IslamOnline - Iraq... The Aftermath

Iraqis and the Occupation

The Economic Situation in Iraq
Still Crushed Under the "Bremer Orders"

By Dahr Jamail
Journalist - Baghdad

07/12/2004

Sabah is currently jobless.

Abu Ahmed Al-Hadithi, 40, sells vegetables in Al-Adhamiyah market. “The economic situation is so bad now,” he said while standing near bins of vegetables. “The costs of gas and food are going up so high; so even if we make more now, everything is costing more.”

His situation is common amongst Iraqis who are struggling to survive under the occupation. Looking expectantly for customers, Mr. Al-Hadithi added, “In Saddam’s days we grew all our own vegetables to sell … but now so many are coming from outside of Iraq and it is causing us to sell them for less. So I make less profit now, and I have nine people to take care of, and it has made my life very difficult.

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Many of the vegetables in Iraq now have been poisoned by Depleted Uranium [DU]. “We can’t take any vegetables from the south now; the DU makes them all lose their ripeness and become poisonous for us.”

The struggles facing Abu Ahmed Al-Hadithi are a direct result of Bremer’s Order number 12—former US civil administrator in Iraq L. Paul Bremer authored the “100 Orders,” which control the Iraqi economy.

Order number 12 effectively suspends “all tariffs, customs duties, import taxes, licensing fees and similar surcharges for good entering or leaving Iraq,” which caused an overnight influx of cheap foreign consumer goods into the country. This led to conditions which Antonia Juhasz—a project director at the International Forum on Globalization and a Foreign Policy in Focus scholar—describes as effecting Iraqis by, “devastating local producers and sellers who were thoroughly unprepared to meet the challenge of their mammoth global competitors.”

“[The DU] makes [tomatoes] lose their ripeness and become poisonous for us.”

The authority of the 100 Orders was conveniently signed over to the US-installed interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi on Bremer’s last day in Iraq. Allawi, an Iraqi exile of 25 years, has close ties to the CIA and the British intelligence.

Juhasz writes in a Los Angeles Times commentary dated August 5 that the Bremer Orders “lock in sweeping advantages to American firms, ensuring long-term US economic advantage while guaranteeing few, if any, benefits to the Iraqi people.”

One of the Bremer Orders in particular—No. 39—effectively allows for, “(1) privatization of Iraq’s 200 state-owned enterprises; (2) 100% foreign ownership of Iraqi businesses; (3) “national treatment” - which means no preferences for local over foreign businesses; (4) unrestricted, tax-free remittance of all profits and other funds; and (5) 40-year ownership licenses,” Juhasz writes.

Abu Gouda, who used to work in the Ministry of Military Industry, now sells vegetables.

In sum, those measures do not provide preference for Iraqis in doing business in their own country, while they allow foreign companies to buy Iraqi businesses and perform all of the reconstruction/rehabilitation work without being required to spend any of their money in the Iraqi economy.

Examples of Iraqis suffering as a result of the Bremer Orders are abundant.

Abu Gouda, 50, used to work in a factory of the Ministry of Military Industry. He earned one of the largest monthly salaries at the factory. Now he too is selling vegetables in the Al-Adhamiya market. “I make between 8-10000 Iraqi Dinars per day, and this is just enough to feed my family of seven.”

Sabah Ahmed used to serve on the council of his neighborhood in Bahgdad. He is currently out of a job and doesn’t know what he will do. “The economic situation is very bad,” he said with dismay. “The people are in a critical situation because of the increase in prices. Gasoline, transportation, everything is going up so much.

“We have no security, which means that our economy cannot function.”

“We have no security, which means that our economy cannot function.”

Another man, who asked to be referred to as “Haider,” works in a small gold store in the Khadimiyah gold market. “There is a big problem with gold coming from the United Arab Emirates into Iraq, because it is driving all the prices down here, so I am struggling to make a living.”

Ali also works in the market in the Kadhamiya district of Baghdad. He is responsible for supporting his eight daughters, wife, father, and mother after his older brother was killed by occupation forces.

“This is not my real job, but I have to do this. I make 4,000 Iraqi Dinars [$2.70] daily… but my family needs 10,000 ID daily [$7], and I pay 3,000 ID [$2] for transportation.”

Many Iraqis have become desperate to make a living under the untenable circumstances caused by the illegal US occupation of their country.

A man who asked to remain anonymous used to work as a warrant officer. “Now I am jobless, so I am selling sweets.” He complained that he is struggling to get by because most people are no longer able to afford sweets. This is compounded by the security situation, which causes fewer people to leave their homes and obliges merchants to work shorter hours.

Others have resorted to working in the black market in order to maintain their families. “I used to drive my car as a taxi, but now I make more money filling my tank with fuel at the pumps, then selling it here in the black market,” an Iraqi said on condition of anonymity.

After pausing to watch cars pass by, he added somberly, “Only in this way am I making enough money.”

Inflation constitutes another aspect of the crippling situation. “The currency is worth less than before; although the pay rates are higher, the balance is negative because of the increase in prices,” Abu Omar, an unemployed lawyer, explained.

While Iraqis struggle to survive, and unemployment is up to 70% amidst the bloody occupation, foreign companies operating in Iraq are posting record profits. Halliburton saw an increase of 80% in revenues in the first financial quarter of 2004 compared to the same quarter last year. This is primarily due to their operations in Iraq, where the company received the lion’s share of reconstruction dollars from the US government.

Bechtel, recipient of the second largest amount of contract funding in Iraq, has seen a 158% increase in revenues generated outside of the US since last year, which pulled the company out of a slump in this sector.

It must be noted that the Bremer Orders are illegal under international law, because they violate the Hague regulations of 1907, which illegalize the transformation of an occupied country’s laws.

While the orders continue to hurt, rather than assist, Iraqis, there seems to be little hope for an improvement in the quality of life in the war-torn country.

Dahr Jamail is an American journalist of Lebanese descent. Currently based in Iraq, his articles focus on Iraqis and how the occupation of their country affects their daily life.

The articles posted on this page reflect solely the opinions of the authors.