On Patrol with Iraqi Neighborhood Watch
Baghdad, Iraq: The population of Iraq is estimated to be at least 50% under the age of 18. These children and adolescents are in dire straits due to the war.
This Eid was no exception, as 15 women and children were killed in an American air raid and a suicide attack near a playground killed at least 1 child and wounded 20 others. But the day after, Iraqi families visited to the Baghdad Zoo, as families might on a holiday in any modern country around the world.Despite the ongoing impact of violence and terrorism that affects all Iraqis, children must even risk their lives to get to school, and many have been forced to leave their friends and country when their families fled Iraq. Unemployment and desperation are leading many Iraqi children and teenagers to work to help feed their families.
Although there are some favorable trends in Iraq, such as the increased productiving of Iraq’s oil industry and a decrease in inflation, unemployment estimates still hover around fifty percent. Iraqis are taking work wherever they can get it, which is part of what is leading the young to go to work. Three young men, including his brother, spoke with Nabeel Kamal about their work and the lives they lead as young men in Baghdad. Two of them work together with Nabeel’s father as painters and carpenters. The checkpoints and threats from militias have prevented them from continuing their craft at their workshop. They now work in the yard outside their home, but within the security of the walls around their property.
Many youth aren’t lucky enough to find work, have families who care for them, or be able to go to school. Some of them have turned to crime or joined militias for work and support. Many of these are accused of being members of the Mahdi Army, but representatives of the Sadr Movement which oversees the Mahdi Army has told Alive in Baghdad that these men are rogue elements and not true members of the Mahdi Army or the Sadr Movement. This trend is no doubt contributing to the numbers of Iraqi teens in youth detention facilities across Iraq.
But whether they are joining militias, braving violence to attend school, or going to work to help their family, Iraqi youth are in grave danger. One of the most widespread effects was trauma-related stress which is estimated to affect 70% of primary school students. The results were based on a study of 2500 kids surveyed in an area in north Baghdad. In some children the manifestation of stress is simply manifested by recurring and terrible nightmares.
Until there is stability in Baghdad, and some semblance of regularity to employment, Iraqi families will continue to find money and employment where they can. Children and teenagers will go to work to assist their families, who may be debilitated by disease or terrible injuries from acts of terror such as car bombings.
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BAGHDAD, ADHAMIYA - Home destructions have been a tool of war almost as long as war has been around.
According to Wikipedia, “It has been employed as a scorched earth tactic to deprive an advancing enemy of food and shelter, or to wreck an enemy’s economy and infrastructure. It has also been used for purposes of counter-insurgency and ethnic cleansing. Systematic house demolition has been a notable factor in a number of recent or ongoing conflicts including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Darfur conflict in Sudan, the Iraq War, the Vietnam War, the Yugoslav wars and the Caucasian conflicts of the 1990s.”House demolitions in Adhamiya have been one of many tactics employed by the United States Military in its attempts to quell violence and insurgents in the troubled neighborhood. The tactic of house demolition has been a familiar one to the United States, used as early as 2003 to destroy the homes of suspected insurgents. This tactic was taken from the experience of Israeli Defense Force’ behavior in the West Bank and Gaza.
It’s easy to believe the American forces were acting on what they believed to be noble intentions. In 2003 Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt told the USA Today, “If I saw that house go away, I’d feel more secure,” in reference to the destroying the home of a “terrorist across the street“.
Unfortunately Brigadier General Kimmitt was not considering the impact of home destruction in dense urban areas such as Raghiba Khatoon in Adhamiya. In this neighborhood one empty house was demolished, according to neighbors, they were told by US soldiers that the house had bombs inside. Rather than searching the home and clearing the suspected ordnance, Iraqis in the area told Alive in Baghdad the soldiers detonated the home, severely damaging several others in the area.
Adhamiya has been a difficult neighborhood for most of the war. Many important Baathists are from the area, and it is the neighborhood where Saddam last appeared as President of Iraq. However, despite the depiction in much of the media that Adhamiya is a haven of terrorists and insurgents, it is a huge neighborhood, and houses many Iraqis who are tired of the fighting and violence. The impact of the construction of a wall separating Adhamiya from the rest of Baghdad, the violent home searches, and now the apparently accidental destruction of buildings housing dozens of residents, are doing little to develop goodwill.
