BAGHDAD, 20 May 2003 — Thousands of Iraqis took to the streets of a Baghdad suburb yesterday to demand an Iraqi government and the withdrawal of US forces. The demonstration by mainly Shiite Muslims underscored rising discontent with Iraq’s Western administration and dissatisfaction with the speed at which power is being handed back to Iraqis since last month’s toppling of Saddam Hussein.
“No, no, no USA,” read a placard carried by the demonstrators in the Qadhimiyeh district. Protesters called for unity among Muslims and for an Iraqi government. “We will not sell this country,” they chanted. “We want honest men for Iraq, not thieves,” another placard said. Iraq’s Shiite majority faced persecution under Saddam’s Sunni-dominated administration. While many are relieved Saddam has gone, they are horrified by looting, lawlessness and the breakdown of essential services that has followed the war.
And, perhaps, the most visible sign of the scale of theft in Baghdad is the looters’ market, where despite the US pledge to crack down on crime the only troops who have so far paid a visit were on a shopping trip. Packed with the piles of stolen goods picked up during the frenzy of theft that followed the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the traders deal in everything from computers and stereos to furniture and weapons.
“The only time I’ve seen the Americans in here was when they came in to do some shopping. They wanted Saddam Hussein watches as souvenirs,” said Ali, a store owner doing a roaring trade in timepieces bearing the portrait of the ousted dictator. Here a blank Iraqi passport, looted from the Foreign Ministry, costs just $25. A Heckler and Koch submachine-gun costs $250 while a basic Kalashnikov goes for less than $50.
“People sell it to me and I sell it to other people,” said Falah Hassan, who had a hoard of sporting equipment laid out in front of him. “Of course it’s all stolen, but the Americans don’t do anything to stop me and I need to feed my kids.”
The flourishing market is unnerving aboveboard shop owners, who see it as a symbol of a society going downhill and American indifference to the wave of crime that blights their everyday existence.
Kazem Abu Ali, whose photographic store overlooks the looters’ bazaar, said he keeps three armed men in his store at all times. “Iraqis are being turned into thieves and beggars. The Americans are not doing anything,” he complained. “I’m trying to keep my business going, but when I was at work last week they stole my car from my house. What’s to stop them coming here and cleaning me out?”
Paul Bremer, Washington’s top man in Baghdad, last week vowed that Baghdad’s deteriorating security was top of his agenda: patrols would be stepped up, and looters would be thrown in jail for three weeks. Posters were also put up, politely asking residents to stop stealing.
But Jalal Jamil, a 45-year-old jewelry store owner, said it just keeps getting worse. Only that morning, he had witnessed a car-jacking just meters away from his shop. “The Americans encourage people to steal because when looting happens right under their noses they do nothing,” he said.
