 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 30 Sep. - 6 Oct. 1999 Issue No. 449 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 30 Sep. - 6 Oct. 1999 Issue No. 449
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Stoic people, defiant regime!
By Ahmed AbushadiNotwithstanding nearly a decade of unprecedented sanctions and a crippling economic blockade, the Iraqi leadership remains openly defiant, perhaps betting that its hold on power can actually outlast the patience and fruitless efforts of its foes. A degree of respectability is likely to accrue from Pope Paul II's historic trip to Iraq later this year, and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council dither over what do next about Saddam's Iraq.
In contrast to President Hussein's success in staying in power and defying the US and its allies, an international group of 13 journalists on a 5-day visit to Iraq last week saw first-hand in Baghdad and several other Iraqi towns a general decline in the living standards of the once-affluent Iraqi people. There was no visible starvation or other outward signs of misery, but soaring inflation has depleted most Iraqis' purchasing power. Many, including Iraqi women, are forced to work two or three jobs including menial labour that was previously reserved for foreign workers. Corruption, previously unknown in Iraq, is now commonplace.
What has befallen the once mighty Iraqi dinar is the most graphic measure of a ruined economy. Last week, $1 fetched 2,000 dinars at government banks, 80 more at the licensed exchange bureaus, and 2,150 on the street. The dollar reigns as the currency of choice both officially in shops, and unofficially on the street. Two other rates of 310 and 450 dinars to the dollar are used for the settlement of hotel bills and other officially sanctioned transactions.
Other price distortions are rampant. One dollar's equivalent in dinars buys about 50 litres of premium grade petrol at the officially fixed price of 40 dinars per litre. The average monthly government salary according to one estimate is 6,500 dinars, or about $3.50 -- the cost of a salad-bar lunch at the famous Al-Rasheed Hotel.
An economy in ruins does not seem to worry the well-entrenched regime. Visiting journalists from major media outlets in Egypt, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the US, were confounded by the Iraqi leadership's defiant public condemnations of the US and is allies. The Iraqi leadership is adopting an uncompromising stance now that moves to lift sanctions are gaining more momentum than the US-led effort to remove Saddam Hussein.
"Iraq is not a refugee camp," proclaimed Tarek Aziz, Iraq's deputy prime minister, at a news conference, when describing the inadequacy and humiliation that the UN-operated oil-for-food programme entails for Iraq. "Give us the money, we know how to spend it well," he pleaded while protesting the tight UN control over Iraqi income and expenditure.
The oil-for-food programme is presently worth about $1 billion a month in Iraqi oil exports -- an amount close to pre-war levels. The programme employs hundreds of staff and inspectors stationed throughout the country. It was first proposed to Iraq in August 1991 to help stem widespread shortages of food and essential medicines and a general deterioration in social services in the wake of the Gulf War. However, it was not until March 1997 that the first shipments of food and other essentials began arriving in Iraq.
Waving an expensive Havana cigar, Aziz called for the total lifting of sanctions, while rejecting any further arms inspections that single out Iraq. His harshest words were directed at the US for its "double standard" regarding new proposals being discussed by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council on how to impose weapons inspections inside Iraq. "Why single out Iraq? What about Israel and others?" asked Aziz, adding that eight years of inspections were more than enough.
Aziz believes that Iraq's relations with Egypt are expanding, and support for Baghdad within Arab ranks is growing with only Kuwait and Saudi Arabia holding out. Iraq was "satisfied", he said, with the conduct of a recent Arab League Council meeting that was chaired by Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Said Al-Sahaf despite US pressure to unseat him.
For nearly two hours, Aziz who is probably the most seasoned of President Hussein's closest entourage, seemed to enjoy his interaction with the journalists. He remained in the driver's seat throughout the session, unruffled by questions about the regime's alleged acts of repression against its Iraqi opponents. He also dismissed as fabrication, recent claims by the US State Department that a southern Iraqi village was erased by security forces, saying it was simply an archaeological dig.
