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Iraqis dream of prosperous life under sovereignty

By Jay Deshmukh

War-torn Iraqis are dreaming that the country’s renewed sovereignty will offer them better prospects of livelihood after the ouster of Saddam Hussein.

Despite more than a year of violence across Iraq, Zaqaria al-Kaizi, a 54-year-old employee of Baghdad’s water department, sees a better future for himself and his family.

Standing in a long queue outside a Nokia mobile phone outlet in central Baghdad, Kaizi, like hundreds of others, is about to achieve one of his dreams — owning a cellular phone. “Life is definitely better now than what it was in the Saddam era,” Kaizi told AFP.

“Today, I can think of buying a cellular phone as my income has increased from around 20,000 dinars (14 dollars) a month to nearly 50,000 dinars (35 dollars). For many a mobile phone was a dream in Iraq until a few months back.”

War-torn Iraqis are dreaming that the country’s renewed sovereignty will offer them better prospects of livelihood after the ouster of Saddam Hussein.

On June 28, the US-led coalition handed power to Iraq’s caretaker government two days earlier than expected — a decision made in part to dodge any planned attacks by a vicious insurgency that rose up during 14 months of occupation.. Although militant attacks continue to rock Iraq, creating a deep sense of insecurity, the violence has not deterred Baghdad’s bustling consumer culture and the aspirations for a better life it represents.

“Business has picked up in recent months, said Foud Fahamy, a 37-year-old ready-made garment trader. “One of the key reasons for good sales is the fact that salaries of people have increased nearly ten-fold, which is reflected in the rise in my income to around 300,000 dinars a month from around 200,000 previously.”

Fahamy said a government employee under the regime of Saddam would get a meagre 10,000 to 15,000 dinars salary for a month. “Now it is up ten times.”

The story was similar for 29-year-old businessman Omar Ali who sells bicycles and toys in the Iraqi capital.

“Earlier I used to sell only 50 bicycles in a week. Now I am selling nearly 250,” he said. “Before, people were not able to afford even a bicycle for their children. But now things are changing and that I think is sign of economic growth. My sales have grown by at least 20-30 percent in the past few months.” He said the pick up in demand is also helping reign in unemployment, one of the biggest problems facing Iraq, adding “I have hired six more people in the past few months and I am sure other businessmen would be doing too.”

But unemployment in Iraq is still estimated to range anywhere from 20 to 50 percent. The country’s banking institutions, long a sign of sluggishnes, have also given a measure of hope as a steady rise in income has kicked off a boom in the sector. “Our deposits have risen by nearly 30 percent in the last one year as people have more money to save,” said a top official with Iraq’s leading private bank, Bank of Baghdad. The bank’s main branch in Baghdad was bustling with activity as dozens of Iraqis queued up to either open accounts or check their savings. “We are in fact thinking of offering a range of new products such as credit cards to our depositors to begin with and later take it to the general public,” the official said.

“All this is possible because people have more money and the new government is planning steps to make the country better than what it was previously.” “We are planning a new branch in Baghdad itself and a few more across the country as our business grows,” he said. Bank of Baghdad currently has 19 branches across the country, of which eight are in the capital city. afp

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