A Story

poverty since the 1980s - a story of national decline There are a number of interconnected factors causing poverty in Iraq. Among those are the internal and external wars, the nature of the political regime and the way this regime has dealt with its society s resources. Hence, the examination of poverty among Iraqis has to be rooted in the background of the extremely exceptional conditions the Iraqis have suffered and which have led to the impoverishment of the Iraqi people and its continuation.
The long Iraq-Iran war has led to the worsening of the living conditions of the people in border areas and in the middle and south of Iraq. It has led to forced migration from the southern provinces, especially Basra and Maysan, to cities distant from war hit areas creating demographic problems in these areas and impoverishing the immigrating families.
When the economic siege was imposed on Iraq after its occupation of Kuwait in August 1990, the efficiency of state institutions were shaken and their performance very much deteriorated and weakened. State spending for social services decreased, poverty increased and the social conditions deteriorated. Feelings of insecurity and instability became dominant on the individual as well as the public levels. While the regime concentrated its efforts on protecting itself, citizens were transformed into refugees seeking food and medicine while deprived of their civic rights. During the siege era the living standards of most Iraqis deteriorated. People were no longer able to eat the food distributed to them through the food ration card because the ration had become the major source of income for families, who began selling them to buy other necessities.
Years of siege have caused a decline of the per-capita-GDP to 1/10 of the level the country enjoyed in the early 1980s. While Iraq has scored highest among developing countries in terms of the share of per capita income in the GDP, the real monthly per capita income in 1993 became less than the income of unskilled agricultural laborers in India, considered to be one of the poorest countries of the world according to economic reports. Living standards of individuals and families were affected in and especially families with limited or middle income. According to the WHO, the income levels and living standards of two thirds of Iraq s population of Iraq and the income of families fell to one third of the1988 levels.
With the relative economic improvement in the three years prior to the occupation, after the 2003 War the situation again worsened with the deterioration of the security situation and the state s inability to perform its functions in protecting and enhancing the capacities of the poor. This is especially true with regard to displaced people, of whom women and children are the majority, who became socially detached, lost their money, their homes and other possessions in addition to losing their business, food security, and from their forced transformation into refugees in their home homeland.
After the Occupation
According to the study prepared by the Central Organization for Statistics and Information Technology in cooperation with UNDP titled "Unsatisfied Basic Needs - Mapping and Living Standards in Iraq" in late 2006, 31% of households and 34% of individuals were suffering from deprivation. This ratio conceals wide disparities between rural and urban areas. On the provincial level, the study revealed the general poverty trend during the 1980s and 1990s affected by the impact of the Iraq-Iran War and the siege era. The rates of deprivation clearly indicate that the southern area is the most affected area, when compared to the other Iraqi provinces, with Samawa, Babil, Qadisiyyah, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Karbala, Wasit, Najaf and Misan successively being the most deprived provinces in Iraq. This confirms the continuation of the poverty trend and the deterioration of living standard in Iraq.
The issue of poverty is closely related to the increase in unemployment levels. The relation between poverty and unemployment forms a huge challenge to human development in Iraq, and particularly so given the fact that the structural reasons behind unemployment in Iraq lie in the nature of economic growth centered around the exploitation of oil and also in the qualifications of the labor force with high percentage of youth lacking the necessary and adequate training to respond to labor market needs. Moreover, in terms of creating employment opportunities the labor market in Iraq depends almost completely on the public sector. In addition to all these factors, there is the impact of the war, the siege, the security challenges and those of terrorism. The unemployment rate throughout the Iraqi provinces reached more than 18%, according to the above mentioned study, and the average rate of unemployment among youth has reached 33.4%. In Baghdad it is 22%.
Solutions to unemployment = solutions to terrorism
The population increase, the government s abandonment of its commitment to employ new graduates, and the inability of the private sector to absorb the labor force have all led to the increase in the levels of unemployment estimated by some statistics in 2003 to have reached 60% of the total labor force. A new study indicates that, in the short run, privatization may have a negative impact on the labor market. A 2004 survey revealed that the level of unemployment among the 15-24 age group is approximately 43.8% (46% males, 37.2% females). Surveys also reveal the huge disparities between different provinces. Dhi Qar occupies the first rank in the level of unemployment, with more than 46%. The lowest levels were in Karbala, with 14% in the 2003, and in Basra, with 10.5% in 2004.
Unemployment is of one of the most serious problems in today s Iraq. This is not only because unemployment means the loss of human labor resulting in economic loss but it also results in dangerous social problems, especially among youth. Increase in unemployment means the inability to have an income which in turn leads to low standards of living and to an increase in the number of those living under the poverty line. Additionally, unemployment provides the fertile grounds for crime, fundamentalism and violence.
It is possible to imagine the controversial relationship arising between poverty and terrorism. Terrorism grows and flourishes in poor and marginalized societies and victims of poverty are often its direct or indirect victims. The result is that a growing number of families fall under the poverty line when they lose their providers or when they become unable to work. This will lead to the employment of persons from outside the main labor force such as children or old people. Widows and other women suffering the consequences of terrorism are forced to seek jobs. With the economy being unable to create new employment opportunities in the private and public sectors, the government should pay more attention to encourage the creation of jobs, enhance skills and improve training especially among youth. Additionally, it should implement credit plans favoring the poor, depend on low-cost technologies and facilitate access to information, particularly market information.
Efforts to reduce poverty should be directed to structural causes of unemployment and to finding solutions to the lack of job opportunities. Importance should be given to diversify the Iraqi economy, giving priority to labor intensive sectors. Social and economic policies should target low income groups, the creation of better economic opportunities in poor rural areas, the enhancement of social care and the encouragement of employment opportunities. The government should also take the initiative to design and implement training and educational strategies capable to respond to the market requirements in order to improve the quality of human resources. This endeavor should be taken with the active participation of the private sector and civil society organizations.
The British troops withdrew from the Presidential Palaces base in the al-Burda iya district on the Shatt al-Arab, a new step in the saga of their withdrawal from Basra - after they were forced to evacuate the municipality building in the Sa ai district at the heart of the city, and the Shatt al-Arab hotel site 7 kilometers north of the city in addition to their withdrawal from another site, after being violently attacked there by Mahdi Army troops.
Seizure of government property is not a new issue in Iraq. It is a result of a historic and social surge resulting from the perception that the totalitarian government s property and the assets of its authoritarian rulers are spoils of war that should be confiscated when the opportunity presents itself. Seizure of Iraqi government property has been further justified after the occupation of Iraq and after deposing the ruling Ba th regime in the country. This started when Paul Bremer issued his very hastily taken order in 2003 dissolving the Ministries of Defense, Interior and Information and the different Ba th Party organizations. On the economic level, this order has paved the way for alarming financial and administrative corruption. In the first place, the order was issued before inventorying and documenting of possessions of these ministries and organizations; hence their assets and their property were left to theft and robbery. It is important to mention that we are talking here about the assets and possession of the two biggest ministries in Iraq, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Interior. It is also important to mention that the Ba th Party organizations were spread to the most distant areas of Iraq.

Rate the article
Bad	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Very good
Result : 96%							Participated in the vote : 42