“We are not asking for the moon… we are not telling our government that it should put up huge nuclear energy plants so that we can get enough energy to heat our homes. We are different from Egypt and other Arab countries that are protesting; we are a rich country and have enough oil to ensure that we lead a decent life.”

These are the words of Hyder (name changed on request), a government servant, who is cheering long-distance from Najaf to support the protestors in Baghdad.

Everywhere in Najaf and Karbala, the cities I recently visited in Iraq, people are riveted to their television sets that were running continuous footage of protests in the Arab world. Though there were not many telecasts of the protests in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities, there was open support of the protests on Arab Street. The Iraqis who are unhappy with the Nouri al-Maliki government, however, have a different reason to denounce their Prime Minister. One, of course, is for his being “America's puppet”, but the more pressing one is that day-to-day life for Iraqis hasn't changed under this “democratic government”.

Unemployment is rampant; young Iraqis are without jobs and the irony is that, while various Iraqi companies, particularly in the oil and hospitality sectors, are seeking trained, skilled workers from overseas — India is a favourite here as Indians are believed to be both disciplined and hard-working — there are thousands of young Iraqis without jobs. About 60 per cent of Iraqis get their monthly ration from the government, just as in the Saddam Hussein regime. But there are widespread complaints about shortfalls and the poor quality of essential items supplied. A recent attempt to stop this scheme met with stiff resistance as thousands of families have lost their breadwinners, leaving the woman of the house with little choice but to pull out the family's young men from educational institutions so they can bring home some money by means fair or foul.

Shabir Ali, a 23-year-old youngster from Lahore who is getting “ deeni talim ” (religious education) from a seminary in Najaf, says his heart bleeds for Iraq's youngsters. “They are being portrayed as unskilled, lazy and useless. But that is not true.” If violence results from the unrest among the youngsters, he argues, it suits the government's objective of promoting Iraq as the most dangerous place in the world. When anarchy reigns, politicians can make a lot of money, he reasons.

The youngsters raising slogans during the protests in Baghdad and other towns such as Falluja and Ramadi, as well as the Kurdish region, where two days ago a youngster set himself ablaze to protest against the powerful regional administration, are seeking jobs, better food, better power supply and other services.

Power shortage

Any visitor walking through the streets of the smaller towns of Iraq is likely to be puzzled, as I was, by the scores of wires crisscrossing overhead and cables that hang down in an unseemly tangle. Not only has petrol become expensive — around Rs 20 a litre compared to a nominal 50 paise or less during Saddam's era and till 2004 end — the power supply situation too has deteriorated. Baghdad and other Iraqi cities get power supply from the national grid for barely 8 to 10 hours a day.

A chat with an Indian businessman who lives in Najaf revealed that the dangling wires and cables festooning the streets were drawn from private suppliers. According to him, barely 50-60 per cent of Iraq's electricity needs are met from the national grid. “So people like us, who can afford it, have no choice but to get our power supply from private parties which set up generators with huge capacity. Without this supply we cannot manage at all, as we get government power here for barely 8 hours.” For this service, the businessman pays $200 a month. But the youth who have been protesting against erratic power supply cannot afford such a princely sum, and find it difficult to understand why people “of a rich country like Iraq” should face such shortages in food and other essential commodities. The only answer, they scream, is that money meant to be spent on people's welfare and services, is being siphoned off to enrich politicians. The uprising in the Arab world has emboldened Iraq's youth to make their government more accountable. But the response from Mr al-Maliki and his government has been to bamboozle the protestors and increase his own powers. After the long impasse following Iraq's elections last year, Mr al-Maliki finally formed a coalition government which is more of a mish-mash that includes opposing sections who have come together to get a share in the government.

Inspired by other uprisings

In an editorial on Sunday, The New York Times said that “inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, thousands of Iraqis have taken to the streets to criticise their government's failure to combat corruption, create more jobs or improve electricity and other services.”

Not only does Iraq's PM oversee “the powerful, and often abusive, army and police forces… in January, Iraq's highest court — which is far too cosy with the prime minister — agreed to let him take control of three formerly independent agencies that run the central bank, conduct elections and investigate corruption,” says the editorial.

It recalls how, six months ago, this court, at Mr al-Maliki's request, had ruled that only the prime minister or his cabinet, not members of Parliament, could propose legislation, and adds: “Democracy requires checks and balances. These are fast disappearing in Iraq. It's reassuring to see so many young people willing to criticise their government, without picking up guns.”

The despots and the corrupt politicians being challenged thus would love to see the protestors turning violent, so they could justify all the charges of “terrorism” being hurled on the peaceful demonstrators. It would be tragic if that happens.

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