May 23, 2006
HAD ENOUGH?:
Iraqi Charities Plant Seed of Civil Society (SABRINA TAVERNISE, 5/23/06, NY Times)
[M]ore than three years after the American invasion, the outlines of a nascent civil society are taking shape.Since 2003 the government has registered 5,000 private organizations, including charities, human rights groups, medical assistance agencies and literacy projects. Officials estimate that an additional 7,000 groups are working unofficially. The efforts show that even as violence and sectarian hatred tear Iraq's mixed cities apart, a growing number of Iraqis are trying to bring them together. "Iraqis were thirsty for such experiences," said Khadija Tuma, director of the office in the Ministry of Civil Society Affairs that now works with the private aid groups. "It was as if they already had it inside themselves."
The new charity groups offer bits of relief in the sea of poverty that swept Iraq during the economic embargo of the 1990's and has worsened with the pervasive lawlessness that followed the American invasion.
The burst of public-spiritedness comes after long decades of muzzled community life under Saddam Hussein, when drab Soviet-style committees for youth, women and industrialists were the only community groups permitted.
Mr. Hussein stamped out what had been a vibrant public life. Since the founding of Islam in the seventh century, charity has had a special place in its societies. As far back as the 19th century, religious leaders, descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, formed a network called Al Ashraf that was a link between people and the Ottoman-appointed governor of Baghdad.
The Iraqi Chamber of Commerce dates from the 1930's, and its volunteers plunged into Baghdad's poor areas to conduct literacy campaigns in the 1950's, around the time of the overthrow of the monarchy.
Today's groups have picked up that historic thread and offer hope in an increasingly poisonous sectarian landscape that Iraqis may still be able to hold their country together.
When Ronald Reagan was being memorialized and eulogized many of us were surprised to discover just how firmly Democrats had supported his every step in winning the Cold War. Similarly, when the day comes that we bury George W. Bush, you'll be heartened to hear about the unwavering support Democrats gave him in Reforming the Middle East. Posted by Orrin Judd at May 23, 2006 10:01 AM
I can't wait that long. How 'bout some gratitude in the near term.
Posted by: erp at May 23, 2006 11:00 AMI think you might be wrong.
The Internet did not save EVERYTHING in the 80's. We can dig through newspaper archives, but the rest is basically memory and 10th draft of history historians.
However, if Iraq succeeds, and I beleive it will, there is NOTHING to stop the absolute truth that the Western left did every single possible thing in it's power to help the Iraq effort fail, the more miserable the failure the better.
Possibly, consciously or unconsciously, this may be why the left is SO rabid right now. If Iraq is seen as a major success, it is difficult for me to imagine a more devastating body blow to the very guts of the Western Left.
They know it, they see it, and have been acting accordingly for a couple years now.
The difference I note is that there in no possible way they can hide from it, now or later.
Perhaps they see that as well. It would explain a great deal about today's political/media environment.
Posted by: Andrew X at May 23, 2006 11:39 AMThere are rumblings that the US and Britain will announce troop reductions in Iraq in the near future. Predictably the paper here today carries an article by John Kerry to bring the troops home. The Dems will use short term memories and the MSM to try and get on the winning side of any issue once they finally figure out what that side is.
Posted by: AWW at May 23, 2006 3:27 PM