“Iraq is a good country, Iraqis are good people,” Othman, a 35-year-old Iraqi restaurant owner, told me in Baghdad this week. “But the problem is Iraq has very bad management, very bad.”
The view that the Iraqi government is inept and dysfunctional appears to be shared by the majority of Iraqis I’ve spoken to this week as the country faces the prospect of a new wave of violence. A series of 35 attacks in seven provinces on Monday causing 115 deaths made it the bloodiest day here in two years.
Many Iraqis blame foreign groups for the violence, but also the troubled government of Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki for not being strong enough to control it. Al-Maliki’s office has made no official comment since Monday’s attacks.
While no group has yet accepted responsibility, al-Qaeda in Iraq, calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq, announced last week an escalation in attacks and intentions to retake lost ground.
A senior Iraqi government official, who did not want to be named, said he believed Iraq has become the “playing field” for regional conflicts between the regimes of Saudi Arabia and Iran. With a Sunni-led insurgency in Syria thrown in, he said he expects the violence in Iraq to worsen dramatically in coming months and predicts a regional “Islamic War”, with Iraq in the middle.
Iraqis often complain of foreign interference in its politics; the official I spoke to said the influence of the US is still strong in Baghdad, but most Iraqis believe fellow Shiite neighbour Iran has the strongest say on Iraq’s Islamic regime. This is openly resented and challenged by Iraqis who want to see a secular government, without religious influence and parties not defined by ethnicity or sect.
While Iraqis are exhausted by a constant sense of chaos and unpredictable violence, they are as equally disturbed by poor living conditions and ailing infrastructure nine years after the US invasion when the expectation was that, with billions of dollars of Western aid flowing in, basic living conditions would improve.
Baghdad still receives only four to five hours of electricity per day from the government supply, the same level as postwar 2003. With summer temperatures averaging 45 to 50 degrees, households are forced to pay for private generators. One family I visited, sharing a small generator with others, had their children take shifts to fan the face of the baby with a piece of cardboard so it could survive the searing heat. Poor quality water and bad sanitation continue to present health challenges.
Iraqis blame the low power supply on government corruption, a “mafia” as one woman put it, and also complain of a deepening divide between rich and poor — or those who benefited from the US occupation and those who didn’t. On one side of Baghdad is a shiny new shopping mall, and new car showrooms. A few blocks away apartment buildings are crumbling and rotting rubbish is piled high.
“Saddam was not good, but life was better then,” Othman the young restaurateur says. “At least we had electricity. And we were a lot safer than now. Before 2003 we only had one source of violence, one Saddam, now we have hundreds.”
As well as matters of security and living conditions, the issue of government transparency, corruption and human rights is particularly sensitive and dominates Iraqi conversation. Iraqis on the street are scathing of the government’s performance, one taxi driver calling the Parliament a “den of Ali Baba’s, focusing only on jobs, power and money for themselves”.
Dr Saleem Al-Jabouri, chairman of the Iraqi Parliament Human Rights Committee and member of the opposition Al-Iraqiya party, told me the committee is focusing on five human rights issues of concern in Iraq: freedom of expression, torture, issues of women and children, rights of minorities and disabled people. That torture and freedom of expression are urgent issues in a post-Saddam Iraq is somewhat awkward for pro-war commentators who used these issues to justify the US-led invasion in 2003.
Trying his best to be diplomatic, Dr Al-Jabouri suggested Al-Maliki’s fragile coalition, installed by the US after a controversial election in 2010, has developed into an authoritarian regime saying: “Freedom of speech is troubled in Iraq, and not completely understood by the government …
“We are supposed to have more democracy now. But there’s a doubt as to whether democracy in Iraq is real or not. The government needs to be more democratic, to believe in the constitution. This will not happen soon.”
Dr Al-Jabouri says he holds concerns about the plight of minority groups who once flourished in Iraq such as Christians and Mandeans. He suggests it was the US military policy of “divide and conquer” that sowed the seeds for crippling sectarian violence and persecution of minorities between 2005 and 2008.
