Iraq Protests 2019-2020

[Ruqaya101]

Iraqi's are fighting hard, they always have and they seem to always will. I guess that leaves a legacy in itself that they're fighting for their nation. People are dying, the government army are attacking them with machine guns and other types of operatives. 

Communities are falling apart... 

At some point you just think to yourself, is anything going to change? As an Iraqi woman, with full love to my country, and its history, it physically is distressing, and mentally painful to see this happening to my family, to my communities.

Protesting has maybe had an affect in other countries, but with a government like Iraqs... Whats bound to happen, anyway??

Edited January 5, 2020 by ShiaChat Mod
Added 2020

[3wliya_maryam]

1 minute ago, Ruqaya101 said:

Iraqi's are fighting hard, they always have and they seem to always will. I guess that leaves a legacy in itself that they're fighting for their nation. People are dying, the government army are attacking them with machine guns and other types of operatives. 

Communities are falling apart... 

At some point you just think to yourself, is anything going to change? As an Iraqi woman, with full love to my country, and its history, it physically is distressing, and mentally painful to see this happening to my family, to my communities.

Protesting has maybe had an affect in other countries, but with a government like Iraqs... Whats bound to happen, anyway??

I do not believe that anything will ever change in Iraq or anywhere else within the Arab world, no matter how much they will protest and fight for their country.  till the Imam of our time (عليه السلام) arises thats when we'll see a major change.

[Ruqaya101]

We're watching a live stream of the protests right this moment, and they just threw gas at the protesters, a young girl got killed...

[hasanhh]

l saw these 'protests' on BBC. l thought last night that these are being paid for.

[Ruqaya101]

2 minutes ago, hasanhh said:

l saw these 'protests' on BBC. l thought last night that these are being paid for.

They're not, unfortunately.

My family members are also out there, protesting. I see no effect of it, besides more death.  

[Mohammadi_follower]

I think best for Iraq would be to split the country in three new countries. One predominantly Sunni Arab, the other predominantly Shia Arab and the last one predominantly kurd.

[Sirius_Bright]

49 minutes ago, Ruqaya101 said:

People are dying, the government army are attacking them with machine guns and other types of operatives. 

Why are people protesting? Why government is killing them? 

Edited October 2, 2019 by Sirius_Bright

[Ruqaya101]

5 minutes ago, Sirius_Bright said:

Why are people protesting? Why government is killing them? 

Because the government sucks, to say the least, and in the worst way possible. Water would be out for days on end, I remember when we went last year, we couldn't get fresh water from the tanks till three weeks later and had to buy the very *very* expensive bottled ones. Imagine the poor.

Because the employability rate, no matter what degree you have is extremely low, and those who do work, get less than the average salary.

Because Iraqis are tired of being at the bottom of a ladder and picked on.

Because its unsafe and dangerous. Because theres no safety regulations or help. Because hospitals are disgustingly dirty and infectious. Because kids are dying from as little as a flu.

Because orphans are sleeping on the streets as little as 5 years old, with no shelter.

Because of a government that has the power to do better but refuses to.

 

Edited October 2, 2019 by Ruqaya101

[hasanhh]

1 hour ago, Ruqaya101 said:

They're not, unfortunately.

My family members are also out there, protesting. I see no effect of it, besides more death.  

From what l understood from that news report, this is a Sunni protest. ls this correct?

[Ruqaya101]

2 minutes ago, hasanhh said:

From what l understood from that news report, this is a Sunni protest. ls this correct?

Im not sure, though predominantly, most of them are from baghdad. Were watching the live stream right now, it just calmed down. But I just heard that its Shias, apparently Sunnis are too scared to protest, (find that hard to believe).

[hasanhh]

3 minutes ago, Ruqaya101 said:

Im not sure, though predominantly, most of them are from baghdad. Were watching the live stream right now, it just calmed down. But I just heard that its Shias, apparently Sunnis are too scared to protest, (find that hard to believe).

l jus finished reading this from al-Jazeera:  https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/Iraqi-police-open-fire-day-protests-hit-baghdad-191002120630993.html 

At the bottom it reports these protests 'came out of nowhere' and driven by social media.

