Baghdad Residents Ponder New Way of Life on Second Anniversary of Iraq
War
http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=C52387:2F72C9DMany Iraqis acknowledge they now enjoy more individual liberties but
say they expected war to bring them greater peace, prosperity At least
three Iraqi policemen have been killed and seven others wounded by a
bomb in the northern city of Kirkuk. The blast came on the second
anniversary of the start of the Iraq War, a milestone that passed
quietly in Iraq and was not marked by the newly elected Iraqi
parliament or U.S.-led forces. Correspondent Scott Bobb talked to some
Iraqis on the occasion and has this report from Baghdad.
The second anniversary of the start of the war that toppled the
35-year regime of Saddam Hussein passed without ceremony inside Iraq.
Many Iraqis spent their weekend at home, while parliamentary leaders
elected last January haggled over the formation of the new government.
Barber Najamaldin says economic situation is worse, especially for the
poorA barber in the commercial district of central Baghdad, Najamaldin
al-Janabi, took a break from shaving a customer to explain that
although things are bad, he remains hopeful.
Mr. Najamaldin says the situation is worse than two years ago and
Iraqis, especially the poor, are suffering more than ever. He says he
remains optimistic, although as yet he does not see any light at the
end of the tunnel.
Nisreen Nezher, a 28-year-old office worker for a private company,
says the situation is better than before, but not as good as she
hoped.
She says the U.S.-led coalition that toppled Saddam Hussein promised
to improve security, but that has not happened. And in two years the
United States - a superpower, she says - has failed to restore basic
services like reliable electrical power and clean water.
Shop owner Merza will not restock his shelves because people are too
afraid to come out and shopThe owner of a cosmetics shop in the
middle-class Karaba district, Salah Wali Merza, says the police now
patrol his street and as a result he feels safer from the gangsters
that once preyed upon the neighborhood. But he says business still is
bad.
Mr. Merza points to the shelves in his store. He says they are almost
empty but he does not dare to restock them. Insurgents recently
exploded six mortars behind his street, and now people are too
frightened to come out and shop.
Mohammed Hussein owns a restaurant on the banks of the Tigris River
that specializes in grilled fish, a Baghdad specialty.
Mohammed Hussein says security measures have blocked access to his
riverside fish restaurantMr. Mohammed says government workers have
become the new aristocrats because their salaries have tripled since
the fall of Saddam. But his business is suffering, because American
forces up the street have blocked access to his restaurant and only
his most loyal clients now come by to eat.
Many Iraqis acknowledge that they now enjoy more individual liberties,
such as freedom of expression and political association. But they also
say that after decades of suffering under Saddam Hussein, they
expected the war that overthrew him to bring greater peace and
prosperity than it has so far.