“The violence was about politics and power and whose militias controlled what areas,” he said. Now Iraqis insist they have rejected sectarianism on a personal level, and resent the government using it for political gain.
“But America has introduced terrorists,” Dr Al-Jabouri said. “And these extremists are causing the problems.
“Iraq has been open for its neighbours to interfere in issues. Before 2003 there was law and people were afraid to break the law, but not now. They do as they please.”
Iraqis seem resigned to a fate of instability, but are defiant. On Monday evening, after the attacks, hundreds of families poured onto the streets of Baghdad after breaking the Ramadan fast to stroll, sit in parks, eat out and enjoy ice-cream.
“You’re not afraid to come out after the bombings?” I asked Othman. “What can we do? We can’t be locked inside all our lives. We want to live the same as everyone else.”
*Donna Mulhearn is an Australian advocacy journalist currently in Iraq to document the impact of toxic weapons used in 2003-4 on the Iraqi community. This is her fourth visit to Iraq.
21 thoughts on “Life in Iraq: government, foreigners blamed in bombing’s aftermath”
Mark Duffett
July 25, 2012 at 1:46 pm‘advocacy journalist’? Interesting description for this lady. Does it mean being able to dispense with any pretence at objectivity?
donnamulhearn
July 25, 2012 at 2:15 pmYes Mark, as journalistic objectivity is a myth, I don’t bother with the pretence. I saw the term ‘advocacy journalist’ used by a US writer last year and thought it was interesting and that it suited me as my stories are mostly on human rights issues, the impact of war on civilians etc and are generally normative in nature, that is, designed to contribute positively to the issue. I will be writing about the impact of toxic weapons used in Iraq (particularly on the increase in birth defects) and by telling personal stories hope that it can make a difference in raising awareness about the issue. The academic field of ‘peace journalism’ that is taught by Prof Jake Lynch and others at Universities around the world is another kind of journalism I aim to practice. It also dispenses with the pretence of objectivity, which is much more authentic….
shepherdmarilyn
July 25, 2012 at 2:45 pmWell I suspect Donna knows a bit more about Iraq than the hacks who sit in Sydney offices and pretend to know.
Hamis Hill
July 25, 2012 at 3:23 pmIraq as a battle ground for an Islamic War between Riyahd and Teheran.
There seems to be no reason for this not to happen. But most “Islamic” people do not want it, and are powerless to stop it in Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Democracy, at the local level, may be a solution but how are participants to be protected from terrorists?
Bill Hilliger
July 25, 2012 at 6:05 pmAt least the Americans are no longer killing Iraqis, although their legacy of depleted uranium will contaminate and cause misery in their country for many years. As for the Americans claiming that after their foray, Iraq is now a better country and place to live; one word can sum that statement: bullshit!
rupert moloch
July 25, 2012 at 6:14 pm“Saddam was not good, but life was better then,”
Can we get that tattooed on John Howard’s forehead?
Liz45
July 25, 2012 at 7:21 pmGood on you Donna – A very brave and principled woman!
@MARILYN – She certainly does. This doesn’t surprise me at all. I read a book written by a young woman who called herself ‘Riverbend’ – it was a diary and started before the invasion and she kept it going until her family had to leave in order to save their lives – it could still be online. Through her eyes(in Baghdad) the reader got a very vivid picture of what was happening – it was harrowing and mind numbing in its violence, fear, deaths and injuries, together with the awful change in the relationships of people who used to be friends – christians, sunnis, etc all got along prior to our invasion, in fact they’d visit each other on their special days etc. That all changed, all due to fear and horror.
I’ve read that over almost all the kids are suffering from psychological damage, such as PTSD – brains that are forming during awful trauma are set on a different path – the kids live in a state of ‘fright or fight’ etc. When this is coupled by their parents inertia and grief, you don’t have to be too clever to know the results of that, and the damaged adults that will evolve from this. Of course, with doctors being singled out for death squads and/or arrested as suspects by the US and their allies, there’s probably not even enough doctors let alone equipment etc to care for the people. If babies are born prematurely (a common occurrence under occupation) there’s no humidicribs for them, and anyway, as stated above, no electricity for non stop care, the babies just die!
