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Voices of Hope From Baghdad?
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Bill Janzen is a member of the KAIROS Board of Directors and the KAIROS Middle East Working Group. He is the director of the Ottawa Office of Mennonite Central Committee Canada. In addition to his late September visit to Iraq, he was there also in 1994 and 1999. |
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The deadly bombings in Baghdad may suggest that there is a united resistance against the Americans, that they will have to withdraw, and that when they do then the violence will stop and peace will emerge.
The message I heard in my late September visit there is different. Certainly, the people don't want a long term occupation but most do not want the US-led coalition to withdraw just yet. They fear that if the coalition pulled out now, that would only help extremist groups who, from regional power bases, might bring the country into a civil war.
Instead of withdrawing, people want the CPA, (the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority), to do much more to provide basic services including police and security, electricity and water, health and education, as well as general stability. They want the occupation troops, and the CPA generally, to show more understanding and respect. They are sharply critical of the CPA but they are not rallying to an alternative. They want to rebuild their society. They have not yet lost hope.
- An Iraqi woman who had left the country early in Saddam Hussein's reign had now returned and set up a non-governmental organization to promote health care, water development, and education on human rights and the rule of law, etc.
- Two men, also returnees, who had started a daily newspaper, one of over 150 currently in the country, talked enthusiastically about their hope that in the new climate they would be able to nurture an atmosphere for openly discussing a broad range of public issues.
- Several church leaders (4% of the Iraq's 25 million people are Christian) said that now they can receive visitors from abroad without having a government official present in every conversation. They hope for more interaction.
- A Shia leader (65% of the people are Shia) said that even though they were oppressed and persecuted by Saddam Hussein, they would not want to use their majority status to now marginalize and oppress other groups.
- An elderly woman, to whom I was able to bring a gift from her son in Canada, said, "we Iraqis have known so much war in the last twenty-five years; every family has experienced losses; I hope and pray that we will not have war anymore."
- A University psychologist spoke of the need to help people to deal with the violence, aggression, and mistrust that they internalized during the years of dictatorial rule. He felt this would take time.
Alongside these deep hopes there were real fears. Almost everyone talked about kidnappings, car-jackings, thefts, and other acts of violence. They want security so that they can send their children to school, start businesses, participate in evening activities, and go about their daily lives without fear.
Most people attribute some of the violence to bad CPA decisions, particularly the sudden disbanding of the 400,000 member Iraqi army and the dismissal of thousands of civil servants who had been members of the Ba'th party. They also note that Saddam Hussein, in one of his last acts, opened all the prison doors. With so many additional people on the streets, in a time of high unemployment, increased violence is understandable. Groups from some neighbouring countries were also said to be fomenting violence.
The CPA has taken some positive steps. It has provided, albeit belatedly, an income to many of those released from the army, though these payments may be ending soon. It has begun major public works programs to create employment and give people some money, though rehabilitating the economy will require more. It has set up a new Iraqi police force which enjoys considerable respect though it is not yet fully staffed. Some of its other plans sound OK.
But the people have serious concerns. They say that the CPA does far too little to communicate with the Iraqi people about its work and its plans. They see cheap imports flooding the market due to a lack of import controls, and question how local factories will be able to thrive. They wonder if the economic difficulties in the US and the unexpectedly high cost of the occupation will mean that most of Iraq’s oil wealth will be siphoned off with little benefit for the Iraqi people. They are not sure what the longer term US agenda is.
Though some groups want the CPA to fail, at this point most Iraqis do not. They believe the CPA when it says that it wants to hand power back to an Iraqi body, supposedly before the end of 2004, though they worry. For this to happen smoothly, there should be an Iraqi body in place that is accepted by the people and capable of governing. And for such a body to become established there needs to be a constitutional process with elections. Setting up a framework for these will be a major task.
Can the international community help? The idea that all matters relating to the constitution, to elections, and to Iraq's sovereignty, should be taken over by the UN has merit but it was not seen as a cure-all. UN humanitarian agencies are needed and welcomed but they have recently withdrawn most of their international staff. Dozens of NGOs, more from Europe than from North America, are doing good work and need support.
As for other donor governments, many would prefer to work directly with Iraqi ministries, such as those for water, electricity, health, education, or policing, but it is not clear what degree of independence from the CPA is presently possible. Their greatest contribution may be to press the occupying powers to govern, not for their own benefit but for the benefit of the Iraqi people.
Certainly, the international community must not turn away from
the people of Iraq. Their hope for a new and more humane chapter
in their national life is inspiring. With a little help they may
regain their strength and make substantial contributions both to
the region and the world.
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