[Ruqaya101]

1 minute ago, hasanhh said:

l jus finished reading this from al-Jazeera:  https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/Iraqi-police-open-fire-day-protests-hit-baghdad-191002120630993.html 

At the bottom it reports these protests 'came out of nowhere' and driven by social media.

Honestly Allah knows best. But to the point that kids are getting hurt?? Come on!

[hasanhh]

Just now, Ruqaya101 said:

But to the point that kids are getting hurt??

That is WHY you keep them at home and not get involved in these 'flash mobs' and all.

[Mohamed1993]

It's the problem with a lot of these countries that have had rulers who rule with an iron first, like Iraq did with Saddam, you get rid of the tyrant, there are still those that want to get rid of him because they want to be in his position rather than to actually bring prosperity to their fellow countrymen

[Sumerian]

Opinions?

[hasanhh]

PBS News Hour Tues,02Oct19 reported 7 protesters killed today in addition to the 2 killed Monday.

Several media are reporting "hundreds" wounded.

[Sumerian]

Government blocked the internet

[hasanhh]

0557hrsEDT First l heard or read of 'gunfights'  15hours old.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-Iraq-protests/eight-injured-in-second-day-of-baghdad-protests-USKBN1WH0YF 

[Ruqaya101]

On 10/2/2019 at 8:22 PM, hasanhh said:

0557hrsEDT First l heard or read of 'gunfights'  15hours old.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-Iraq-protests/eight-injured-in-second-day-of-baghdad-protests-USKBN1WH0YF 

It’s still going on...

I honestly have begun to see no point of these protests, the government don’t care if they kill anyone as long as people stay in order. 

[hasanhh]

Here is a 03Oct19 summary about 15 minutes old (about 12am/0000hrs)

https://original.antiwar.com/updates/2019/10/02/Iraq-daily-roundup-22-killed-protests-continue/ 

Several cities are mentioned.

[Ashvazdanghe]

 

[Ashvazdanghe]

13 hours ago, hasanhh said:

From what l understood from that news report, this is a Sunni protest. ls this correct?

Salam from your link the protests are in Sunni dominant cities because Shias mainly are moving to Shia cities of Najaf & Karbala for Arbaeen walking .

13 hours ago, hasanhh said:

l jus finished reading this from al-Jazeera:  https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/Iraqi-police-open-fire-day-protests-hit-baghdad-191002120630993.html 

At the bottom it reports these protests 'came out of nowhere' and driven by social media.

it seems like a false flag for starting another Shia-Sunni & Iraq against Iran protests in following day maybe end of next week when Arbaeen waliking reaches to it's upmost & Iranians will enter in last week.

1 hour ago, hasanhh said:

Here is a 03Oct19 summary about 15 minutes old (about 12am/0000hrs)

https://original.antiwar.com/updates/2019/10/02/Iraq-daily-roundup-22-killed-protests-continue/ 

Several cities are mentioned.

like as alaways Basra city included in protests that last time American embassy turned it to an attack to Iranian Embassy.

[iCenozoic]

I have to ask this. In regards to shortages of water, what obstacles do Iraqis face in simply drilling more water wells?

Shouldn't augers be prevelant in a county with lots of oil and drilling activity? If there is contamination, wells could be drilled deeper. Or are the aquifers themselves running low?

@Ruqaya

Edited October 3, 2019 by iCenozoic

[Ruqaya101]

52 minutes ago, iCenozoic said:

county with lots of oil and drilling activity?

This is another issue Iraqis are protesting about and are angered by. The oil and the money that comes from it (being one of the largest oil originalities) is being used and maybe even shared for the benefit of the corrupt government, and not to its people.

54 minutes ago, iCenozoic said:

In regards to shortages of water, what obstacles do Iraqis face in simply drilling more water wells?

As for this, contamination isn't just in the water, its in the foods, in the markets, in hospitals, on walls, everywhere. And in Iraq, from what I know only, delivering tanks to each house is the only source of clean water (besides bottled water) that comes from wells and these tanks are refilled every 3-4-5 months. 

1 hour ago, iCenozoic said:

are the aquifers themselves running low?

Hmm, Im not sure about this, though. Possibly.

@Sumerian perhaps might add some comment.

[Sumerian]

3 hours ago, iCenozoic said:

Or are the aquifers themselves running low?

