Nasiriya length: 7.20

26.10

In the village of Bujima, life is slow. The village, like the rest of Southern Iraq, hasn’t seen much development. It’s overwhelmingly Shia muslims population, rebelled against Saddam’s regime after the first Gulf War in 1991. Saddam answered with a stream of killings and oppression. Since then there has been no investments in schools, roads, health care or any civil services.

26.25

The villagers had great expectations of a better life after the Allied invasion, but little changed here. Unemployment remains high.

26.31

The villagers of Bujima are still forced to take their drinking water straight out of an open irrigation canal.

26.39

Sheik Hussein Ali alSalmen village leader in Bujima

-We asked many times but there is just carelessness and no action.

26.52

Not far away is the city of Nasiriya. After the election in December 2006, the Shia religious parties came to power. The population has great respect for their religious leaders but economically the government has not been successful. Many say this is because the civil service has been politicized.

27.18

Refuse collection is sporadic and primitive.

27.25

Police and other security forces are said to be infiltrated by party militia. Few here trust the police but as the city is under full control of the political parties, the situation is secure.

27.45

Not many here see any improvements since the former regime. Except Iraqi football... It is played everywhere.

27.58

But the fields are surrounded by trash and open sewage. There is no sewage treatment at all in Nasiriya. Decades of neglect under Saddam Hussein has created a miserable situation for most people here. Even here in the city there is no available drinking water.

28.14

Jasim Gatia (sucks hose)

-I can suck some water. There is no water.

-Our neighbour has a big pump. After this man has got enough water, he will let the water go in the pipes to us. Here with this small pump we can't get water.

28.49

Jasim Gatia's brother and mother and many of his relatives were executed after the Gulf War uprising. Following the tradition, Jasim had to take his executed brothers wife and family as his own. Now he has two wives and fourteen children in a little house in the outskirts of Nasiriya. Jasim used to be a policeman but didn’t get his job back after the troubles. He is now unemployed.

29.07

lady kitchen Semira Ode

-Ramadan is coming for us and there is nothing in our pockets. There has been no rice or oil or sugar in the ration system for the last three months.

29.17

lady2 kitchen Hasna Jabar

- She has ten children and I have got 6. We are 14 in this place and our husband is without a job and he doesn't have anything. The ration coupons are not enough and we have no oil for cooking.

29.37

The ration system which has been in place in Iraq since the time of sanctions, is supposed to bring basic cheap food-stuffs to all Iraqis, but it rarely works. The ordinary markets are open, but with the average monthly wage at less than 100 usd, and prices high, most people in Nasiriya are close to starving. This family make their own bread and their meals are monotonous.

30.09

lady in kitchen Semira Ode

-Once a week I cook meat and sometimes tomatoes and eggplant.

39.18

According to the UN, more than half of Iraqi women are illiterate, somewhat less for the men. This dramatically increases the chances of corrupt elections.

30.29

Jasim Gatia

-The Islamic party manifestos promised us chicken and meat and many goods in the ration cards but now there is only sugar and soap. Now they are in government, and it is nothing like what they promised.

30.38

Without connections to the parties now in power, the chances of getting a job to support a family are slim.

30.48

Jasim Gatia

-If you are not a member of an Islamic party, you will not get a job, no work, all of these things I don't have. They are the same as the last regime.

31.13

In the afternoon one of the most important families in Nasiriya hold a wedding party. Many sheiks, representatives of clans, are invited, dressed up in their traditional headgear and dishdashas. The tribal system is still important in Iraq and people listen closely to what their sheik says.

31.39

The men sit in one tent, talking. Women hold their party in a separate location. It is traditional that tea and food is served to all guests.

31.50

But in spite of the apparent calm, bombs sometimes explode as rival Shia parties fight for power.

32.09

Abdul Rahim (in Swedish)

-There, close to that last car, the grey one.

32.16

Abdul Rahim came back from Sweden to get documents so he could gain Swedish citizenship.

Many here are refugees from the violence and criminality that plagues Iraq. In comparison, Sweden can seem a paradise. A friend of Abdul Rahim wants help to get to Sweden.

32.36

Abdul Rahim (in Swedish)

-He asked me if you can help him to get to Sweden. He wants to become a refugee there. He and his friend are both teachers. Both of them want to go to Sweden and live there. He asked me if you can help them.

32.38

Jasim Gatia's family prepare for the night. Without air-conditioning or electricity, sleeping outside is more comfortable. Life hasn’t improved for the people of Nasiriya, and, as always, tomorrow will be a long day.

33.10

Rasul, 12 years

-At five at clock my mother wakes me up and I go with my trolley to the market and work from sunrise. I go there but I don’t have a job. I come back with less than US$2.

33.21

Hasna Jabar

-It’s the same as before. Things were meant to get better but it is the same as before.