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BAGHDAD - November 23rd, 2006 was the
second deadliest coordinated attack against civilians to date. The media covered the death toll and impact on property with graphic imagery. Unfortunately as with every previous attack, the impact on civilian survivors has not only been ineffectively covered, it appears to have been covered not at all. A Google search for “carbomb survivors” nets only one story on the survivors of a car bombing that is easy to find. That is Alive in Baghdad’s story Car Bomb Survivors, No Longer Statistics, on November 26th, 2006, just 4 days after the carbombing discussed this week.Approximately 250 civilians are believed to have been wounded, but still alive, on November 25th, 2006. According to Reuters, via ABC News Online, “Doctors say many of the wounded have serious injuries and are unlikely to survive.” Three of these wounded include Shams, her mother, and her older brother Ghaith. Shams was just a year old when her family was driving through the Al-Hay Market on November 23rd. Her mother moved to protect her from the blast, her brother Ghaith was wounded with shrapnel to his back. Although Shams was saved, her mother wasn’t so lucky. She died from burns all over her body soon after reaching the hospital. Shams lived, but has been disfigured and has lost her sight. Her family has traveled to Iran, Jordan, and Syria seeking answers to her condition. Shams is luckier than most, as her family could afford this. However, she was not lucky enough to find an answer.
Shams story, although perhaps particularly poignant, is one of many untold stories of daily life in Baghdad. Human Rights Watch produced a list of “major” terrorist attacks on civilians from 2003 to September 2005, this documents a short list of the attacks, but doesn’t tell what happened to the survivors. They describe the various victims of these attacks as well in their full report. Like most attacks, the information reported on the November 23rd triple bombing was disconnected and even contradictory. The death toll reporter ranged from 138 people killed, to 161 reported by MSNBC, to the confusing report of the Independent, which listed 140 dead in the title, but claimed 145 killed in the first sentence. The final accepted toll, was reported by the BBC as a much higher 202, but still 13 shy of the 215 eventually claimed as the correct number.
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When they began erecting a wall in Adhamiya the
public response was varied, in Iraq, in the US, indeed around the world. Some responded with shock, others with outrage, others wondered why it hadn’t been tried before. Most importantly, there was a reaction, it was widespread, and strong. The press covered the issue of the wall repeatedly, with many papers writing multiple stories on the subject, extending over a period of months, some more. Unfortunately the images of the wall are few and far between. A Google image search reveals only 1,020 results for adhamiya wall, many of which are repeat images and many more are irrelevant to the search. Why has such an important event of the war and most recently the Surge, received so little visual coverage?After the initial excitement faded, there was little coverage of the impact of the wall, or of the other walls to follow. The economic impact of the wall received this weak commentary on September 20th, in a longer AP article about the Sunnis of Adhamiya turning to US soldiers for support.
This week, after much delay, Abdul Alaa brings us inside the new Adhamiya, speaking with community leaders, demonstrators, and the average citizens of Adhamiya. As a new wall emerges west of the Tigris, insight into the impact of the wall over the last months is even more important. The wall, allegedly there to protect Shi’a and Sunni from each other, has succeeded in walling a small Shi’a community inside Ghazaliyah, an area known to harbor Sunni militants. Iraqis are already demonstrating in Ghazaliyah and Shula, although its unlikely to make much difference.
When the wall in Adhamiya began, the Prime Minister himself demanded that it be removed, only to be corrected by the spokesman for Iraq’s military and later recant his statement, there was even talk of “modifying the wall” although that idea appears to have been still-born.
Today its unclear what the future of the surge in walls will be. It is uncertain how much success and stability they are providing. It is sure that they have been a rallying point for Iraqi nationalists and hard-liners alike. It is also sure that, if nothing else, they are putting dinars in the pockets of at least a few Iraqis.
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It is contentious whether or not the US Surge has made Baghdad any safer. Many Iraqis have complained that the US’ version of security has led to vast divisions within Baghdad, and that sectarian violence has even further divided Baghdad’s already tense residents. Hurriya, a neighborhood on the western side of the Tigris was at one time a mixed neighborhood where Sunni and Shi’a lived together, married together, and existed peacefully, like any other neighborhood.
In 2007 Hurriya became almost entirely Shi’a. Some blame the Mahdi Army for sectarian attacks and cleansing the area of it’s Sunni population, such as in this article from December 2006. Others say the cleansing couldn’t be stopped, holding Sunnis responsible for starting the violence. Parliamentarian Shatha Al-Musawi told The Scotsman that Shi’ites had no time to sift the innocent from the guilty because Sunnis were killing Shi’ites. Because of the cleansing, Hurriya has become mostly quiet, but because it is believed to be a haven of gangs using the name of the Mahdi Army, the Americans have been involved in numerous incursions into the neighborhood.
