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Today marks one year since the beginning of the #Iraq protests. When men, women and children all across the country took to the streets to demand basic services, employment and an end to government corruption. Since then, little has changed.
The uprising was made up primarily - though not exclusively - of young men and women whose childhoods and teenage years were marred by the US-led invasion of Iraq & its consequences, the bloody civil war, endemic corruption, foreign meddling and high unemployment, to name a few.
Older generations, who had been unable to change the system for their children, were also present.
Despite former prime minister Adel Abdel Mahdi's resignation, parliament approval of a new voting law and PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi's promises to heed protesters' calls, demands have not been met.
Instead, Kadhimi has found himself dealing with a pandemic (9,000 deaths) & rogue militias accused of abducting and killing and being behind a string of rocket attacks - one that recently killed 5 civilians, including children. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/9/28/iraq-five-civilians-killed-in-baghdad-rocket-attack
Meanwhile, civilians are still grappling with high unemployment, an unchanged political system & poor basic services. This Summer in Baghdad saw particularly bad electricity.
While the family and loved ones of the more than 600 protesters killed are still waiting for accountability.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2019/11/20/death-on-the-bridge-the-young-lives-cut-short-in-iraqs-uprising
Most of those killed came from the sprawling slum of Sadr City and its surrounding neighbourhoods. In November an unofficial list compiled by the organisers of a memorial tent in Tahrir showed the names of 31 victims, all born between 1993 and 2003.
Most of those killed came from the sprawling slum of Sadr City and its surrounding neighbourhoods. In November an unofficial list compiled by the organisers of a memorial tent in Tahrir showed the names of 31 victims, all born between 1993 and 2003.
Many were young men of marrying age, like 21-year-old Muslim Abbas, who was due to graduate from college next year; 23-year-old tuk-tuk driver Hussein Mohammed, whose family was too poor to pay for his burial; or Abbas Ismael, 28, who recently became engaged.
Hadi al Azzawi’s son Mohammed was killed on 30 October when a tear gas canister struck him in the neck. He was just 25-years-old.
In August Kadhimi said he was taking the first steps towards prosecuting and punishing armed groups and security forces behind the killing of protesters. In November @hrw accused security forces of firing teargas cartridges directly at protesters.
But so far, no one has been charged for the death of more than 600 civilians and the wounding of tens of thousands.
Amid the violence and chaos of it all, young Iraqis came together under a single banner. In February women from all walks of life gathered to demand their rights.
One result of women taking on leading roles, protesters said, was that Iraq’s often conservative gender dynamics had started to shift as more women carved out a place for themselves in the country’s public sphere.
Protesters challenged the country’s more conservative communities by sharing the same living quarters and ensuring the equal participation of both sexes.
One year on, people are gathering again in Tahrir square, the heart of the uprisings. Too much has been left unchanged, the grievances are still there, bubbling under the surface. https://twitter.com/SimonaFoltyn/status/1311553223359070209?s=20
