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"I stepped over any pride I ever had in my life," Lamis, the pharmacist-turned-housekeeper, told IOL. |
BAGHDAD — Lamis Abdul-Halim, a pharmacist, sought a job in every nook and corner after the Baghdad pharmacy she worked in for 15 years closed.
But after an endless search, she finally gave up.
"No one was hiring pharmacists," Abdul-Halim, 41, told IslamOnline.net.
"I have two kids and what my husband earns is barely enough to pay for the rent. So I decided to look for a job as housekeeper," she said bitterly.
"I stepped over any pride I ever had in my life."
Many university graduates and experienced professionals are reportedly forced to take menial, low-wage jobs to feed their families.
"Graduation diplomas are being dropped," says sociologist and labour affairs expert Waleed Hadid.
He blames the trend on the soaring unemployment rates across Iraq six years after the US invasion.
According to the UN and NGOs, nearly 28 percent of Iraqis aged between 15 and 29 are unemployed. Other sources put the rate at 40 percent.
Abdel-Majeed Muhssen, a graduate of biochemical engineering, says he has been forced into becoming a bricklayer.
"My salary is very low but at least I have a job, unlike my brother who is a lawyer and sells pirate DVDs at central Baghdad."
Muhssen recalls with biting sarcasm when a couple of weeks ago he was stopped at a checkpoint and asked to show his documents.
"I had my identity with me and when the police officers saw it, they didn’t believe I was an engineering graduate," he said.
"They arrested me and released me 4 hours later after they checked my documents and realised I wasn’t a fighter with fake ID," he added sarcastically.
Buried Dreams
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| "After my father’s death few months ago, I was obliged to bring some money home by working as a gardener," engineer Muhssen told IOL. |
When Muhammad Adnan finished college, he never imagined throwing his engineering diploma at the closet and working as a gardener.
"Becoming an engineer was a dream since I was a small kid," Adnan, 23, told IOL.
"I worked so hard to get this dream realised."
Adnan's parents were proud to spend all their money and saving on their only son’s study.
"For nearly one year I have been trying to find a job but had no luck," he lamented.
"After my father’s death few months ago, I was obliged to bring some money home by working as a gardener."
Officials link the dilemma to many problems like low investments, the increase in the number of foreign workers and the few reconstruction projects that would create more jobs.
"It's a long way, full of barriers that we have to overcome," a senior Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MLSA) official told IOL.
"It might take some time but we hope that soon Iraqis will be able to work in their professions and feel that their diplomas were useful one day."
But Muhssen, the engineer-turned-bricklayer, dismisses such talk as empty promises.
"Politicians are just worried about their finance and power. They don’t care about us," he insists.
"I don’t expect so much in the future."
Abdul-Halim, the pharmacist-turned-housekeeper, agrees.
"Iraq has taken our choices."
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