BAGHDAD, 17 November 2004 — Labor And Materials, broadcast on Iraqi satellite channel Al-Sharqiya, does not merely redecorate a room, but reconstructs entire properties destroyed in the ongoing conflict in the country. The program makers select families whose homes have been made uninhabitable either during the war or since, and reconstruct it to the extent of supplying new furniture — and even shiny new kitchen gadgets — for free. “We knew it would be virtually impossible to get the house back to how it used to be,” participant Raham Majad, whose house was destroyed in August, told BBC World Service’s Outlook program. “A week after the explosion, Sharqiya channel came to our house, along with many other television channels, to see how much damage had been done and how many people had been killed. “Three days later, Sharqiya came again, to tell us they’d rebuild our house — and pay for it too.” Thousands have applied for the program, but they have to go through a rigorous process.