Hurriya’s residents are unhappy with a recent turn of events which led to the death of Jawad Kadhim Al-Sultani, a well-known and beloved member of the community. His neighbors claim that Al-Sultani was an example of tolerance and brotherhood amongst Iraqis, and that he would help Sunni neighbors as well as Shi’a. Anecdotes such as these abound and are constantly referenced as examples that there is no civil war, or that Iraqis will succeed at eliminating sectarian conflict. Other anecdotes aren’t so positive, intermarriage is all but a forgotten fairytale in Baghdad today.
One thing is certain, the US Surge itself has failed to reconcile the sectarian conflict. Death squads and militias are still prevalent on Baghdad’s streets. Iraqis in Hurriya have been quoted saying that these militia patrols are the only thing that allows them to feel safe. Murders are continuing, and they are leading many Iraqis, such as the demonstrators in Hurriya, to ask why the United States forces are there at all. During the demonstration they demanded that the US be forced to withdraw from Hurriya, and replaced with Iraqi security forces. Some might cynically claim that what they really want is the Mahdi Army’s protection.
Throughout the protest many attendees expressed anger and frustration at the Iraqi Government as well. Its questionable whether the residents of Hurriya and other Baghdadis will put any more faith in the government’s security forces than in the politicians themselves. Across Baghdad, Iraqis continue to be embroiled in sectarian conflict, hoping some semblance of the ordinary will return to their lives. Now that Sunnis have been forced out of Hurriya, it is only the Americans that these residents worry about.
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On Tuesday General David Petraeus will be testifying before the U.S. Congress, and President George W. Bush will reportedly address the nation about the situation in Iraq. This week we continue to evaluate the progress of the surge over the last 6 months. Alive in Baghdad last reported on General Petraeus when he testified before the Congress back in January. At that time he suggested security contractors would be necessary to fulfill the duties left vacant by the lack of sufficient troops to carry out the surge.
Alive in Baghdad has spoken with a number of Iraqis and spent an uneventful afternoon at one checkpoint in Baghdad to take our own look at how security is progressing. Despite the rhetoric on all sides, many are critical of the Prime Minister’s apparent failure to take steps to establish political reconciliation.
Some cite the security forces themselves, and many of these same forces, in particular Iraq’s National Police, resent the charges from outsiders that they are incapable, when they have been given so few tools to work with.
Others reacted with shock and disbelief that anyone would imply there were any successes from the security plan. Checkpoints are seen as little more than a nuisance by many Iraqis, while others feel the security surge is having some success and want the efforts to continue. Unfortunately, the control of checkpoints by sectarian groups continues to be particularly frightening in some areas of Baghdad and Iraq.
Particularly controversial, the decision by the United States military to begin supporting certain Sunni tribes with money and weaponry, in exchange for fighting Al-Qaeda, has brought concerns of many shades. Some are quick to note that not only did this element being attributed to the surge begin months before the surge, it also has limited effect on the most important issue facing Iraq’s security, ongoing ethnic rivalry. Other critics worry the results could be much worse and that these Sunni tribes could, “become independent power centers in a fracturing Iraq or turn against the Baghdad government.”
Above all of these questions sits one lurking in each Iraqi’s mind, “Do the setbacks outweigh the successes of the Surge?” The increasing presence of checkpoints and the fragmentation of Baghdad into communities gated behind blast walls and razorwire does not bode well for whatever will come after the surge.
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All this month we will be looking at the Surge and the current security
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Although recently a bombing killed more than 500 people in an area dominated by Yezidis, a little known religious group in northern Iraq, the Al-Aimma bridge tragedy has been the worst single event in the war. Last year we brought you a story from Sami Rasouli, who told about Othman Ali Al-Obeidi, who is famous in Iraq because he had a Sunni name, but his father's name, Ali, is traditionally a Shi'a name. Othman was on the Iraqi swimteam and died saving Shi'a pilgrims from drowning in the Tigris. The second anniversary of the tragedy has just passed, so we are again remembering Othman and the other brave Iraqis who stood against sectarianism.
Other media agencies are falling over themselves to discuss the onset of a civil war in Iraq. It is important to take these discussions with a grain of salt. That is not to say sectarian violence, ethnic cleansing, and general chaos, insecurity, and disorder are a daily experience in Baghdad, they are. But the violence may be more organized than now discussed. Just over a year ago, Der Spiegel reported on the experience of another man living near the Al-Aimma Bridge. He made it clear that the violence is not the crazed killings of madmen, but organized political violence.
