05 November 2003
Local Iraqi Councils Take Shape with U.S. Aid
Councils handle issues from traffic to security to water to education
(This article by Ben Barber, a writer for the U.S. Agency for International Development, was first published September 27, during a visit to Iraq. The article is in the public domain with no restrictions on republication. For more information on U.S. efforts to rebuild Iraq, please visit the USAID website -- http://www.usaid.gov/)
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Iraqi Local Council Members Participate in First Democratic Panels, Backed by U.S. Aid
BAGHDAD, Iraq (Sept. 27, 2003) -- A man in a sport shirt energetically shouts his opinions while a turbaned cleric, three women and other members of the Karkh District Council listen.
The 20 or so members are exploring democracy for the first time -- deciding to hire an administrator, how much to pay as salary and making sure the group applies for a computer from the city government.
Council member Shatha Hadi, who worked in a bank before the downfall of Saddam Hussein's regime in April, said that U.S. assistance made it possible for the new councils to form and begin to take a role in running the city's affairs.
"I saw that Americans are here to help us and take us from the pits," said Miss Hadi. "Saddam the criminal did nothing for us. The Americans gave us food and gave us elections in the neighborhood. The people chose me to be on the council."
U.S. civil affairs troops and USAID, working in cooperation with the Coalition Provisional Authority, organized meetings of local citizens in 88 neighborhoods -- each area elected an advisory council to deal with local issues from sewage to security. The neighborhood councils in turn elected nine district councils such as the Karkh Council, and those sent representatives to the 38-member Baghdad City Council.
Although the turbaned cleric and some other men on the Karkh Council at first objected to Hadi, a woman, being on the council, she persuaded them to accept her and they later voted to send her to the City Council as well.
"This is the first time we do this. The Americans let us do this -- a real democracy," she said.
The room they meet in was formerly part of a luxurious hospital for Saddam Hussein's officials and it was badly damaged by looters. USAID and U.S. civil affairs troops provided furniture, electricity, new paint, windows and security. "We are grateful for what they did," said Hadi.
When a couple of council members began shouting their opinions around the table, appearing to be angry enough to come to blows, she explained with a smile: "Don't worry -- that is the Iraqi way." In fact, the shouting soon gave way to constructive debate and the meeting adjourned peacefully.
The councils are "advisory councils" allowing Iraqis to say what the people want done in their neighborhoods from traffic to security to water to education.
"Many people say you now work for the Americans," said Hadi. "Some say Saddam will kill me. I say I did nothing that was not correct. I say I work for my people."
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(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2003&m=November&x=20031105182452atarukp0.6473657&t=usinfo/wf-latest.html
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