|
Sulaimaniyah, (Reuters) Iraq, 11 August 2005 —
Each morning before dawn, hundreds of Arabs from
southern Iraq gather near a mosque in this northern
Kurdish city hoping to find work on one of scores of
construction sites dotting the landscape.
What began 18 months ago as a trickle of poor,
unemployed young men moving north to find work and
escape violence in predominantly Arab areas has now
turned into a rapid stream. And it’s no longer just
the poor and jobless fleeing.
Professionals — including doctors, engineers and
teachers — are following them, desperate to escape
the chaos tearing cities such as Baghdad, Basra,
Baquba and Hilla apart.
“I came here for safety, and for my family,” says
Dr. Ali Alwan, 40, an eye specialist who moved from
the southern city of Basra to Sulaimaniyah in late
2003 and has since encouraged dozens of former
colleagues to follow him.
“Here it is a wonderful life. The children are in
school, my wife is happy and there is good work,” he
says. “I don’t think I will ever return to Basra.”
Around 25 eye specialists alone have since taken the
same route out of Basra, he says. At the Razgari
outpatient clinic in Sulaimaniyah, eight of the 13
doctors are Arabs who arrived in the past two years,
according to director Khalil Ibrahim Mohammed.
Young trainees, desperately needed in places like
Baghdad and Basra where hospitals are understaffed
and overworked, are also getting out. At
Sulaimaniyah’s teaching hospital, 20 of this year’s
interns — the majority — are from Basra.
“Here things are normal, we are a normal hospital,”
says Karzan Sirwan, a Kurdish surgeon at the
hospital. “I can understand why they come, and we
need them too.” There are sometimes language
barriers - most Arabs don’t speak Kurdish — but
since all Iraq’s doctors are trained in English,
they can communicate with one another, and
translators are on hand to help doctors talk to
Kurdish patients.
It’s a similar situation at Sulaimaniyah’s
university, where 40 Arab professors have joined the
staff in the past two years, university officials
say.
While the newly arrived professionals are generally
well paid — most medics make around $500 a month or
more — the bulk of the labor flowing to Sulaimaniyah
is unskilled or semi-skilled and barely scrapes a
living.
There are no hard figures on the total number who
have migrated since the war, but an official in
Sulaimaniyah’s investment office put it in the
thousands in Sulaimaniyah alone.
Hundreds of poor Arab men gather in the center of
town each morning waiting to be taken to building
sites by contractors. Many are recognizable by their
headdress and darker features.
Mohammed Abbas, a 28-year-old Shiite from Baghdad,
came to Sulaimaniyah two months ago. He works
construction when he can find a job, and sells
cigarettes otherwise. “There is nothing for me to do
in Baghdad,” he says. “At least here I can make $20
a day most days.” He says hundreds from his area of
Baghdad have done the same thing to escape.
“I send money home to my family and when I have
enough I will return to Baghdad and get married,” he
says. At night, they sleep in Sulaimaniyah’s parks
and squares. Those that have construction jobs sleep
on site. At night, small fires can be seen burning
inside half-built buildings.
Haider Salim Djuluwi, 20, came from Kut, in the
southeast of Iraq, two months ago, looking for
summer holiday work. He’s now making $10 a day as an
unskilled laborer for a new court house. “Friends
came before me and said it was good. Twelve of us
came together,” he said. “I’m not thinking about a
better life, just about making some money and
staying safe.”
In Arbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish
region, there has also been an influx of Arabs.
Yacoub, a barber in the main hotel in town, came
three months ago from Baghdad.
“Too many of my friends were threatened,” he said,
referring to barbers who have been killed by
militants for cutting hair in western styles or
shaving beards. “Here I feel much safer.” The
language barrier is a problem, but he has found a
house in a Christian village, where most people
speak Arabic. “The money is good and the people are
friendly,” he says. “I can’t see myself ever going
back to Baghdad.”
Reuters
Top |
® 