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Kurdistan: Halabjans Bemoan Pace of
Development
14.12.2007
By Aziz Mahmood in Halabja (ICR No. 240, 14-Dec-07)
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Conditions for victims of Saddam’s brutality have
little improved, despite efforts to improve local
services.
December
14, 2007
Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan Region 'Iraq',-- Even
with its striking mountainous backdrop, Halabja is
not a pretty place.
The town’s roads, most of them dirty and bumpy, have
been compared to Africa’s. Houses are in decrepit
state. Famished cows, their ribs visible from their
thin frames, munch on garbage along the side of the
road - just as they have for decades.
But while the poverty and underdevelopment remains
clear for all to see, there are some signs of
progress. Within the last year, new sewage and water
systems have been built, and a few roads have been
paved.www.ekurd.net
It’s part of a
multi-million US dollar initiative by the Kurdistan
Regional Government to improve services in Halabja -
a process that has moved at a snail’s pace, say both
residents and officials.
Nearly two years ago, Halabjans staged a big protest
over the lack of services, which ended with the
town’s famed memorial to the victims of Saddam
Hussein’s brutality being set on fire.
Almost ten years ago, five thousand locals were
killed when Iraqi forces attacked the town with
chemical weapons. Halabja was almost destroyed in
the attack. But despite many promises, it remains a
shadow of its former self.
Shortly after the demonstrations in March 2006, the
KRG promised 30 million dollars for 15 service
projects, most of which have not even started and
only scratch the surface of Halabja’s reconstruction
needs. Khdir Kareem, the head of Halabja’s
municipality, estimates that Halabja requires about
500 million dollars to be fully restored.
“This town was destroyed by the Ba’ath regime. We’re
starting from scratch,” said Kareem.
Earlier this year, Kareem declared 2007 “the year of
rehabilitating Halabja”.
While Halabja residents maintain that not enough has
been done for the town, some say they are happy to
see any local development.
“In the past, the government was just giving
promises without actually doing anything, but now
they are doing something,” said Amir Star, a
university student in Halabja.
Residents need more services and the development
projects are progressing slowly, he said, “but at
least things are moving along”.
“Before, [residents] were always given promises that
were never fulfilled,” agreed Kwestan Akram,
Halabja’s deputy mayor.
“Now they see that we are working toward fulfilling
some of the recent promises that were made.”
She reported that about 65 per cent of the city’s
56,000 residents are now linked to a sewage system,
compared to only five per cent in 2003. One of the
main projects to pave roads in one of Halabja’s
biggest neighbourhoods is about 80 per cent
complete.
Other projects, though, have barely progressed.www.ekurd.net
The government has
secured land for a hospital for Halabja’s chemical
weapons victims, but the foundations have yet to be
laid. Similarly a scheme to build 1,000 houses has
yet to start.
Officials are even dragging their feet over the
provision of adequate medical care for victims of
the chemical weapons attack, who continue to suffer
from cancers, respiratory and eye diseases.
Ako Saeed, the head of the Sharazoor health
authority which covers Halabja, said local medical
staff have repeatedly called on the government to
improve health services here, but to no avail.
Dlawar Haidar, a coordinator with the Halabja
Projects Follow-up Group, an independent watchdog
monitoring government projects in the town, said
official assistance has been poor.
“The government hasn’t rebuilt Halabja as it should
have,” he said. “The projects are too small for the
level of destruction in the town.”
“We don’t trust that the government can actually
rehabilitate Halabja,” said Nesreen Mohammed, a
34-year-old school teacher. “They don’t really have
a plan.”
Aziz Mahmood is an IWPR journalist in
Sulaimaniyah.
iwpr net
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