@Ruqaya

They don't even explore for places to dig for water. There is no work. It's all corruption

[Guest Iraqie]

Iraqi problems are manifolds but this particular protest, right before Arbaeen is suspicious.

If I were a Sunni Iraqi, I would rather be out there doing a small business (taxi, sell fruits, be a tour guide, hotel server, small barber corner, bus driver, or something) making money on the millions of Shia descending in my country.

But, they rather chose a weekly $35 or 76 Rials handout from certain embassies to go out and make mischief on the streets to dilute the Shia walk of Arbaeen.  

Iraqi government should do to them what they deserve (what every government would do if the similar protest appear in France or China around Olympics).

Calling Iraqi government corrupt is a cliche, most Iraqis don’t want to move in tandem, under local leaders of good repute. It’s just not in Iraqi DNA yet due to centuries of oppression, poverty, and lack of education. 

[3wliya_maryam]

33 minutes ago, Guest Iraqie said:

Iraqi problems are manifolds but this particular protest, right before Arbaeen is suspicious.

If I were a Sunni Iraqi, I would rather be out there doing a small business (taxi, sell fruits, be a tour guide, hotel server, small barber corner, bus driver, or something) making money on the millions of Shia descending in my country.

But, they rather chose a weekly $35 or 76 Rials handout from certain embassies to go out and make mischief on the streets to dilute the Shia walk of Arbaeen.  

Iraqi government should do to them what they deserve (what every government would do if the similar protest appear in France or China around Olympics).

Calling Iraqi government corrupt is a cliche, most Iraqis don’t want to move in tandem, under local leaders of good repute. It’s just not in Iraqi DNA yet due to centuries of oppression, poverty, and lack of education. 

 

what are you trying to say

[Mohamed1993]

People are being gunned down in the streets, how is this remotely different from the dictatorship Iraq was? Perhaps a good topic to debate while we're on this issue is are dictators reflective of the societies they govern? The people in charge now were viciously opposed to the Baathist government, but though they may not be as authoritarian, they are still pursuing some of the same strategies used by dictators.  

[3wliya_maryam]

I'm going to be honest about one thing. I've never really been a proud Iraqi. I used to always ridicule my own country, because of its corrupt government and messed up people. But there are people dying. My own people. The very same land where Imam Hussein (عليه السلام) and his family were brutally murdered, slaughtered and mutiliated. The same land where Abbas (عليه السلام) fought to bring water to the little ones, the same land where Sayyeda Zainab (عليه السلام) ran between the flames crying out for her brother. And yet, hardly anyone talks about the legacy that the Ahlul Bayt(عليه السلام) left on this blessed land. Where youngsters are getting killed. People tend to stay silent on such matters. For years Iraq has never been able to live in peace, not only because of terrorist groups, or the US or that oil war (I don't know im not into politics), but because of its messed up government who don't even give the slightest damn about their own nation. Its because of their ignorance that has led to such issues. Never had they ever brought any good or improved the lives of their citizens. And till this day protests still take place, because they have had enough. They want a better life, a better future for the next generation that is yet to come, and I agree that these protests won't make a difference, but our people won't stop fighting no matter what, even if it means death. It's not like they're just going to sit there and watch their country deteriorate without doing anything about it. 

And yet all these corrupt politicans do is just sit there and smoke weed, watching little kids die without giving the slightest sympathy.

[Sumerian]

44 minutes ago, Guest Iraqie said:

Iraqi problems are manifolds but this particular protest, right before Arbaeen is suspicious.

If I were a Sunni Iraqi, I would rather be out there doing a small business (taxi, sell fruits, be a tour guide, hotel server, small barber corner, bus driver, or something) making money on the millions of Shia descending in my country.

But, they rather chose a weekly $35 or 76 Rials handout from certain embassies to go out and make mischief on the streets to dilute the Shia walk of Arbaeen.  

Iraqi government should do to them what they deserve (what every government would do if the similar protest appear in France or China around Olympics).

Calling Iraqi government corrupt is a cliche, most Iraqis don’t want to move in tandem, under local leaders of good repute. It’s just not in Iraqi DNA yet due to centuries of oppression, poverty, and lack of education. 