In a calculated response, Aziz did not display the enthusiasm expressed by many regarding the political significance for Iraq of the Pope's visit. The Pope plans to visit Ur, supposedly the birthplace of Abraham, which is situated in Dhiqar province in southern Iraq. The trip is part of a commemorative millennium tour that will also take the Pontiff to Palestine and Egypt.
While Aziz was careful to welcome the Pope's visit, he made it clear that the Iraqi government has not, and does not intend to ask the Pope to use his influence to have the sanctions lifted. He merely saw the occasion as an opportunity for many to come and see the country for themselves.
In contrast to Aziz's reserved position on the politics of the papal trip, leaders of the main Christian churches in Baghdad were happily gearing up for it. They clearly have high hopes that the visit will help end the suffering of the Iraqi people. There are 53 churches in Baghdad alone, and more throughout the country. The number of Iraqi Christians is estimated by church leaders at 800,000. Both church leaders and lay Iraqis emphasised that they suffer no official discrimination.
Living conditions are clearly difficult for most, yet Iraq remains a rich country with a diversified economic base, including some of the Arab world's best-educated technocrats. Until 1990, Iraq's economy was growing confidently, at rates well ahead of most developing countries. Even today, Iraq's extensive infrastructure built during the boom years, remains impressive despite growing signs of neglect after two wars and nearly nine years of crippling sanctions. The 600km motorway from Baghdad to the Jordanian border is notably intact except in cosmetic details.
Touring parts of Baghdad, and the Shi'ite towns of Karbala and Najaf, the impression was that salaried Iraqis can survive on their worthless incomes which are supplemented by essential rations and abundant local produce. Conditions are reportedly better in northern Iraq where additional handouts are provided by UN inspectors.
Not surprisingly, Iraqis active in the private sector are doing much better than those in the public sector. As the government lost its ability to provide food and services to the people, private agents stepped in to fill the gap, often making small fortunes in the process.
Hospitals and schools report shortages in essential supplies due to the sanctions. Doctors reported an increase in colon cancer in southern Iraq, which they suspect was caused by US radioactive munitions.
Doctors at Al-Qadessiah Hospital and Saddam Hussein Paediatric University Hospital, as well as at the UN, confirmed that child mortality rates in central and southern Iraq have more than doubled from 1994-98 -- to about 136 deaths per thousand births. The UN however blames the Iraqi government, saying that $200 million worth of medicines and medical supplies sits undistributed in Iraqi warehouses. The UN further points out that the mortality rate has actually declined in northern Iraq where the UN is allowed to administer humanitarian assistance barred by the authorities elsewhere in Iraq.
Caught between President Hussein's personal agenda and the futile Western effort to depose him, most Iraqis have been through hell alive. With no constitutional mechanism available to effect a political change, educated Iraqis we met seemed resigned to what fate might bring.
Still, not all is doom and gloom in Iraq. At the opening of the 11th Babylon Arts Festival at the amphitheatre of the ancient city on the night of 22 September, some 10,000 well-dressed Iraqi men and women attended the opening of the two-week festivities where groups from 51 countries participated. Despite the hardships Iraq faces, the government meets the full costs of participants' travel and expenses.
The opening gala went without a hitch when scores of Iraqi youth depicted their country's rich and varied history. Dancers streamed on stage in colourful ancient dress only to disappear into the belly of a huge terrifying and screeching bird, a symbol of Iraq's tragic history. At every historical juncture, from the Sumerians to Alexander the Great, a striking and brightly dressed woman would parade on stage to symbolise an Iraq coveted by invaders for its wealth and beauty.
The historical parade ended with Haroun Al-Rasheed, the greatest of the Abbasid caliphs, who made Baghdad their glorious capital for over 500 years until 1258. Except for the two-dozen heavily guarded military and government representatives attending the opening, President Hussein's regime was not depicted in the show. It is probably that rich and glorious Abbasid era that Iraqis of today yearn for, an era when Baghdad promoted commerce, industry, arts and science.
