For those who were talking about reconstruction, here is the latest from the reconstruction-ongoing land:
- Baghdad lacks water for more than 15 hours a day for 10 days now.
- Most of the neighborhoods in Baghdad get less than 5 hours of electricity a day for ten days. In my neighborhood, we get 2 hours of electricity a day.
- I live in a polluted room now. Because there is no electricity to operate my electric heater, I use kerosene heater. Have u ever slept in a room where all what u breath is smoke?? Try it and tell me what you think. I wake up at night, hardly breathing, because the heater doesn’t work properly because the kerosene I am buying is mixed with water. As gasoline and diesel and everything else in Iraq, you cannot trust your source!!
- Yesterday, I was talking to my aunt, who voted in the elections. She said “this is the last time I vote this year. What is the benefit I got? I still need gasoline for my generator, still cannot tell people to who I voted (for fear of being killed or fired from her work) and I still don’t know where we are heading in the future. And ironically, most if those who nominated in the elections are not in Iraq, and the rest are having fun in Kurdistan!!”
- Ansar Al-Sunna announced that they will continue their “anti-occupation” operations!! Which means more Iraqis to be killed, more children to be orphans, more women to be widows, more condemns by the government, more condemns by the politicians, more condemns and promises for a better life by Bush, and more news for us to write. But less hope for everyone.
- Treasure of Baghdad sent me a msg saying that he knows I feel lonely in Baghdad because he is away. So for God’s sake, come back.
- Once one of the editors, who I really admire and like, told me a joke about the relation between an editor and a writer. The joke says: an editor and a writer were lost in the desert. They were thirsty. A while later, they found and oasis. So they both hurried to the water to drink. The writer was drinking, when he noticed that the editor was pissing in the water. The writer: What are you doing? You are messing up with our water!! The editor: No, I am making it better!!
So my point is that I remembered this joke because the same editor I like and admire too much, edited my latest story, but he didn’t piss that much!! (if you are reading this my lovely editor, I want to thank you. It really looks better now. Hee hee)
- I don’t know what to do in the new year’s eve! Any suggestions?
Feeh
At 4:00 AM, 
I was there..
At 6:51 AM, Original_Jeff
24,
(Please be careful with your heating. Maybe you should run a generator outside and use electricity for heat on the inside. This improves air quality inside. Or, get a heater that vents to the outside. It is not safe to operate any fuel-burning heater inside of a home--regardless of the quality of the fuel.)
Regarding reconstruction...
This is your argument, as I understand it (correct me if I am wrong)
1. Water and electricity are terrible for me and most others in Baghdad.
2. Therefore, there is no reconstruction. (Or, sometimes you say there is not noticable reconstruction.)
How about this argument?
1. Iraq probably needs > $100 billion in infrastructure improvements.
2. Less than $5 billion in projects have been completed.
3. Therefore, Iraq is still in a very bad sitution in infrastructure.
4. Therefore, Iraqis do not have adequate clean water and electricity.
Maybe you should interview some people from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They are leading the U.S. part of the reconstruction. You could go on construction sites with their quality assurance and inspection people. You could even watch the Iraqi contractors get paid and inspect the contract and specifications and the work they did. You could see the record keeping and the progress reports on projects. Would this be helpful to you? The contacts are lists on www.grd.usace.army.mil
Why not find out the facts and write a story for your newspaper?
At 9:23 AM, 24 Steps to Liberty
Jeff,
ok, first, you suggested that i should get a generator to operate a heater. i would, but where would i find this amount of fuel to operate the generator? hee. its just a circle.
second, i never said there is no construction. there is, but in the safe places, which is like what? 2 2 percent in Baghdad plus the green zone. so, i know it is insurgency problem and i've mentioned it before. plus, the corruption. yesterday, i was in a govenrmental building to do some work and i talked to an employee. he tole me that the building is painted twice now (in a year) but they dont have a generator to warm themselves up and they dont have materials to do their work. and we both ageed that in painting the building twice and more, the ocntractor can get more money than to buy one generator because the price is known for all and they cannot cheat.
At 9:31 AM, Treasure of Baghdad
I was there,
Please do not forget that the ones you are attacking in your comment made the Iraqis got rid of the worst tyrant in the Arab World, Saddam Hussein. They are the ones who made our government pay $400 a salary to my mother who used to get $1.5 per month. They are the ones who made the press free in Iraq. However, they committed mistakes. There is no doubt about that.
I am in the US now and I’ve never felt that the Americans here looked down at me just because I am from a thrid-world country. And let’s not deceive ourselves. Iraq is one of the third-world countries. I know it’s rich of resoureces, but this will take time and may be long time.
