Although protests have been a common thing in Iraq, the recent one seems to have escalated, leaving dozens dead, and thousands injured and crying for help. However, the protest did not come as a surprise mainly because last year, there was a wave of demonstrations which hit some parts of the country such as the southern city of Basra, leaving Iraq’s oil industry in damages. This protest came after thousands of citizens fell ill, a condition that is said to have resulted from drinking contaminated water.
The recent protest appeared to be more spontaneous as citizens could no longer take the economic deprivation, which has caused poor living conditions.
Most of the protestors were young, unemployed or underemployed individuals that are dissatisfied with the economy, the services and opportunities in Iraq. Reports showed that these protests were not in any way dominated by a particular political group and had no leaders. It was just an informal protest by unhappy citizens.
What was behind the protest? The spark of the protest was a result of demotion of a commander who refused to take the job offered to him in the Ministry of Defense. However, the main protest resulted from three main things which are;
Corruption
The citizens have reasons to believe that the political system of Iraq is super corrupt, and they are demanding new ways of doing things. Muhasasa, which is the country’s political system, started as an apportionment of government ministries but things have changed. It has now become a party-based system, and the citizens are the ones suffering. It has become extreme to a point where the parties get to decide who gets to be appointed the upper and mid-level civil servants. They also get to decide who runs jobs and contracts in the ministries. This has resulted in a high level of unemployment among the youths, as most of them rely on government employment. The protesters were showing their anger towards the political system and the politicians that have dominated the system, forgetting the citizens.
The young population
The majority of the Iraq population is extremely young compared to other Arab communities. They have never been under any other political system apart from the current one, which they find to be extremely corrupt. This has in return, resulted in economic deprivation, and the youths are suffering.
The rising price of oil
The third reason for the protest is the unreasonable rise in the price of oil throughout the country. The current political system was made during high oil prices, and this has since then affected the prices. The unfortunate part is that those in control are favoring their supporters and those bribing them at the expense of others.
Ideally, the protesters are only after excellent services. They want electricity, clean water and the price oil to be reduced. They want to be governed by a transparent government. They want to see more employment opportunities and put an end to hiring freeze. Recently, the prime minister unveiled 50, 000 job opportunities and also put a lift on the hiring freeze and that is a significant progress. The protesters are also hoping for a decrease in foreign interference in the country. The unveiling of new jobs by the prime minister has somehow led to a reduction in the protests, but citizens are still hoping to see more changes for the better before peace is restored.
