http://chrenkoff.blogspot.com/2004_05_16_chrenkoff_archive.html#108493214609
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DEMOCRACY TAKES ROOT: Democracy is spreading - from the ground up, as it
should: "In the province of Dhi Qar, about 230 miles southeast of Baghdad
and a backwater even by Iraq's standards, residents voting as families will
have elected city councils in 16 of the 20 biggest cities by next month."
And in Baghdad, "American authorities created nine district councils...
with representatives sent by 88 neighborhood advisory councils. The
district councils, in turn, sent representatives to the Baghdad City
Advisory Council to work with the American administration." "Every day the
evidence is a little stronger that the council members understand the
benefits of this system, and we even see signs out in the community of it
catching on."
Meanwhile, a Western PR firm, with Arab partners, tackles the world's
toughest ad campaign - selling democracy to Iraqis accustomed to life under
a dictatorship.
HEALTHIER, WEALTHIER AND WISER: "[M]y salary was about 17 US$ before the
war. Shortly after the war it was raised to 120 US$. Three months after
that, they made it 150 US$. Two months later it became 200$... [and] from
the next month... [it] will be around 300 US$" - read the whole extensive
piece on salaries, unemployment, and the standard of living. It makes a
fascinating living.
And there's also good news for retired government employees, who are
finally getting decent pensions. And the 80,000 needy families, who are
being taken care of by the Iraqi Minister of Labour and Public Affairs
(with 300,000 more by the year's end). According to the Minister, Sami
Azara Al Majoon: "We have rehabilitated the orphanages, the centres for the
handicapped and special needs institutions in Iraq, as well as the
institutions for the deaf and blind. Work is on to accommodate all the
homeless and orphaned children and ensure the needs of the handicapped. In
addition, we have opened 28 offices for the ministry in different parts of
the country to accept applications of Iraqi citizens in search of
employment and job training."
Meanwhile, on the education front, "more than five million Iraqi students
are back in school and more than 51 million new Ba'ath-free textbooks are
in circulation." And Iraqi universities are experiencing a brain drain in
reverse, as many of the thousands of academics forced into exile under
Saddam are coming back to teach the next generation of students.
And in health, "some 100,000 healthcare professionals working in 240
re-opened hospitals and 1,200 clinics." The health system has to be rebuilt
almost from scratch: "[it] was 'already badly run down' due to previous
wars, sanctions, drastically reduced spending - some estimates suggest the
Iraqi health budget was cut by 90 per cent during the 1990s - as well as an
inequitable health treatment policy."
SPIRITS REVIVE: "In a stunning upset victory, the Iraq national football
team defeated Saudi Arabia tonight 3 to 1 to earn a trip to the 2004
Olympic Summer games in Athens." It's the first time in Iraq's history that
Iraqi football team will compete in the Olympics. Better still, while the
victory over Saudi Arabia was played at a stadium once used by Saddam as an
outdoor torture chamber, Iraqi soccer player know that if they fail in the
future they won't be tortured by Uday Hussein.
Other areas of life previously suppressed are experiencing cultural revival
- like traditional Kurdish music. "Before, Arab music was the most popular,
but now even the latest albums aren't selling... Many more people are
buying Kurdish music," says Niyaz Zangana, who runs the popular Zang record
store in Arbil.
_______________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world,
it is God's gift to humanity." - George W. Bush 1/29/03
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