BAGHDAD,
October 14, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – As millions
of Iraqis are expected to head for polling stations Saturday, October
15, to decide the next step on the thorny road of a controversial
political process, family gatherings around dinning tables for Iftar
(breakfast) in Ramadan are usually dominated by political chit-chats,
especially about the constitution.
But
most families, especially Sunnis, express disillusionment and even
decided not to vote, whether for political or security concerns,
according to Reuters.
Abdul
Kader family is a typical Sunni comfortable, middle-class, Iraqi
family, who represent the mainstream Sunni position from the elections
and voting process.
"I
do not see the point in voting," Suad Abdul Kader, a mother of
two and an English teacher at Baghdad's Mustansiriya University, told
Reuters.
"I
don't see that this process of politics, or whatever they call it, has
brought very much.
"Sometimes
I think they have these things, like the election and the referendum,
just so they can say they have happened, but then nothing
changes," she added.
Millions
are expected to vote Saturday in the referendum, a key part of
Washington's plan to establish a "stable democratic system"
in Iraq.
Twenty
one leading Iraqi Sunni groups, including the Islamic Party, have
earlier urged the Iraqi people to vote down the proposed draft
constitution in the October 15 referendum, warning the charter would
trigger the country's break-up.
However,
the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) retreated and agreed to
endorse the draft constitution after a key demand - that
parliament reviews possible amendments to the constitution four months
after the 15 December parliamentary election - was met.
But
the Iraqi Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) urged the Iraqi Islamic
Party to retract its endorsement of the constitution, saying it would
"fragment Iraq and destroy its identity".
Sunnis
are basically opposed to the inclusion of federalism in the new
charter because they believe it will divide Iraq and exclude them from
sharing in oil wealth, as reserves are concentrated mainly in the
Kurdish north and Shiite south.
Disillusioned
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The final draft of the new constitution has been handed over to the UN for printing and distribution. (Reuters)
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According
to Reuters, the tribulations of the past few years, not just since US
troops invaded Iraq and overthrew Saddam Hussein, but during the later
years of the former regime, too, have left most Iraqi families,
including the Abdul Kaders, disillusioned, even hopeless.
This
week, Suad and several of her colleagues at the university were
discussing what to do about the referendum, a key part of an
"essential" next step in Iraq's uncertain shift to
democracy, said Reuters.
"Every
day I think it might get better, but it doesn't, it actually gets
worse," said Suad.
"I
don't see any light at the end of the tunnel. I used to, but I don't
any more."
The
document that is supposed to unite the country is rejected by many
Sunni Arabs, who fear it will deepen sectarian divisions with Shiites.
"At
university, so many of the students are breaking into different
groups, this one Sunni, this one Shiite, it's really not good. They
are not focusing on the things they should be thinking about -- their
studies," says Suad.
She
told Reuters that she is also disillusioned, as is her husband, by the
constant talk of Sunni and Shiite that spreads threateningly around
the country, something they say never used to happen.
When
they married in 1990, they did not even know to which sect the other
belonged. While both happen to be Sunni, her husband's two sisters
have chosen to be Shiites.
Suad
believes further that the constitution was written by a few to serve
their own interests on the expense of the majority.
"From
what I hear, there are things in the constitution that are not fair to
women, and there are things that were put there only for certain
groups. It is not something that will unite Iraq, I am sure of
that," she says.
Security
Concerns
Although
a considerable chunk of Iraqi citizens is expected to vote in the
referendum, many will do it in fear, worried by threats of militant
attacks and the effect the outcome will have on the country.
Millions
of others will be too afraid to even go out and vote.
Suad
decided not to go out and vote for political as well as for security
concerns.
"You
can't imagine how much I worry about my children, about my daughter
and my son. Too many terrible things happen, even to children."
Her
father, a retired doctor and mother would not be voting in this
Saturday's crucial referendum on a new constitution either.
"He's
74 and has a weak heart so he doesn't like to go out of the house. My
mother won't go either -- it's dangerous."
Suad's
husband Waleed, however, says he will probably vote, especially since
there will be a polling station not more than 200 meters (200 yards)
from their house, making it less risky than it might otherwise be.
As
she told Reuters, her exhaustion with Iraq -- running the risk of
being blown up by a car bomb every time she goes to work, and worrying
about the same happening to her husband or children -- has even
prompted the family to consider moving abroad.
They
are thinking about Qatar or Dubai, but it is not easy to obtain visas,
there is no guarantee of work and the cost of living will probably far
exceed Iraq's.
"That
is the problem with Iraq," said Suad. "It is a very
difficult place to live and it is a difficult place to leave."
