Iraq’s young protesters count cost of a month of violence

In Al Umma Park in central Baghdad – the “park of the nation” – a small group of men and two women debated under ageing eucalyptus trees how best to articulate the demands of the protesters who have taken to the streets of Iraqi cities in their thousands this month.

“Burning army trucks won’t help us, it will only help the government accuse us of being hooligans,” said a young man. “If I give you 17 RPG [rocket-propelled grenade] launchers and you burn that building, how will that benefit our demands?” Another man called for the government to be toppled. As the group gathered around him listening, someone shouted: “Who made you a speaker?” This spurred the rest of the crowd to break into chants of “no one represents us” and “Iran out, out”, denouncing Iraq’s ruling Islamic parties and their Iranian backers.

The nature of the debate, just like the demonstrations taking place outside the park, was chaotic, boisterous and leaderless. Most of the group were in their 20s, but among them stood two old communists in Che Guevara berets.

Eventually, the crowd agreed on a list of demands, which were read out from the steps of the city’s Freedom monument by a young bearded and bespectacled man: “The resignation of the government, new elections, a change in the elections law and most importantly putting all the government officials on trial.” The crowd cheered, mobile phones were raised and the call was raised to demonstrate in Tahrir Square.

raq’s latest spasm of protest erupted on 1 October after a call for demonstrations on Facebook. Sparked by the dismissal of a popular general who distinguished himself in the war against Islamic State, the demonstrations have been motivated by a deeper undercurrent of anger towards a corrupt religious oligarchy, a rotten bureaucratic regime and the failure of the Iraqi prime minister, Adil Abdul-Mahdi, to fulfil any of his campaign pledges after a year in power.

For a young generation that has grown up in the 16 years that have followed the toppling of Saddam Hussein, elections and representative democracy have become synonymous with corruption and MPs abusing their privileges. Religious parties, many backed by Iran, dominate the political sphere and though oil-rich Iraq has an income of hundreds of billions of dollars, the reality for many citizens is parallel with life in some of the poorest Arab nations: unemployment, a collapsing healthcare system and lack of services.

As the protests gathered pace on 5 October, Baghdad was on the edge.Under a flyover less than a mile from Tahrir Square a teenager wearing a yellow T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops walked slowly while a police officer brandishing his Kalashnikov rifle chased him away. Thin black columns of smoke twisted into the sky and a crowd – of fellow teenagers and young men – started marching towards the square.Police standing guard shot in the air but the crowd moved on, waving Iraqi flags and Shia banners.

Tyres were set on fire as the crackle of gunfire became continuous and the sound of teargas canisters being fired became more frequent, white gas mixing with the black fumes from the burning rubber. Back and forth the young men surged, only to be pushed back by the heavy machine-gun fire and teargas.

Amid the carnage, dozens of small three-wheeled tuk-tuk motorcycle rickshaws zoomed between the crowd, ferrying the injured away from the scene. A yellow one carried a man slumped in the back, unable to breathe.

Urging the men to move forward was a short thin young man with a well trimmed ginger beard. “Why are you standing behind?” He called on the men cowering behind the bridge railing. “Those who don’t want to advance go back home.”

People run for cover from teargas fired by security forces during a protest on al-Jumhuriya Bridge in Baghdad on Friday. Photograph: -/AFP via Getty Images

The man, who gave his name as Jawdat, said he was a former fighter with the Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitary group, which was established in 2014 from disparate armed groups and volunteers to fight against Isis. Hashd al-Shaabi has received training and other support from Iran. Jawdat said his brother was an officer who was killed in the war against Isis.

“I fought with the Hashd, I even went to fight in Syria, but what did I get from this government? Nothing, while those politicians in the Green Zone [in Baghdad] are blocking any attempt to reform the state.”

Ambulances darted back and forth ferrying the injured and the dead – 20 people were killed at that demonstration alone on 5 October.

During six days of demonstrations, Abdul-Mahdi appeared on TV every night, promising in a soft voice to create jobs, provide cheap housing and eradicate corruption.

Yet young unarmed men were killed as they sought refuge behind concrete barriers or stood in the streets waving flags. In at least one instance snipers positioned on buildings participated in the killings.

Activists and journalists were intimidated, and dozens of them fled Baghdad after receiving threatening phone calls. Media outlets and TV networks were closed. Plainclothes officers roamed hospital wards, detaining injured demonstrators. “The doctors just patched my injury and told me to leave quickly, after officers entered the hospital looking for demonstrators,” said a young man as he lay in his bed, his injury still bleeding three days after he was shot in a street close to Tahrir Square.

By 7 October more than 106 people had been killed, and more than 6,000 injured.