Recently, most bombs in Baghdad have been caused by booby-trapped motorcycles.
Blocked roads, congestion and expensive fares are reasons made many Iraqis use motorcycles as an easy means for transportation. But for the same reasons, terrorists use motorcycles to carry out their deadly missions: killing Iraqis in markets and public places.
The Iraqi government took a special measure to protect Iraqis: They banned and confiscated motorcycles on the streets of Baghdad !
And as usual, corrupt people, who are spread everywhere Iraq of today, used this as pretext to make money.
My relative, Sami, returned recently after spending one year in Sweden running from the miserable conditions in his neighborhood. The man returned because he wasn't given refugee status in Sweden . On his long trip he lost all his savings. So, like many Iraqis, he bought a motorcycle to save the money that he was spending on taxi fares.
On the day after the explosion that shook Sadr City , killing at least 65, the government decided to ban and confiscate all motorcycles from the streets because the attack was done by a booby-trapped three-wheeled motorcycle.
Sami hadn't heard of this decision. There was no great effort made to inform people of this decision.
So out he went, happy to bypass all the poor car drivers waiting in long queues at checkpoints. Then a traffic police patrol arrested him with his son in the Karrada neighborhood.
It turns out he wasn't the only one arrested. A lot of people had hit the streets with their motorbikes. They didn't know either.
Sami spent more than two hours trying to convince the officers that he hadn’t heard of the ban. Finally, the top-ranking officer came in and asked his men "Did they grease your palm?" … "No, not yet" the policeman answered with a smile.
Sami paid the wages from his job as a bribe to save his motorcycle. And his family went to bed without supper because the police took all his money..
As usual, it is the poor Iraqis who pay the cost for the on-the-spur-of-the-minute decisions made by the Iraqi government. Innocent Iraqis are the quiet victims of corrupt officials.
Your article saddens me. I can't imagine living in a world where I am afraid of our own police. I wish deep down in my heart that there was something I could do to change things for your people. Just know that though the situation may seem grim, there are people out there who care and are praying for your country.
Posted by: Amy | July 08, 2009 at 02:03 PM
Why is there so much corruption and so much blood in Iraq? It does not seem "Islamic," does it? What is scary that these recent bombs are nothing in comparison with what is going to happen if Kirkuk is not returned to the Kurds! On this issue, President al-Maliki resembles President Obama on the national debt: he watches and waits ... until the roof falls off! I would like to hear more about Kirkuk and possible solutions! What interests me, what is plan B, plan C, and plan D!
Posted by: Nathanael | July 06, 2009 at 10:00 AM