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Iraqis impatient with Japanese promises
They just got there, fergawdsake!
After months of dreaming that this dusty desert town will be transformed into a booming metropolis by the arrival of Japanese troops, some Iraqis in Samawa are already growing impatient. "We donât need a hospital or a new water station. What we need is jobs and the Japanese are bringing their own workers," said 27-year-old Internet cafe owner Rasud Abbas.
| "And they're short. And they got scraggly moustaches..." |
Long repressed by Saddam Husseinâs Sunni Muslim-dominated regime, this Shiite town 270 kilometres south of Baghdad is ravaged by chronic unemployment and poverty. Tokyoâs decision to replace a Dutch contingent with 600 peacekeeping soldiers, the first Japanese deployment in a combat zone since World War II, injected the town with hope that investment would lift it from the doldrums. But for the next two to three months, the only reconstruction project on the cards is the building of a Japanese military base, about five kilometres (three miles) west of the town. A contracting firm has already been hired and a handful of jobs doled out.
At the dusty lane leading down to the site, three unarmed Iraqi watchmen sit on the side of the road from 7 am to 5 pm for a monthly salary of 50,000 dinars (38 dollars). "If you want the truth the money is not enough, but itâs better than nothing," said Khalif Chither, a 35-year-old father of four. But for others, promises of bigger projects are wearing thin. "They promised a lot, but so far they did nothing," said electrical store owner Taha Aulaywi, 34. "They are nice people. We welcome them, but so far we havenât seen anything. Only (Japanese) photographers," said another store owner Abbas Khudayer. "When someone gives you a promise, it should be the truth. Here youâre a guest for three days and if thereâs no reason to stay, you should leave," said Yass Khudayer, 31, training as a civilian defence officer.
| So I guess they can leave, huh? No pleasing some people, I guess. Is it true there's no word in Arabic for "gratitude"? |
But for many others in Samawa, the Japanese are a gift from God. "The Baath party ruled for 35 years, change in a few months would be a miracle, so we are prepared to wait," said one money lender, jailed for five years after Saddamâs forces shut down his business in 1994. "We want (Samawa) to be a second Tokyo. All the citizens are ready to work to protect the Japanese," said Ahmed Hassan Haitham, 32, a former officer in the old army, now training for the civilian defence corps. "They are our friends. We donât forget that foreign troops all saved us from the old regime," said his classmate Samir Abed, 26.
| So not everybody wants them to leave right away? Is this a domestic altercation? Should we leave the room? |
The Japanese, who stand out a mile in their bright green uniforms, vow that things will improve when all their troops are in place by March. "On behalf of the Japanese people I am honoured to be here. Our main mission is to reconstruct this region, for example the water supply, engineering support. I believe we will make a big difference," said Colonel Yasushi Kiyota. Dressed in green uniforms with matching knapsacks, the Japanese soldiers are a conspicuous presence in Samawa. Asked about the uniforms, the commander of the advance unit said: "We heard that the Iraqi people like the colour green. "There are no deserts in Japan," he added by way of explanation, fiddling with his helmet strap in the baking afternoon sun. But the colonel, who carries in a shoulder pouch a Thuraya satellite phone on which his wife can call him, laughed off reports that his soldiers had been advised to grow moustaches to blend in with Iraqis. "When in Rome do as the Romans do ... But itâs up to each soldier."
| "Some of us thought about getting turbans, but that'd prob'ly be going too far..." |
Japanâs upper house of parliament passed a bill Monday retroactively approving the dispatch of Japanese troops, who have been deploying in groups in the war-torn country and Kuwait since late December. On Sunday, 50 Japanese ground troops arrived in Samawa to be greeted by Iraqi well-wishers. The full contingent will be in place by the end of March.
Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2004-02-11 |