 

The people protesting are thousands if not millions of Shias habibi. Southern Iraq is all Shia

[Soldiers and Saffron]

I don’t agree with these protests at all and for the following reasons:

1. As arbaein is right around the corner, is it really respectful towards aba Abdillah to set the cities on fire and storm the airports of both Najaf and Baghdad while his visitors are about to arrive?

2. The country is still not safe and this is not the time to cause more unrest. Daesh still has troops carrying out guerilla warfare, latest attack was a car bomb in Karbala recently if you guys remember. You got turkish jets bombing northeastern Iraq and building military camps, you got American military bases being used by Israel to attack and kill Hashd troops with drones, I hope you guys have been following the news. The country needs to become safe before anything else, being unemployed is not really your biggest problem if you might die the next day due to a car bomb. The people in Basra wishes to create semi autonomous country of their own, this is a huge problem for the rest of Iraq as Basra is one of the very oil rich places and if they would get their way, you would have Kuwait 2.0 in no time. Same thing with oil rich Kirkuk, its under threat of kurdish take over.

3. Considering what the country has been through the last 50 years, especially the last 20 years, I would say that the situation is far better than what it could have been. Yes there is unemployment, yes there is corruption among officals, but for the sake of aql, put things in perspective and realize that things are better now than what they were just a couple of years ago. And I believe things will only get better in Iraq if the people persevere. As a person who works with power generation I can tell you that the Iraqi government is doing A LOT of investments into the electrical grid, they are trying to improve living conditions believe it or not and remove the problem with electricity outages. As far as corruption goes, this is not something you can get rid off by just forming a new government because the problem with corruption is deeply rooted culturally, not in the politicians only but to most people in the Middle East. So if you truly want to get rid of that corruption, then start with yourselves and your own family. Would you really pass up on giving your own family good jobs and lots of money if you were in the position to do so?

4. These protests are not peaceful, I understand some of the people are simply tired of having it hard but also some of them are there to trash things and be violent. Trying to block roads, setting government buildings on fire, setting car tires on fire (I.e. creating fire hazards), storming airports and blocking people from entering/leaving, none of these are signs of a peaceful protest. The way these protests started was not randomly but through social media and very coordinated. There are powers behind the scene who does not like the direction that the Iraqi government has taken geopolitically nor religiously and they want a secular Iraq with a puppet government, these are the powers who are fueling the protests and who benefits from the unrest.

don’t get me wrong, I understand things are difficult in Iraq now but consider what the country has been through and is still going through, this is not the time for civil unrest and vandalizm and we need to be vary so that we don’t let the enemies of Islam take advantage of the frustrations the youth has.

 

[Soldiers and Saffron]

Heres a peaceful protetor setting a security guard on fire:

 

 

Heres news regarding unrest in disputed oil rich city of Kirkuk:

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/ea3880e2-50b9-476f-8fc4-f189ae7440ae

I can promise you the kurds are watching Kirkuk eagerly right now.

[hasanhh]

Mid-day Report/03Oct19 EDT  [which would be ~2000hrs Baghdad]

https://www,aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/Iraq-imposes-curfew-baghdad-deadly-protests-191003060238724.html 

Gov't is blaming :infiltrators"

20 dead

62 arrested

1000+ wounded

NOTE/EDIT:  bleeping computer is capitalizing the "I" in Iraq. Please enter/type without capital letters.

Title of article: "lraq protests: death toll rises to 20 as unrest spreads"

Edited October 3, 2019 by hasanhh

[iCenozoic]

3 hours ago, Sumerian said:

They don't even explore for places to dig for water. There is no work. It's all corruption

Well, why is government needed to drill wells? That's kind of the angle I'm coming from. 

They would need the technology to drill, which I'm sure is present in the country, given the oil and gas operations. 

Beyond that, you need to establish the location of water. What is the condition of the various aquifers out there? Then it's just a matter of drilling a hole and dropping some buckets down. And I imagine boiling water as well etc.

My old colleague and some others would go to Africa each year, and they would drill wells for local tribes. But I never understood the obstacles preventing the locals from drilling their own wells. Whether they were environmental obstacles, political or financial obstacles etc. What is stopping people from getting their own water?

[Mohammadi_follower]

How explain that protests reach practically only Shia regions?