Iraq was known for its high quality Universities. Young people received an income while training as Architects etc. That all changed after the invasion. The crooks in govt circles, with crooked US personnel misappropriated billions of dollars over a few years. Monies that should have gone towards rebuilding and repairs. I suppose we’ve shored up the oil production for the benefit of the West as well? Sigh!
It’s a diabolical disgrace, and the country may never recover, but hey, that happens in every country the US invades – like Vietnam for example, with our slavish willingness? When will we see a PM with ‘wet’ eyes announcing the death toll in Iraq or Afghanistan; or crying for the slaughter of children in their beds or at a family wedding or funeral? Lest We Forget indeed!
@BILL HILLIGER – Sadly yes. There’s video about the results of depleted uranium after the first invasion of Iraq. It’s called, ‘The Doctor, Depleted Uranium, and the Dying Children of Iraq’? I understand that the evidence via birth deformities and childhood cancers are already being seen – some are horrific. People can see the results of this hideous stuff by putting birth defects/depleted uranium in their search engine. There are also the children who were babies being breast fed while bombs dropped around them – these kids will probably be scarred for life – no counselling or school ‘chaplains’ in Iraq! We don’t even treat them as human beings – just commodities, or collateral damage at best! Sickening!
Frank Campbell
July 25, 2012 at 8:41 pmJust remember who set all this carnage in train: war criminals Bush and Bliar.
Aided by their whiny lackey Howard
AR
July 25, 2012 at 10:09 pmMoloch – esp with the addition “thanks to AWB”!
Rhotel1
July 26, 2012 at 8:48 pmWell Donna, as long as you tow the depleted uranium line, you are not factually reporting, Your article came up on my Google Alert and that brought me here. Your claims about DU follow the propaganda line begun by Saddam Hussein and still being carried on by America’s Iraqi “friends”. You make a good propagandist yourself, Do you ever e-mail directly? If so, write to me at DUStory dash owner at yahoo groups dot com. I am an independent researcher, former whistleblower who has backgrounded the major liars about DU and the lies they tell, While you want to “advocate”, I would hope that you do not want to be one of the liars. Being an advocacy journalist on non-existent toxic weapons, though may mean that facts mean very little to you. Look forward to your direct reply.
Liz, your video is a masterful advertisement for Asaf Durakovic and his sham Uranium Medical Research Center. Very little of it is true and it is rather hard to believe that such a piece of trash would earn it an award, but you Aussies gave an award to an SBS documentary on Fallujah that is linked to International Coaltion to Ban Uranium Weapons (ICBUW) and Chris Busby, both of whom are not particularly truthful. The ICBUW even claims it ignores Busby except when they don’t. Anyway, there is one big problem. DU never was used in Fallujah; Busby even realizes that since he has changed his tune to “enriched uranium weapons” in order to preserve his phony uranium in hair study. There is no such thing. The last enriched uranium weapon used in combat was the “Little Boy” bomb dropped on Hiroshima to bring your boys and our boys home rather than have to die or be maimed invading Japan. You can write to me too; you have a lot to learn and I don’t bite. I do not work for anyone but I am fiercely devoted to exposing the lies and liars because they prey on my fellow veterans and their families.
PS – Donna, I suggest that you do a lot of medical research first before going looking for birth defects. Saddam’s propaganda line is still being carried on by people like your interviewee who blames sectarian violence on Americans instead of accepting responsiblity himself. An Iraqi doctor told me that the most common cause of birth defects was probably close intermarriage followed by poor neo natal nutrition and health care. If you don’t do medical research with unbiased doctors (not the ones who will trot the children before you in Iraq). You also need to remember that under Saddam, doctors were required to amputate ears or have their own ears amputated instead, so they are not particularly concerned with the Hippocratic Oath and more so with politics and who can cause injury to them.