- While billions of US taxpayer dollars have been awarded
in lucrative contracts to companies such as Bechtel and Halliburton subsidiary
Kellogg Brown and Root, there are few signs that any reconstruction has
actually taken place in war torn Iraq.
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- The infrastructure is in a state of collapse, with 70%
unemployment.
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- One reason for this incredibly high rate is that out
of $1.5 Billion in contracts paid out of Iraq's funds, 85% has gone to
US and British companies who rarely hire Iraqis.
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- Iraqi firms, by contrast, have received 2% of the contracts
paid for with the same Iraqi funds.
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- Fadl Abid Oda, 30 years old, has taken it upon himself
to do something that western companies in Iraq have failed to do.
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- In a tiny room off a busy street in the Orfali district
of Baghdad, Fadl stands in his small library.
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- "Anyone can take a book from here," he says,
"People can take smaller books for three days, six days for larger
books. But anyone who wants to read here in the library, it's ok, he can
get any book he wants."
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- There is a shelf of tattered books on one of the walls.
The front of the library, which is actually an old vegetable stall, opens
to the street. The 8 chairs which line the 12'x12' room are filled with
people reading books.
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- While companies like KBR have been investigated for overcharging
the US government $61 million for importing fuel into Iraq, Fadl is pleased
with his project.
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- "We are working on very little finances, so we are
trying to connect with anyone who can get us any book," he says while
waving his hand across the small bookshelf, "The budget for this project
is now $200. We do this by taking 75 cents per month from people who read
here. We try to bring even CD's for computers, and anything else that is
cheap."
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- Hashim Ashure, a 24 year-old who regularly visits the
tiny library, sits in one of the old chairs with a book in his hand.
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- "My reading is not that good, but we are learning
about reading and writing and how useful it is. Before I was a soldier
and it was a very difficult life and I didn't have any time to read,"
he says while shifting an old book back and forth in his hands, "But
now it is very useful for me, and I like to come here everyday at night
to read. I find it is very fun and it's beautiful to learn. I feel like
I was blind before."
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- Last January Bechtel Corporation was awarded another
contract which included repairing Iraq's electricity grids. While the contract
is valued at up to $1.8 Billion, most of Baghdad averages less than 6 hours
of electricity per day.
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- Fadl bends over to light the two small candles on his
table.
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- "We can't really call this a library, but this is
the best we can do. Somebody has to do it," he says while holding
out his arms. "It is a small place with a few chairs, with one table,
and we have a little bit of books. We wish that our library will help educate
people. We want to educate all the youth in my neighborhood."
- _______________________
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- More writing, photos and commentary at http://dahrjamailiraq.com
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- (c)2004 Dahr Jamail.
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-
- Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches
- http://dahrjamailiraq.com
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