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City fights back to become model of order and justice
Good article from al-Guardian about the city of Hilla. Too long to reproduce in full, so hit the link. Two months ago Haider Latif gave up his job in a popular Baghdad restaurant and fled the violence that has gripped Iraqâs capital since the war. One night a carload of drunken armed men had driven past his restaurant and fired through the windows with Kalashnikovs and pistols. They injured one waiter in the leg and tore apart the furniture. "We ran inside and spent the night hiding in the restaurant," said Mr Latif, 27. "In the morning we decided we couldnât stay longer in Baghdad and so we left." He returned to his hometown, Hilla, a small provincial capital an hourâs drive south of Baghdad on the banks of the Euphrates. There Mr Latif took a partnership in a modest restaurant. "There was no security at all in Baghdad," he said. "Here I still feel a little insecure, but it is many times better." His sense of relief is shared by many of his neighbours. Hilla, a city of 300,000 people reputedly built from the clay bricks of the nearby ruins of Babylon, has emerged from Americaâs war with less violence and more hope than most places in Iraq. In Baghdad and large areas north of the capital, the violent guerrilla resistance is severely hampering attempts at reconstruction. But in Hilla, better security and the work of a group of forward-looking Iraqi officials have made the city one of the few successes of postwar Iraq. More at the link, though the Guardian hacks as usual try to make this look like itâs the only success story in Iraq. My favorite quote: We put up signs in the street that said âthe law is the lawâ," the governor said. "If you respect the law, you will succeed; if you donât, you will fail." Now thereâs words to live by! Posted by: Steve White 2003-11-15 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=21271 |