Omar,
Don’t rush dude! I am coming back soon L!
Origional Jeff,
If he 24 uses a heater on a geneator, he needs to buy a huge one. Because most of the generators are incapable of running heaters. What I usually do is that when I have power at home, which is rare of course, I turn on the electric heater in my room and close the door. When power goes off, I keep the door closed to keep the place warm at least for some time. I am usually covered by 2 thick blankets at least.
I am sure Omar would find it weird but I think this is the best way to do it. We endured 140 F in summer, so I think we are able to endure 40 or 30 F in winter. We are Iraqis. Our job is to endure, not to live.
At 1:13 PM, Original_Jeff
24,
I am sure it is true that more reconstruction is happening in peaceful areas. But even some projects have occurred in not so peaceful areas like Falluja (which I realize was severely destroyed in the attack). There are many projects in Baghdad too--police stations, fire stations, hospital refurbishment, government buildings, telecom networks, dura power plant, electricity substation, sewage treatment plant, etc. Have you seen these take place?
I have no expertise in this area, but I would guess Iraq needs to spend more than $100 billion on infrastructure. The USA has only spent $2.5 billion on completed projects. The current ongoing projects are worth $7.2 billion.
Sorry my suggestions are not helpful on heating. Each winter, our newspapers sadly report the accidental deaths of people using bad heaters indoors--I don't want you to hurt yourself!
At 1:20 PM, Original_Jeff
24, you said:
Treasure of Baghdad sent me a msg saying that he knows I feel lonely in Baghdad because he is away. So for God’s sake, come back.
Thanks for making me laugh loud. Looks like treasure is very popular at your office :-)
What to do for New Year? I'm going to make bloody Mary drink. Oops that wouldn't work for you as the main ingredient is tomato juice. I'm just trying to cheer you up.
I need to cook for New Year as my friend is visiting us from Dallas. I think I'll make kobab since Mark likes it too.
The point is FOOD is always good especially when you're feeling down.
Happy New Year.
At 10:48 PM, 24 Steps to Liberty
ok, Jeff, i think this conversation would not end until u come to Baghdad and see it for yourself. one more thing, i read the link you sent me and it is all lies. i live in the western part of baghdad and dont have electricity for several days now, so if they added this transformer to cut electricity, they better take it off. anyway, i dont blame readers, i blame media for this misinformed audience.
Fay, thank you for not sending me food!! and yes, treasure is popular but not that much!!!
treasure, i agree with u on what you told "i was there" because if it wasnt for our friends, i wouldnt be able to discuss all this here now. i will never forget that. and........ have fun!
At 5:23 AM, Original_Jeff
ok, Jeff, i think this conversation would not end until u come to Baghdad and see it for yourself
I fully believe you that the Baghdad's electricity, water, and automobile fuel supply are terrible. I don't know how anyone can cope mentally or get productive things done on the job.
one more thing, i read the link you sent me and it is all lies
As an employee of one of our country's most important newspapers, I know it is important for you to be skeptical. However, facts are facts. You should not call something a lie when it is the truth.
Is wagering forbidden in Islam? If not, I would pay you $10 for every sentence that you can show to be a lie, either in whole or in part. I count 14 sentences in the story.
We can arrange payment through Treasure to carry back to you.
At 6:04 AM, 24 Steps to Liberty
ok Jeff, that was very funny. u made me laugh!!
first of all, when i write here in this blog (my own blog), i am the average iraqi citizen, who has no outlet for what he feels but this page. here, i am not a special correspondent of one of the biggest newspapers in the U.S. and that is exactly why i established the blog: to speak things out as they compile in my mind, otherwise, i would explode of frustration. so the reporter part of me is very far from what i write here. and it is a good chance for me to say that to other readers in case they misunderstand the idea.
second, what does islam have to do with this?
third, what i say is against what is written in the story and, for me, that is enough. the story said that they installed a new transformer or whatever you call it to improve the electricity supplied to residents of western side of baghdad. i am a resident of that part of the city, can they tell me why i dont have electricity for the last 2 weeks? why do i get maximum of 5 hours a day? why do i need to heat water on the cook so i could take a shower? and why before they installed their new transformer i had a luxury of 10 hours of electricity a day?
