Business on the rise
Baghdad (AsiaNews) Caution abounds in a capital which is exposed everyday to explosions and surprise terrorist attacks. Still the bombs, which Iraqis seem almost used to, don't keep them at home. Markets and shops are invaded by well-to-do customers and by those who are simply curious and admire the flow of merchandise from all parts of the world.
Iraqis, whom the former regime defined as "heroic soldiers" of unending wars, are rediscovering themselves as merchants. A day does not pass in Baghdad without a new shop opening up, where goods imported from nearby Arab countries are sold. But some of the merchandise also comes for the Far East, Europe and the Americas even Africa.
Money exchanged for goods and services is the US dollar and Iraq's new banknotes. In only two days the official exchange rate of the dollar versus the new Iraqi currency dropped by 1650 dinars to 1000 dinars per dollar. The spiraling revaluation of the dinar is growing each day. This reality is a great temptation for middle eastern moneychangers.
In recent days Jordanian, Lebanese, Syrian, Turkish and Iranian moneychangers have been swarming the streets of Baghdad, selling dollars for Iraqi dinars. Predictions of the dinar's rise in the near future, as soon as stability sets in, promise huge earnings for investors in this sector.
A Disney store has opened up in Karrada, a middle class neighborhood in Baghdad. Haisam al-Damuk, the new store's manager, said, "Before parents used to buy only one toy a year for their children. Now they buy 3-5 at a time.
Designer perfumes, clothing and fast cars were once status symbols for people in high-up positions of power in Saddam Hussein's regime. Now everyone can do as they did, at least those whose wallets are stuffed with cash.
Dominic D'Angelo, spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority, said that "from the end of the war until now Iraq has imported 250,000 cars. An Iraqi intellectual living in Rome, Said Diar, told AsiaNews he is preparing to export Italian shoes to Iraq: "Baghdad is returning to the markets of 'A Thousand and One Nights', teeming with merchants peddling shoes, cloths, house wares, utensils and electronics Everyone is gearing up to be merchants nowadays."
It is true that around 3 million out 19 million people in Iraq are unemployed and that positions in public administration are lacking and almost inexistent. Yet whoever has a relative living abroad and almost everyone has and a little innovativeness tries to become a vendor. Wandering salesmen and those having stands, all offer to sell their foreign merchandise, which for years was not found in the country on account of the embargo.
Even Bassorah, once called the "Venice of the Orient", is going through a full upturn in its economy. The black oil trade has fallen, while potable water supplies have been replenished by 80% and people are discovering lucrative new trades and businesses.
Under the old regime 80% of foreign trade was in the hands of the state. Now everyone is Iraq is discovering the country's enormous potential. An entrepreneur, who asked not to be named, told AsiaNews that "in 5 years Iraq's economy will be the strongest in the region." The greatest problem remains the lack of security, which forces shopkeepers to close their doors early.
Yet this situation in Iraq has created new jobs, as in patrol units and guards. Private security guards one of the fastest growing post-war occupations earn nearly 60-80 US dollars a month, an exorbitant salary for this type of work, yet, a worthless and insignificant amount during the old regime. And at the time this type of work was considered "porter's work". No one dared say they needed a night guard: security was "guaranteed by Saddam Hussein!" (PB)
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