Safer Baghdad's other woes
Violence is down, but in areas U.S. officials don't see, Iraqis worry about jobs, food and electricity.
BAGHDAD - When American politicians come to Iraq, they usually spend most of their time in meetings with Iraqi officials and U.S. military commanders in the heavily guarded Green Zone.
Discussions about U.S. troop levels and Iraqi security are high on the agenda. Past visits have included tours of public markets or other sites in Baghdad.
But there are places in Baghdad that American politicians do not see - including Sen. John McCain when he has been in Iraq and Sen. Barack Obama, who is expected to visit the country but whose specific plans have not been made public.
One such area is the Wahda district in eastern Baghdad. The mixed Sunni-Shiite neighborhood is dotted with police checkpoints, barriers of concrete and razor wire, and rows of government posters denouncing insurgents and armed factions.
Baghdad's residents are impatient for some direct benefits to come their way as the long-term challenges of rebuilding their country and lifting a flattened economy are confronted.
Abdul-Karim Sami, a reed-thin 60-year-old who once hobnobbed with Baghdad's elite as a tennis coach, lives in the Wahda district in a small home with his wife and their six grown children. They are seeking to move forward in a city where violence has eased but life for many remains mired in economic miseries and few opportunities.
"I want to believe that the future for Baghdad is now better, that we've turned a corner," Sami said. "I truly want to believe that."
Then he ticks off the family's list of woes: food costs so high they have cut back on all but essentials; jobs so scarce his oldest son peddles trinkets on the street despite a university degree in economics; not enough money left over for a doctor visit or any emergency.
"I pray every day that nobody gets sick," Sami said.
Sami's home gets about four hours of electricity a day. Even that little bit of juice is better than last summer, when the family could go for days without power.
His wife, Mediha, sweeps the previous night's collection of windblown dust into their garden: a tiny patch of grass, a few sunflowers, and a single date palm.
"Will Obama see firsthand how real Baghdad families struggle?" she asked.
Her husband says he doesn't think so. But he hopes Obama will come away with an understanding that military gains and reconstruction progress are twin blows to insurgents and other armed groups.
"Yes, maybe the big war is finally over. Yes, maybe the violence and killings in Baghdad are mostly something of the past," said Sami, who is now retired and gets by with a pension and part-time tennis classes that bring in about $800 a month. "But now comes another fight, I think. It's about how to rebuild the country and our lives."
Inside Sami's parlor, decorated with a few tennis medals and trophies, he and his wife discussed the future of the family. They both strongly urge their six children, ranging in age from 17 to 35, not to follow their friends who went to Jordan or Syria for jobs and an escape from Baghdad's grinding stress.
They realize, however, the pull may be too strong. Their youngest son is studying hotel management and tourism. Their next youngest is interested in becoming a professional tennis instructor. At the moment, both career paths seem to lead out of Iraq.
"This would be a tragedy if young people cannot stay in Iraq," Sami said. "We need some kind of future. We need jobs and a good economy along with the security."