a popular destination for Baghdadis seeking to escape the capital for a few days. "The last time I'd taken my family away [before that] was in 1999, when we went to Mosul for a week. |
| "The worst time for me in the past 10 years, since the invasion, was the sectarian war [2005-08]. It was very bad. But, because this area is safe, I was able to keep my shop open. There are only wealthy homes behind me and there are no buildings on the other side of the road [where the wall of the old secret police headquarters runs along the street]. I felt safe. But there was no work and finally I took a job with a US company as a translator. | "The worst time for me in the past 10 years, since the invasion, was the sectarian war [2005-08]. It was very bad. But, because this area is safe, I was able to keep my shop open. There are only wealthy homes behind me and there are no buildings on the other side of the road [where the wall of the old secret police headquarters runs along the street]. I felt safe. But there was no work and finally I took a job with a US company as a translator. |
| "During that period the children just played in the house. We were lucky that the school was close. Now it's a bit better for the children but we still don't stay out later than nine or 10 at night because we're still afraid. There are kidnappings and killings with silenced weapons. | "During that period the children just played in the house. We were lucky that the school was close. Now it's a bit better for the children but we still don't stay out later than nine or 10 at night because we're still afraid. There are kidnappings and killings with silenced weapons. |
| "All the problems came from the Americans. I really feel that. They came and, when they left, they left a bad government behind. I've thought a lot about leaving. Because I worked for an American company, I applied for one of the special immigration visas [which allow Iraqis who worked for the US military or contracting firms to settle in the US]. The only thing I need now is a letter from the human resources department confirming that I worked for them. But nobody replies. I've been trying for a year. I have all the other documents, but no one seems willing to help, and it's the only way. | "All the problems came from the Americans. I really feel that. They came and, when they left, they left a bad government behind. I've thought a lot about leaving. Because I worked for an American company, I applied for one of the special immigration visas [which allow Iraqis who worked for the US military or contracting firms to settle in the US]. The only thing I need now is a letter from the human resources department confirming that I worked for them. But nobody replies. I've been trying for a year. I have all the other documents, but no one seems willing to help, and it's the only way. |
| "I did go to Malaysia for a month to see about living there. They have a scheme whereby if you put $50,000 dollars in the bank, you can move there, but that's hard for me to manage. The alternative is to set up a business. That's what I'm looking at now. If I can sell my shop here, we'll try to move there and set up a pastry restaurant. My wife's good with pastries. But I don't know – maybe we won't move. Maybe we can't – if the shop won't sell. Because the situation is bad, people don't want to invest. The government couldn't even manage to agree a budget for three months. I talk to a lot of other Iraqis who want to leave. But they don't have the money to live abroad. | "I did go to Malaysia for a month to see about living there. They have a scheme whereby if you put $50,000 dollars in the bank, you can move there, but that's hard for me to manage. The alternative is to set up a business. That's what I'm looking at now. If I can sell my shop here, we'll try to move there and set up a pastry restaurant. My wife's good with pastries. But I don't know – maybe we won't move. Maybe we can't – if the shop won't sell. Because the situation is bad, people don't want to invest. The government couldn't even manage to agree a budget for three months. I talk to a lot of other Iraqis who want to leave. But they don't have the money to live abroad. |
| "Things these days are terrible. But it's not the money. The main thing is the government and the people. Bad people, barbarians! Iraqis are barbarians," he says with surprising vehemence. | "Things these days are terrible. But it's not the money. The main thing is the government and the people. Bad people, barbarians! Iraqis are barbarians," he says with surprising vehemence. |
| "You know, I think people's behaviour changed after the fall of Saddam." He thinks for a moment. "We have a saying about change, about the bad neighbour. You know the ways in which he's bad, but that's still better than the new neighbour – because you don't know how he's bad." | "You know, I think people's behaviour changed after the fall of Saddam." He thinks for a moment. "We have a saying about change, about the bad neighbour. You know the ways in which he's bad, but that's still better than the new neighbour – because you don't know how he's bad." |
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