Othman Ali and many other Sunnis and Shias alike banded together to save their fellows. In just over one week General Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker will be brought before the US Congree for testimony about the progress of the "Surge." The journalists, pundits, politicians, and arm-chair diplomats have already decided what to say about Iraq. The country has descended into civil war and reconciliation among parties is unthinkable. But perhaps they don't know so much about Iraq. Glimpse of Iraq has very clearly demonstrated why Othman Ali Al-Obeidi provides such an important yet simple insight into the Iraqi experience.
We'll be bringing you more stories from the other side of the Iraqi experience, in our own response to the Surge report, throughout the month of September. Please consider making a donation or becoming a monthly subscriber to support the important work of the Iraqi journalists who make Alive in Baghdad happen.
While US officials on all sides criticize the Iraqi Parliament’s failure to pass an oil law, no one is asking a more critical question to the government’s local credibility and functionality, where is all the gas?
Recently many officials in the US have been criticizing the Iraqi Government’s failure to meet certain benchmarks imposed by US officials. One such benchmark has been the passage of a National Oil Law. Although Parliament went into recess without passing such a law, it is not necessarily the most important issue for Iraqis when considering the strength or weakness, and failure or success of their government.
These days much of Baghdad and the rest of Iraq is lucky to have even a few hours of electricity per day. Our sources tell us 1 hour per day is the average norm around the country, particularly Baghdad, where the large population center has greatly overstretched its resources and infrastructure are degrading rapidly.
Iraqis are now left wondering not just about the daily violence and whether they will survive until tomorrow, they also wonder why they elected a government that seems powerless except in the area of internal squabbling. Over a year ago we produced a short piece about the gasoline shortages in Iraq at the end of 2005. As we near the end of 2007, those same problems still grip Baghdad, and as we’ve shown in recent videos, in the case of electricity and social services, many consider them worse than ever.
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Sameer and his father are now refugees living in Damascus. They, like many Iraqis, have been forced to flee their country and taken refugee in Syria. They talk about their lives as artists, and how they are continuing their work despite the circumstances.
For more stories of Iraqis in Syria, please watch this video about the Sadr Movement offering support to Iraqis in Damascus, or this video about the Saeda Zeinab neighborhood in Damascus.
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Suhad, 36, wanted to go to college and become a journalist since she was young. Her parents, like many, tried to dissuade their daughter from going into the arts, pushing her to take more science and math classes. Instead she studied English and became ever more interested in the international community.
She briefly held a job with the Washington Post, as well as Al-Atyaaf Radio, Al Iraqiyah, the state satellite channel, and when she was killed she had been working in the Green Zone at an office assisting with the distribution of social services to Iraqis.
Her parents describe her as a caring activist who took care of her family and looked closely after her young diabetic brother. February 4th, 2007, the day she was killed, was like any other, she was on her way to work and waiting in line at a checkpoint for the Green Zone.
The exact details are still unclear. Some reports claim there was a gun battle between US forces and militants near the checkpoint. Others accused foreign security contractors.
Security contractors have a particularly bad name, and in 2005 were accused by the Interior Minister of Iraq of klling at least 12 Iraqis per week, as well as firing on US military. This video illustrates contractors firing indiscriminately on civilians in Iraq.
According to a translation of Al Sharqiyah Television, “Iraqi police said that Suhad Shakir, an announcer in Al-Iraqiyah channel, was wounded when US forces opened fire on her car near the Foreign Ministry in central Baghdad. The US army said that it is verifying the truthfulness of the claim.�
Another source claimed that a “Foreign Military Patrol� opened fire on a civilian vehicle in the Allawi district. Reuters also reported that US forces “wounded Suhad Shakir, an anchor working for Iraqiya,� however at the time of her death she was no longer working for Iraqiya.
Suhad Shakir’s death is just one of many for journalists and civilians in Iraq. The confusing story surrounding her killing is illustrative of a daily threat to Iraqis driving around Baghdad. Journalist Chris Hondros provides more insight into the difficulties of Baghdad’s traffic in this blog entry from March 2007.
At the end of July Oxfam released a report detailing the humanitarian crisis in Iraq. It was only the international community that needed this report, Iraqis know well how their country is falling apart around them. Neighborhoods such as Adhamiya lack even the most basic social services.
