Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Iraqis Eke Out Living in Rubbish Dump
BAGHDAD — Making the rubbish dump their home, many Iraqis, made homeless by the raging sectarian violence, are eking out the barest of livings in the poverty-plagued country, almost four years after the US invasion-turned-occupation.
"We are poor people. We have nothing," 13-year-old Huda Hamdan told Reuters Friday, February 23.
Sitting amid mounds of rotting garbage in a rubbish dump in Baghdad, the teenager is scavenging for aluminum cans and glass bottles that she sells for a few Iraqi dinars.
She and her six brothers and sisters compete with scores of other diggers to search for worthy things in the rubbish dump.
The 13-year-old tries not to gag from the stench of the decomposing household refuse surrounding her.
Huda is one of thousands of Iraqis who are living in grinding poverty since the 2003 US invasion.
A UN report said on Sunday, February 18, said that a third of war-torn Iraq's 26 million people live in poverty.
The report by the UN Development Program (UNDP) and an Iraqi government agency said that the living standards of Iraqis have been deteriorating after a thriving economy in the 1970s and 80s.
"Four years of war, following a decade of U.N. sanctions in the 1990s, has paralyzed the economy and fuelled soaring unemployment," said the report.
The report blamed the Iraqi state authorities for failing to provide adequate services to the Iraqis.
It further faulted Western-backed efforts to transform the economy into a free market for "exacerbating deprivation levels".
"I Found These"
Holding up her right hand, Huda takes off a blue and white woolen glove that helps protect her injured hand against the filth and carefully unwraps a surprisingly clean bandage.
More
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1172072020434&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
Sitting amid mounds of rotting garbage in a rubbish dump in Baghdad, the teenager is scavenging for aluminum cans and glass bottles that she sells for a few Iraqi dinars.
She and her six brothers and sisters compete with scores of other diggers to search for worthy things in the rubbish dump.
The 13-year-old tries not to gag from the stench of the decomposing household refuse surrounding her.
Huda is one of thousands of Iraqis who are living in grinding poverty since the 2003 US invasion.
A UN report said on Sunday, February 18, said that a third of war-torn Iraq's 26 million people live in poverty.
The report by the UN Development Program (UNDP) and an Iraqi government agency said that the living standards of Iraqis have been deteriorating after a thriving economy in the 1970s and 80s.
"Four years of war, following a decade of U.N. sanctions in the 1990s, has paralyzed the economy and fuelled soaring unemployment," said the report.
The report blamed the Iraqi state authorities for failing to provide adequate services to the Iraqis.
It further faulted Western-backed efforts to transform the economy into a free market for "exacerbating deprivation levels".
"I Found These"
Holding up her right hand, Huda takes off a blue and white woolen glove that helps protect her injured hand against the filth and carefully unwraps a surprisingly clean bandage.
More
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1172072020434&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
Add Your Comments
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$260.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network