The High Life Returns To Baghdad
Times Online:
Smoking hookah pipes and drinking beer, Sarmad Ali joked and gossiped long into the night with a group of friends in Baghdad – a luxury they could not enjoy a few months ago because of the violence.
Slightly tipsy, the young men piled into a minibus and drove to Palestine Street, until recently a no-go area after dark but now filled with traffic and pedestrians. They pulled up outside a recently opened late-night restaurant, which serves sheep’s head on bread, a favourite dish for Iraqi men after a few drinks.
Such hangouts, called pacha restaurants, closed after the 2003 invasion because people were too scared to go out late in the evening. “We were surprised to see a pacha restaurant open again,” said Mr Ali, a 28-year-old contractor. “It is a clear sign that things are getting back to normal.”
Bloodshed in Iraq has dropped significantly since August thanks to the impact of a joint US-Iraqi security plan that has resulted in a huge rise in the number of American and Iraqi forces on the streets. The boom of a car bomb, mortar attack or roadside blast is noticeably less frequent.
In one of Baghdad’s central commercial districts yesterday evening, The Times saw shops with goods spilling out on to the streets, from washing machines to watermelons. People milled around, making purchases or chatting.
Muhammad Hassoon al-Rubaie, 32, runs a store in Karrada that sells spare car parts. Last year the threat of bombs or kidnappings was so great that he dared to open only for about one and a half to two hours a day, doing the rest of his business – when there was any – by telephone.
“Now the security is very good and there is a lot of safety,” he said. Now he is able to open from 8.30am until 4 or 5pm.
Mr Rubaie also said that in his free time he travels to areas of Baghdad that were out of bounds a few months ago because of the threat of sectarian violence. “I went to Adamiyah three nights ago and was surprised by how safe it felt,” he said.
Estate agents are also enjoying a rise in trade, with Iraqis who have moved overseas returning to buy or rent properties in Baghdad. “My business is better than it has been in two years,” said Beshar Abdul Rahman, a 39-year-old estate agent. “But all of this is not enough. There are still many problems with electricity and water.”
Baghdad, which once enjoyed 24 hours of electricity during Saddam Hussein’s time, has suffered since the invasion as the country’s limited power supply is spread more evenly throughout the country. During the hot summer months many people complained of having only one or two hours of electricity a day.
As the temperature eases, demand for power also wanes meaning that families and businesses enjoy more electricity than before.
Strolling through a small park on the bank of the Tigris, Martada Tah and his friend, Ayad al-Hosar, both 17-year-old students, said that they were planning to relax on the grass near an enclosure where mothers were pushing children on swings.
“Earlier this year we could not come to this area,” said Mr Tah. “It is thanks to the Fardh al-Qanoon plan,” he said, referring to Baghdad’s joint security plan, which translates as “Imposing the Law”.
Down the road from the park, a line of restaurants that overlooks the river is also experiencing a turn in fortunes. Two months ago an 8pm curfew meant that few people bothered to go out to eat, but at the start of the holy month of Ramadan in mid-September the curfew was pushed back to midnight.
“Business is growing every day,” said Diya Masef, the manager of al-Iraq Restaurant, as he surveyed groups of diners settling down to eat outside on plastic chairs and tables. Young men were gathering to smoke hookah pipes and drink tea.
“I had to buy 150 extra chairs to keep up with the growing demand,” Mr Masef said, noting that he serves 300 to 500 customers a day compared with about 100 a year ago.
People overwhelmingly credited the Iraqi Army and police, rather than the US military. Maha Yousef, a 36-year-old mother of two, said: “We thank the brave leaders of the Iraqi forces, especially the Iraqi Army.”
The atmosphere of calm has encouraged parents to allow their children to walk to and from school. “I can also go outside the house to study with my friends or play until 9pm,” said 14-year-old Raed Saleem, who was previously under strict orders to be home by 4pm. “I pray for Iraqi people to keep living in peace.”
Quelling the violence
— No foreign nationals have been kidnapped in Iraq since May
— 165,000 Iraqi troops have been trained and are operational, equal to the total size of the US force
— 194,000 Iraqi police on the streets
— Iraq has a quarter of a million internet subscribers, up 20 times on prewar levels
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That’s some good looking grub, makes me want to vacation in Iraq someday in the future, they’re getting their shit together. Tasty treats, beer and some tabac… what’s not to like about a country like that!
November 3rd, 2007 at 4:38 pmShame upon those who held so little faith in the strength of the spirit of Freedom after our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines and the good men and women of Iraq planted and nutured it with their own bodies and blood.
This news gives meaning to their sacrafice.
Today, this day, because of them, a little girl in Iraq can go to school and dream of a life and a career other than servatude.
Today, this day, because of them, a little boy in Iraq can go play in his neighborhood until 9:00 PM and look to the day when he can pursue his dreams.
Today, this day, because of them, average Iraqi men and women can walk the streets of their neighborhoods with less fear of evil men who claim God’s throne and sit in judgement of them as if they were God themselves.
These events give hope for great things to come for Iraq and America. The sacrifices of our soldiers will be remembered by those Iraqi’s who have the eyes and heart to see.
All we ask is that they guard jealously the freedom that they have been given by those who have sacrificed so much, both Iraqi and American. Guard it with their lives as those who are gone gave so freely of their lives that it might take root.
November 3rd, 2007 at 5:05 pmThe news just keeps getting better. I think they are in an irreversible path to stabilization in that country. I would love to visit the free Iraq one day, cant wait
November 3rd, 2007 at 5:51 pmGreat news and GREAT JOB!
November 3rd, 2007 at 6:15 pmThat plate of food sure does look good. Next thing you know some Iraqi chef will be a guest on Iron Chef…making Iraqi treats for American judges to taste.
Kudos to the US military and the Iraqis who are finally standing up for themselves. What’s that word that Hairy Weed can’t spell correctly again? Oh yes I remember the word is spelled victor, india, charlie, tango, oscar, romeo, yankee. (Had to spell it phonetically for the progressives.) And to those in Rio Linda that word is VICTORY. Put that in your hash pipe Code Fink.
November 3rd, 2007 at 6:26 pmAmen
November 3rd, 2007 at 6:27 pmPat, your gonna really tick the MSM off with this one. Oh well. F#*k um!
November 3rd, 2007 at 7:35 pm1. OK, no offense, but you guys here must be easy to please re: food.
November 3rd, 2007 at 10:02 pm2. I hope this trend continues, because it’s something in which all of us here had faith.
3. I’m sure this trend is ticking off Harry, Nancy, Joe B., John M, Chris D., Ted K., etc.
Yea, that’s all well and good, but they thank, at least that one they interviewed, the Iraqi army. I guess we’re still considered the evil occupiers.
November 3rd, 2007 at 10:20 pmIt’s all good, but personally I prefer slices of the other end of the sheep on bread …
November 4th, 2007 at 1:55 amYes I’m easy to please, but ya gotta remember that a muslim country were you can drink
and smoke (who knows what in a hookah) without getting your head cut off can only be a good thing. cheers 
November 4th, 2007 at 3:37 pmI’d probably lose weight if I had to rely on the local economy for my food. But yes, letting people smoke and drink without murdering them for it is a good thing.
November 4th, 2007 at 9:01 pmWhere the fuck are Eric are the other shit bags on good threads like this?
November 5th, 2007 at 1:52 pm