Social services, such as water, electricity, and sanitation have been on the decline since the fall of Baghdad saw widespread looting and a general collapse of Baghdad’s infrastructure. In areas that have seen ongoing fighting and a general lack of security, services have never fully recovered. Even in those areas that might have shown moderate repair previously, the flight of professionals and random destruction is removing any achievements.
Now its been announced that Baghdad is again running out of water, but more desperately this time than ever before. Just days before this article, CBS reported on a “drop of good news� from American Steve Frost, who is helping to repair water pumps in one area of Baghdad but, by his own admission, once finished these pumps will only, “be able to supply water to approximately 20 percent of the local area full time.�
In the baking summer heat, Iraqis take to sleeping on their roofs, electricity is too scarce to run air conditioners.
Further highlighting the difficulties of life for men working on the garbage and sewage problems in Iraq, in July MSNBC described how, “Nearly 500 garbage collectors have been killed since the Iraq war began. Many are young. Some are just teenagers.�
If that isn’t hard enough to stomach, according to this commentary in the Daily Star, “Dr. Abdul-Rahman Adil Ali of the Baghdad Health Directorate has warned about the serious consequences of a defective sewage system. “In some of Baghdad’s poor neighborhoods,� he said, “people drink water which is mixed with sewage.�
Alive in Baghdad will continue to work for you, providing insight into all manner of living in Baghdad. But we can only continue if you give us your support. We must maintain an array of staff in Iraq and the region in order to bring you a wide variety of in-depth stories about the Iraq crisis. Please make a donation and help us to continue.
Children are nearly always cited as the most desperate group in any refugee crisis. They are also, unfortunately, too often depicted in archetypal photos, too simplistic to depict the reality of the crisis. This week Hayder Fahad speaks with several Iraqi children living in Syria about their experiences in Syria and Iraq and their expectations for the future.
Approximately half of Iraq’s population is under 18, and the age of the refugees looking for safety in Syria is representative. According to the BBC,
Syria provides greater services to the Iraqis, but even there the UN says that only a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugee children there are able to attend school.
The troubles for Iraqi children range from difficulty adapting to the schools in Syria, to conflicts with their new classmates, to things far worse. Although we have not yet uncovered stories to reflect this, according to Forbes, Amnesty International released a statement suggesting that,
some Iraqi refugee families have even resorted to forcing their daughters into prostitution to help the family survive. Child prostitution and trafficking of Iraqi children is said to be growing, Amnesty said.
Further indicating the desperate and difficult nature of the crisis are conflicting reports about the availability of education to Iraqi refugees in Syria. We spoke with children who had no trouble getting into schools in Syria, and others who were denied entrance because they did not have the proper paperwork to verify their grade. As quoted above, the UN has stated that many of the refugee children are unable to attend school in Syria. However a week earlier, Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees L. Craig Johnstone urged Iraqi refugees to send their children to school, stating,
The Syrian government allows your children to register in public schools. Make the most of this opportunity; send your children to school.
As the tide of refugees continues to increase, confusion and miscommunication are sure to continue. At Alive in Baghdad we will do our best to keep you updated on the difficulties facing Iraqi refugees. Please consider making a donation toward Hayder Fahad’s salary, and that of our entire Alive in Baghdad team. If you have comments or suggestions, let us know!
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Sep 19, 2006 07:33pm |
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As the threat of death squads continues, Iraqi civilians have taken security into their own hands. This week Isam Rasheed takes Alive in Baghdad viewers to Adhamiya, in the middle of the night, where three men guard a civilian checkpoint in the neighborhood.
They'll tell you about their work, their hopes, and fears for their families.
The US and Iraqi governments might call them terrorists, they consider themselves to be doing whats necessary to keep their homes safe.
Pl
...MoreAs the threat of death squads continues, Iraqi civilians have taken security into their own hands. This week Isam Rasheed takes Alive in Baghdad viewers to Adhamiya, in the middle of the night, where three men guard a civilian checkpoint in the neighborhood.
They'll tell you about their work, their hopes, and fears for their families.
The US and Iraqi governments might call them terrorists, they consider themselves to be doing whats necessary to keep their homes safe.
Please consider making a donation to continue this work. For information about donating email us at aliveinbaghdad@gmail.com or see the donation section of our website.
...LessComments:
keep up the good work
mark http://www.overlander.tv
I'm a westener and I protested against the war. I'm sorry with all my heart.
Peace
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