Two years upon his graduation from economy and management department of Iraq's prestigious Baghdad University, 26-year-old Hazem Sharif has been in unemployment as his war-torn country has anything ranging from sectarian strifes, terrorist attacks to all sorts of crimes but businesses.
"My heart bleeds for the reason that my country has been lost. No wonder that the Iraqi youths, including me, hate the U.S. occupation since most of us are unemployed, living in squalid and dangerous conditions," Sharif complained to Xinhua reporter.
Ironically, the young Iraqi man used to be a pro-U.S. like most of the Iraqi youths at the beginning of the U.S.-led war against Saddam as they were convinced that there will be a brilliant future waiting ahead after they were released from the Saddam regime.
However, things always go contrary to one's wishes. As the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war comes today, the Iraqis see nothing heralding a better-off life but daily chaos which were absolutely away from Iraqi streets under Saddam's reign.
Now that security is still reachless despite a U.S. military surge, the reconstruction and reconciliation process is nowhere to start, say nothing of economic development.
"The most critical issue the Iraqi youths have suffered as I think is the increase of impoverishment due to unemployment," Sharif said. However, what he and his peers concern most is apparently off the beat of the Iraqi status quo, which is still in the mire of chaos.
The country's unemployment rate stands as high as 20 percent or more for now. However, the unemployment can not be alleviated at a time when reconstruction has not yet started at all.
Political struggle and poor security have seriously dented the reconstruction efforts. Lacking reconstruction, the infrastructures destroyed during and after the war could not be repaired and restore the normal operation.
Just like what Sharif complained, the basic services, such as water, food, sanitation and electricity, have not met the lowest levels of life requirements.
A report by the International Committee of the Red Cross said Monday that the humanitarian situation in Iraq is among the worst in the world.
It said Iraqi hospitals are among the hardest hit, with less qualified staff and insufficient equipment. Meanwhile, poverty makes it hard for the most of the Iraqis to resort to expensive private clinics.
In Iraq, families usually with only one earner have to spend a third of their monthly income of roughly 50 dollars on clean water.
As the reconstruction is far laggard, the reconciliation between Iraqi Shiite and Sunni is too intractable to deal with.
The U.S. announced early this year that violence has dropped by 60 percent since last June and has been urging Iraqi parties to reach reconciliation to make the security gain sustainable.
A string of key laws with an aim of close ranks, including releasing prisoners and holding provincial elections, have been passed.
However, despite the series of moves, Iraqis have no confidence of a real reconciliation.
"To us, what the Sunni and Shiite negotiators, including officials, did about reconciliation is nothing but talks and slogans," said 27-year-old Ahmed Mohammed, who was forced to flee his house with his family in 2007 because of sectarian violence.
According to UN statistics, years of violence has displaced about 4.2 million Iraqis.
"They (politicians) make promises, but there is no action. Even if there will be reconciliation between the conflicted sides of Sunnis and Shiites, it will be only ink on papers," Mohammed said.
Um Riadh, 49, moved out of her house in a Baghdad Sunni district a year and half ago after her son was killed by militants.
"I am a Sunni but the unjust armed groups in my neighborhood killed my son because his deceased father was a Shiite," Um Riadh said in a voice trembled with anger.
She now lives in a predominately Shiite neighborhood with her eldest sister Um Sabah, whose three sons fled last year to Europe for fear of sectarian killing.
"I will not go back to my house even if reconciliation is achieved," she said, fearing that she could be killed at any time there.
Plagued by the dual tribulations of chaos and poverty for five years since the war, most Iraqis now have a common sense of being deceived.
"After five years of (U.S.) occupation I can say that Iraq is lost. At the beginning of the invasion, all of us were deceived that we will live a good and democratic life, not this horrible one," said Ali Abbas, a 27-year-old English teacher with Shiite background.
"Anyone who says that America is serious in bringing us democracy is wrong and like an ostrich with its head underground since it has none of it," Abbas continued.
Five years after the Iraq war, which, America said, would bring democracy to the Iraqis, apparently missed its goal so far.
Then what the Iraqis attained during the past five years, Abbas put it clearly, "All we have got from the U.S. occupation is destruction, chaos, and despair."
Source:Xinhua
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