Post date: Dec 26, 2012 3:0:6 PM
Some Iraqis dispute findings in a recent report by consulting group Mercer which ranks Baghdad as the world's worst city to live in.
BAGHDAD, IRAQ (RECENT, 2012)(REUTERS) - Despite the precarious security situation and poor public services, a recent report by consulting group Mercer which rated Baghdad as the world's worst city to live in was viewed as unfair by most Iraqi people.
Baghdad's political turmoil, poor security enforcement and attacks on local people and foreigners made it the worst place to live in 2012, both in terms of life quality and safety, Mercer said.Nine years after the fall of the regime, Baghdad remains choked from checkpoints, concrete slabs and razor wire roadblocks that snarl the streets, while garbage is piles up around the city.
However, Iraqis said that Mercer ignored progress made since its last report, which also ranked Baghdad as the worst city to live.
"I think it (consulting group Mercer) was fair in its 2010 report. Every year there was a little progress but its latest report was unfair. Why were all the Arab Spring countries not included in the race? Why did it include Baghdad only? And hence Baghdad lost the race. It could have been fair two or three years ago" said deputy chairman of Baghdad's City Council Mohammed al-Rubaei.
The 2012 report, which examines 221 worldwide cities, also covers Damascus in Syriaand Manama in Bahrain, according to Mercer's website.
Rubaei said that Arab Spring countries were not in a better condition than Baghdad in terms of living condition and security.
"If the criterion is poverty, housing, living conditions, unemployment and security, which will be the worst; Baghdad or the Arab Spring countries or other countries? Why did these countries not take part in the race? Why did they only include Baghdad and it lost?" he added.
Most Iraqis are experiencing a decline in their living standards with constant shortages of electricity and clean water.
It's reported they now get by with just 6 hours of electricity on average per day, while figures obtained from the Iraqi Ministry of Water reveal that a third of Iraqis have access to clean drinking water, and only 19 percent possess access to a reliable sewage system.
However, Iraqis say the situation in Baghdad is much better than six years ago when most people did not dare to venture out of their houses after sunset and few cars could be seen on the streets.
"All the shops in Baghdad were closed as of 12 at noon in 2005-2006. This is an important issue. I can say that during the height of the sectarian strife in 2005-2006 it (Baghdad) was the worst city to live or survive in and it is a known fact to everyone. There was a time when Baghdadis were locked inside their homes. I can say that nowadays, generally speaking we are passing through this stage of healing pain," said writer Hati Farhan
Hatif noted that the current situation and lack of public services are a natural result of successive wars since 1990 and more than 10 years of UN sanctions, blaming the slow recovery on incompetent officials and corruption.
"After the war, there were no intact buildings in Berlin, but look at Berlin now. We are in front of a very important issue which is the time of change. We definitely need a time for change regardless of the effects associated with it and we have to pay the price of the change and one of the things that we have to endure is incompetent officials who are unable to upgrade the capital," Hatif said.
Officials estimate billions of dollars are embezzled or paid in bribes for government contracts, hurting Iraq's ability to rebuild its shattered economy and infrastructure.
"One cannot be mistaken when he says that Baghdad is the worst city to live. My two sons, a dentist and a general practitioner have left for another province because they could not tolerate the dirtiness of Baghdad. Houses are too smalls and streets are crowded by cars, let alone you cannot predict when a bomb explodes," said Maher al-Samaraeil, a lecturer at Baghdad's Academy of Fine Arts.
Iraq has high unemployment and a struggling economy, and rubble and incomplete buildings are still commonplace more than nine years after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Health and education are also in a sorry state after suffering an exodus of professionals.