Jeff, this is the ever lasting argument. i know it. because there are people, iraqis and americans, who are paying efforts and time and sometimes their lives to improve the situation here and it is not fare that we say they are doing nothing. but also, there are iraqis who are being killed everyday and threatened everyday and children cannot play outside their houses becasue of terrorism and the outside world blames them for being ungrateful. people outdie iraq dont know why the iraqis are frustrated, and i wrote the reason as i see it. take it or leave it is not my job and not my point. i am an iraqi who lives in iraq and speaks an international language, i will make use of this language to help my people and my country, and to show gratitude to our friends. that is what i am able to do to be proud to belong to this country, and i will do it always.
At 5:17 PM, 
Jeff,
I think you need to go back and read all of 24s previous posts. Take anything that comes out of the military with regards to Iraqi reconstruction with a grain of salt. Its all part of "spin" to make this mess look better.
Baghdad is suffering right now. There is no question about that and no press releases from the military about reconstruction will ever change the fact that it is suffering.
24, forgive the ignorance of visitors who think they know more about Baghdad than you do... and keep reporting on the plain cold hard facts. Us Americans need to hear more of it.
Hang in there buddy, hopefully the worst is over and the new year will bring more luck.
At 9:13 PM,
First to 24 Steps to Liberty - your thoughts get through to Americans like myself and I thank you for them.
i was there asked "Do you really expect any help in reconstruction Iraq from U.S?" The shortest answer is yes, of course. Whether you deny the Federal Goverments help, you must not deny the help offered by us, just regular old citizens of the Old US of A.
Also, "i was there", I can assure you that we (meaning Americans who are not knuckle-dragging morons) do not look upon Iraqis or any Semetic people as "third world" if you meant that term to be demeaning.
God blessings to you all for the New Year and all those that follow, which I pray will be many.
At 9:44 PM, 24 Steps to Liberty
- Cooper, thanks for your comment and i will make sure to add your blog to my daily reading.
- 24Rulez, i know it is not ignorance, or i want to believe it is not. it is just that people find it very hard to believe that all their sacrifices are in vain. and i do understand that. but again, there are people who are trying to make it better, butthey dont have the chance to make the change and for many reasons i already mentioned before.
- Sinewave, thank you too for reading what i write, that is a trust i will always keep the good work to deserve. and i hope you know i didnt agree with "i was there" and left a comment with my point of view.
Happy New Year And All The Best To All Of You.
Well, if I wanted to stay, the first thing I would do is get involved in fixing what ever was wrong in any way I could. Hard labor never hurt me in my life.
If I didn't think after a while that things were going to improve, I would take my family somewhere else, where it would be better.
I have lived many places in my life. One (where I am now) for almost thirty years. Moving around is no big deal to me, but staying now that I am much older is easier on me. But I can guarantee if I needed to move, I would.
Being loyal and belonging is fine and good but not if all you do is suffer without being able to do anything about it.
But, I never lived anywhere where I could not have a normal or good life. I have had a number of jobs, three careers and a large family which I took care of with the help of my two wifes (no, not at the same time).
But, never ever did I stay somewhere where they were subjected to hardships for long. It is your choice where to live, but complaining without doing your part in fixing the problems is not a good thing.
Just my thoughts, you are entitled to yours as well.
Just remember, Life is what you make of it, not the other way around.
Papa Ray
West Texas
USA
Oh, I forgot to address your power problems, your water problems and your sewage and trash problems.
First let me tell you the largest city I have ever lived in was under 300,000.
So, I have no experience with large cities, except that I read about their problems. Such as the garbage collector strike a few years ago in a large American city (I forget which city) that had garbage piled up ten foot tall in all the streets for a few weeks.
Not very attractive or sanitary I would say. But it shows you how much trash and garbage collects in just a short time.
If and when you ever get a city government that can hire and keep employed all the people and equipment they need to clean up and keep cleaned up your city, then you can worry about strikes by the workers.
Your power problems are caused by everybody and his dog buying things that use electricity. More money to the average citizen, equals him buying more stuff that uses electricity.
Hard to keep up with the increased usage in any city, let alone one the size of where you live.
Especially since the cities power was antiquated and in sorry repair to start with.
Water problems, well I thought there was a river there, where is that water going, can it not be used? Oh, its too dirty, why is that? Are there not water wells with hand pumps, why not. I never had anything but a hand pump until I was eleven years old.
Oh, I forgot, only the desert people dig wells and since your not Arab or Persian, you don't do that sort of thing.
Life is what you make it, not the other way around.
Papa Ray
West Texas
USA
24,
Electrical generating plants don't grow on date palms. It takes about 2-3 years to build a single new plant in the US where nobody shoots at you or kidnaps you if you are building it. If you want more electricity, stop the kidnapping and shooting of workers. Don't tell the US and security contractors to stop it. You stop it by telling them who is doing the killing and helping to arrest them.
