A library photo for jobless Iraqis protesting at U.S. hallow promises

By Aws Al-Sharqi, IOL Correspondent

BAGHDAD, February 10 (IslamOnline.net) – Salman Al-Abd, a former Iraqi officer, is just like scores of jobless Iraqis, who enrolled as bodyguards for dignitaries and the society’s elite after the dissolution of the army by the U.S. occupation authorities.

Al-Abd said he cannot help but to apply for the job to support his family as his country has been beset by economic woes after the occupation.

“I worked as a bodyguard for an Iraqi businessman for $150 a month then it was raised to $200 in addition to daily meals,” he told IslamOnline.net.

“It is an interesting job, though dangerous, as I only sit with my employer in the car to protect him with a U.S.-licensed pistol,” he added.

There has been great demand on the bodyguard service over the past months, especially from tour operators and foreign companies operating in the oil-rich country.

Ironically enough, bodyguard companies have become a middleman, taking commissions from both sides.

Money-exchange companies are making a heavy demand on the service, particularly after the free-for-all looting that swept the country after the downfall of the Iraqi capital.

Abbas Al-Saadi, with his strong and sinewy arms, guards a money-exchange company, carrying a Kalashnikov.

“I was a gladiator before volunteering to the police. But after the occupation forces fired us, I worked as a bodyguard,” he said, boasting about being paid in dollars for an eight-hour shift.

Having a car is a prerequisite to work as a bodyguard in some companies.

Abdul Wahid Mohsen, 27, said he applied for the job with his car for $500 per month.

Last May, the U.S. overseer in Iraq, Paul Bremer, announced the dissolution of the Iraqi army forces, other security structures of the ousted regime and the information ministry, leaving thousands of Iraqis jobless.

Bremer also banned Baath Party members from working in the public sector, raising fears among Iraqis the U.S. may not be dealing with all Iraqis as equal.

Reports said that the U.S. occupation of Iraq has left Iraq’s some 10 million Iraqis in both the private and public sectors jobless.