Luxury market ... electrical goods on sale in Basra
From George Pascoe-Watson
Deputy Political Editor in Iraq
PROSPERITY has returned to the streets of Iraq, and The Sun has been there to see it.
On the first anniversary of the end of the Iraq War a new nation is under construction thanks to the tireless efforts of British and US forces.
While the world’s TV cameras focus on the darkness of the post-war problems, the REAL story is of dramatic improvement in the everyday lives of millions of ordinary Iraqis.
Some £15BILLION of British and American taxpayers’ cash is being pumped in to rebuild the country from scratch.
Wages have soared, sparking a boom in trade which has seen street stalls groaning with Western goods banned under Saddam.
Locals in Basra have dubbed one street Electric Avenue because of the stores selling new fridges, freezers, washing machines, TVs and satellite dishes.
Around a million new and used cars have poured in to Iraq since the war — with 300 A DAY arriving in Basra alone.
Hundreds of thousands have ditched their ponies and traps or primitive bangers and replaced them with modern Toyotas, BMWs and US-style pick-ups.
This prosperity is helping Iraq regain its pride in the wake of Saddam’s 30-year tyranny.
Most Iraqis are full of praise for Tony Blair and George Bush for ousting Saddam.
Yes, mistakes have been made since the war ended.
Welcome ... locals greet Sun's George and squaddies
A daily diet of violence from religious extremists threatens to trigger a bloody civil war and destroy hopes for the future.
Not enough planning was done to cope with the failures in public services which triggered unrest.
But as businessman Ihsan Ali Jazie, who runs the port of Um Qasr, told The Sun: “Things are better than good here now thanks to the war. Before, the Iraqi people were dead. Now we are alive.”
And Basra doctor Fakhry Satter said: “Iraq will be a great country once more. Saddam has gone and sales are up. Wages have increased. People are happy again. We feel like we have been freed.
“We thank the British and American forces for what they did.”
Iraq is poised to begin running itself. In June, British diplomat Patrick Nixon will hand over the running of the south to an interim government.
Next January an elected Parliament will take over, with a three-man Presidency who will write a new Iraqi constitution.
The scale of the economic turnaround helps explain the desperate attempts by Muslim fanatics to destroy progress with suicide bombs in and around Baghdad.
They know they must wreck post-Saddam Iraq now or watch as the oil-rich state turns itself into a thriving democracy.
They are also fearful that, for the first time, most Iraqis can now express an opinion in public without fear of execution.
Shopping free ... now Basra women can buy anything
But the breathtaking pace of economic growth is not without problems. Trade is so good the market system can’t keep pace with demand and the country faces major inflation.
Motorists queue for four hours to fill their tanks because there aren’t enough petrol stations.
Engineers are braced for power cuts because the grid can’t cope with increased demand.
And the new Iraqi police force is battling to stamp out organised crime. Just one third of major cities are covered by proper sewerage systems — and poverty is a problem in some areas.
Yet above all, the country has been vastly improved. Here is The Sun’s analysis of how everyday life has got better:
ELECTRICITY/WATER/FUEL: Power plants are being renovated and new ones under construction.
Electricity is on 23 hours a day in Basra compared to just two under Saddam.
Many houses have never had running water but aid agencies have ensured there is plenty of drinking water.
British soldiers are clearing out 30 years of blockage from city sewers, including 6ft-wide pipes reduced to 6in of flow.
Taxpayers’ money is paying to hire JCBs to move tons of rotting rubbish from the streets into landfill sites. British soldiers are ensuring power is getting to schools and hospitals.
SCHOOLS: Teachers’ wages have risen from £3 a month to £40.
Market forces ... George and soldiers patrol in Basra
New schools are planned but rebuilding existing ones is a priority of the 17,000 reconstruction jobs already under way.
Some 33,000 teachers were retrained during the February school holidays and 2,300 buildings have already been refurbished. Teachers are no longer banned from teaching world history.
HEALTH: More than 50 family doctors’ surgeries have been renovated and 600 more equipped to do the job properly.
A further 65 hospitals and 32 health centres are being spruced up and 30million vaccine doses for millions of children have been delivered.
Hospitals still suffer from years of neglect but cash has been earmarked for vital medicines and equipment.
OIL: Iraq has the second largest oilfields in the world and now pumps out 2.5million barrels a day.
Every dollar from exports is going straight in to the Iraqi Treasury’s coffers — despite anti-war campaigners’ claims the money lines US pockets.
LAW AND ORDER: Some 75,000 Iraqi police are on duty. British officers are training recruits and a further 35,000 are being hired.
Police chiefs from Saddam’s reign have been sacked.
More than £1million has been spent on new uniforms and wages have risen from £12 a month to £50. New jails are being built and courts renovated.
Military chiefs and political leaders in Iraq have little doubt the country will prosper.
Of course, arguments will rage about Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction and whether it was right to go to war.
But Iraq will thrive because of its two most precious natural assets — its people and its oil.
US Secretary Of State Colin Powell got it right when he said the road ahead in Iraq would be long and difficult.
But it won’t be anything like as tough as the road left behind.