Once you have some security and safety for the workers, your electricity supply will start to improve. And probably not before.
I can't say why your water supply isn't getting fixed, but it is probably the same reason. Stop the insurgents and you will have plenty of water inside of a year.
You asked if anyone would really expect help from the US in reconstruction. The US doesn't have to do any of it. We don't owe you money, electricity, water or food. You have to earn it yourself. If you won't stand up to your insurgents and stop them, then you will never have electricity or water, and it won't be anyone's fault but Iraqis.
Do I expect it to be easy to stop the insurgents? No. Do I expect the US Army to give you security? No. It hasn't worked just yet, but I bet it is improving slowly. Would it work better if you didn't depend on the US to give you everything? Maybe. If you think the US does such a poor job, why aren't you pushing forward faster as a country to take over the security work and just take the US money and fix things yourself.
The US government doesn't want anything to do with running Iraq for a long time. We want you to do it. We just want you to keep radicals from trying to kill us in our beds just because we aren't Muslim. You would be better at running Iraq. You understand your people and you speak the language. We don't.
But since your own government isn't pushing forward very hard to take over, the US stays and dies along with you until you grow up and take responsibility for your own country. If you don't like things as they are, YOU do something about it, like we do in the USA. We get involved. When crooks try to shut us up, some people hide, some people join them, but many people fight them because it is OUR home, not theirs. Join the fight and press forward and we will be happy to leave Iraq's land, people, oil, and desert to you, the people who want and deserve it. We want only to be left alone.
Good luck. It will happen one way or the other. Your people should work to make it happen for themselves.
Subsunk
At 12:43 AM,
Dear Subsunk,
Nice little hyperbole you put forward there. It was the US not the Iraqis who started this war. The US has now been given the responsibility of Iraq's security and stability by the UN.
Iraq never bothered the US in the first place. Granted Sadaam was a tyrant, he never interfered with the US. So it is very much the responisbility of the US (and the meager coalition troops) to secure and reconstruct Iraq.
Don't be so harsh on Iraq. Did you learn how to walk when you came out of your Mother's womb?? Was Rome built in a day? As you are telling Omar to be patient, please be patient yourself. The Iraqis are very resilient people.
Just look at the Iraq voter participation, it put people in the US who have the ability to enjoy the fullest freedom to shame.
Dear 24 steps,
Do you really expect any help in reconstruction Iraq from U.S?
How do you expect any help from a people still looking at you that you are one of the Third world countries?
If they will help you, it will be just like the way that Saddam Hussein use to do when he use to help the Africans, just to show the people that he is helping the Africans.
What the U.S government is doing is for them and their history not for Iraq, and you know that.
The Iraqis did every thing before by them selves during the embargo; they use to buy every thing they need including the science and new technology by their money, and they became a country that U.S, Israel, Iran, and the whole world afraid from.
The reconstruction they are talking about, is the money they are spending here and there for their own benefits, regardless of the commissions that……..
There is reconstruction!!!! Nevertheless, do you know where? I will tell you, yesterday, they said that they rebuild and refurnished a hospital in Baghdad, and installed the most advanced equipment for Iraqis, the name of the Hospital is Ibn Sina, remember, Ibn Sina hospital, yes, it is the same one that Saddam Hussein use to have inside the Presidential Palace compound, which is known now by the Green Zone; ‘for the Iraqis’ they said!!!
Just like at Saddam era, it was for him and for his people, and now it is for them and their people; Is there any Iraqi, other than the people working with them, can go there; this is where the reconstruction money go; Oh, I forget the money that goes to the security companies that protecting the Americans and the Exiles from Iraqis, I know, it is a huge money; they did not know yet that instead of paying all this money to the security companies, they can spent it on the Iraqis and they can both live together in peace; those were the same Americans that they were playing basketball in one of the schools yard, right after Baghdad fell, with the neighborhood boys, they were putting their guns on the ground aside and they were winning in that game when all the audience were supporting the American team; what happened now? Why they cannot do this now? They can ask them self this question and they can ask the exiles they brought with them, but if they will found the right answer, what, all these security companies will do then, how they will make money??
24 steps dear, do not expect any thing from them, remember, at Saddam era, those same people, but before those Iranian, sorry, I mean the Shiite who came from Iran, enter the government offices, At Saddam era those people were able to fix all this water and electricity with in a week, but now with the Americans they can not do that or they do not want to do it.
You must do it and do not expect any thing from a people, they still looking at you as a Camel Jockey…
I know about that because,
I was there