The Daily Lives of Iraqis:
occupationwatch.org
Based on talks with many ordinary Iraqis, it is clear their daily lives
have not improved in the eight months since Saddam Hussein was
overthrown. In many cases, things are even worse with no
improvement in sight. This very real frustration is turning to anger,
something that increases the danger of retaliation against our
young American soldiers.
We found a country with millions of people out of work and with no
means to support for their families. Electricity remains intermittent;
telephone exchanges destroyed during the war had still not been
fixed; the water is not safe to drink; many hospitals lack basic
equipment and medicines such as antibiotics; schools have no
heat, lights or books; garbage is piled up in the streets; and in a
country floating on oil, mile-long gas lines involving five to seven
hour waits snake through the cities.
Iraqis complain that they are being occupied by the richest country in
the world, yet the promises to improve the conditions of their lives
have not been met and, in fact, conditions have actually gotten
worse. Many Iraqis told us that, while they were glad Saddam
Hussein was gone, conditions under his dictatorship were better.
For example, we were told that after the 1991 war, electricity and
telephone exchanges destroyed during the war were quickly
repaired. Gasoline distribution was normal within 60 days and was
sold for five cents a gallon throughout the embargo years. Now,
electricity is unreliable, phones lines are still down, and Iraqis must
wait in long lines to fill their tanks with gasoline. They want to know
why.
Iraqis understand that the US controls Iraqi oil money, seized
assets and reconstruction money pledged by US taxpayers; they are
now asking where that money is going. They hear that US
companies such as Bechtel and Halliburton are getting
billion-dollar contracts to rebuild Iraq, but they don’t see the results.
Our delegation tried but was unable to obtain a list of the schools
and hospitals that Bechtel has been contracted to fix, so that we
could measure the progress. In the meantime, highly skilled Iraqis
who are very capable of fixing the electricity, repairing the phone
lines or refurbishing their own schools and hospitals are standing
on street corners unemployed.
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