Region | Iraq
Iraqis resentful of the Green Zone
Iraqis resent the Green Zone, not only because it symbolises the American occupation in Baghdad, but also because it is the only region in Iraq which does not suffer from a lack of services unlike other Iraqi cities and regions.
- By Basil Adas, Correspondent
- Published: 00:41 April 1, 2008
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Baghdad: Iraqis resent the Green Zone, not only because it symbolises the American occupation in Baghdad, but also because it is the only region in Iraq which does not suffer from a lack of services unlike other Iraqi cities and regions.
"My house is on the Tigris River bank and exactly opposite the Green Zone. At nights, I sit and watch the electricity and gaze at the lights because they never black out there.
"I sometimes imagine that I live in another country and the Green Zone is a country completely independent of Iraq and then I ask myself the question why not all regions in Baghdad are like that?" said Khodair Abbas, a resident of Karada neighbourhood in Baghdad which is close to the Green Zone.
The Green Zone, is the name chosen by the Americans as it was called in the era of Saddam Hussain where the Republican Palace Guards used to be. It extends from the famous Abu Noa'as Street to the end of Jadiriya district, close to the Jadiriya Bridge near Baghdad University.
The region's length is more than ten kilometres. "I worked in Iraqi hospitals inside the Green Zone a couple of years ago; there were complete health clinics for all medical specialties," said Widad Al Qalaji, an Iraqi doctor.
Health equipment
"It seemed as if I was in the United States in terms of health equipment available at the hospitals. This situation does not exist at local hospitals outside the Green Zone which lack the minimum standard of care to help the public in those areas," she added.
Perhaps many people know that the Iraqi Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Defence, the Iraqi parliament and the coalition leadership headed by David Petraeus are all located in the Green Zone. Yet, very few know that it includes recreational and sport facilities, as well as Internet and wedding party halls, mosques, churches and luxurious markets.
Talal Al Abbadi, an officer in the Iraqi army, said to Gulf News: "Due to my job and the duties I carry out, I can wander inside the Green Zone but when I leave the area to other neighbourhoods in Baghdad, I feel sad and sense how morbid the situation elsewhere really is.
"The sophisticated security systems in the Green Zone are so advanced that it would be very difficult to penetrate the area without setting off warning alarms from monitoring devices. In contrast, outside the Green Zone there are booby-trapped cars, bombs and suicide bombers who move so quickly and easily kill dozens of Iraqis. I think applying a small portion of the security system in the Green Zone, would help improve the situation for other Iraqis as well."
With all the rumours about the ease of life in the Green Zone, many young Iraqis often react by saying that the "Americans forbid us from a stable life and at the same time they enjoy it."
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