Irak 239

'Iraq: The Lights Have Gone Out, Who Cares
by Ahmed Ali and Dahr Jamail

BAQUBA - Lack of electricity in Baquba has shattered businesses, and the lives of families. Months of power failures has darkened morale everywhere. In Diyala province, just north of Baghdad, a generation has grown up in dark. The province, and its capital Baquba 40 km north of Baghdad has lived with intermittent electricity supply since the times of the sanctions under Saddam Hussein in the 1990s. Came the U.S. in 2003, and everyone thought it would get better.
“I felt happy when the U.S. invaded Iraq because I thought the electricity problem will be solved, and we would have it all the time like other countries,” Abdul-Kareem Hasan, a trader in Baquba told IPS.
But promises of reconstruction by western contractors proved empty, and there is now less electricity than during the sanctions.
In some cities, homes get electricity just an hour or two a day. Sometimes, there is no electricity for a week. People struggle to get alternative source of electricity.
“Big generators are operated privately for distributing electricity to people,” resident Nihad al-Alwan told IPS. “This process implies that a person purchases a generator of certain capacity and gives outlets to people. Each family takes what they need.”
In Baghdad, that can mean a high bill for electricity in addition to paying for scarce and costly food. In many homes the entire income cannot cover the cost of electricity needs.
The failure has fed anger with the government. “If the government were serious about fixing electricity, they could do it easily,” said Abdullah Jumeel, a local employee.
Businesses are down. “We need electricity to operate the machines, and sometimes we go back home without doing anything,” blacksmith Jabar Ameen told IPS. “If there is no electricity, there is no work — and no money.”
Only those who can pay for big generators can operate their factories or keep shops open. But most businesses have shut shop. “As a result, the number of jobs has become more limited, adding to extreme unemployment,” said 51-year-old resident Majeed Kamil.'

Lees verder: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/16/7102/