Stifling in Basra

Opinion: August 13, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

By Khalid Waleed

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

BASRA, Iraq

The lack of electricity during the height of summer is once again driving angry Iraqis into the streets to protest what they see as their government’s failure to provide basic services.

The government was forced to sack a senior energy official and promised to launch an investigation into the ongoing energy shortage after residents of the southern port city of Basra staged angry protests over prolonged power cuts.

Residents of Basra were particularly angry that the latest round of power cuts occurred just at the beginning of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.

“Life has become unbearable — we can’t breathe since there’s no electricity (for cooling) in this summer’s extreme heat,” Saad Hadi, a taxi driver who joined the protests, said. “Power cuts are nothing new, but with the summer heat and Ramadan, we can’t put up with it any longer.”

Private generators

Hussein Musafer, a day laborer in Basra, added that many could no longer afford fuel for the private generators many here employ to supplement the erratic power supply.

“When it gets hot, prices also rise for fuel and ice. We can’t afford it — we are poor. Officials need to be aware of our suffering. They won’t know if we stay at home, so I’ve taken to the streets,” he said.

Um Hamadi, a housewife in Basra, was equally frustrated.

“While we deprive ourselves of water through the day (during Ramadan), officials are depriving us of air,” she said.

Iraq’s electricity shortages date as far back as the 1991 Gulf War, when U.S. air strikes damaged much of the country’s electric generating capacity. The country’s electric infrastructure continued to crumble during the years of U.N. sanctions that followed.

After Saddam Hussein was ousted in 2003, the international community invested heavily in rebuilding the electric grid. Armed violence, mismanagement and corruption, however, have caused electricity distribution to remain intermittent.

Domestic production is around 2,700 megawatts a day, less than a third of the country’s actual demand.

Outages occur in every part of Iraq, and power is typically available for four or five hours a day, at best. The effects are particularly hard for people in the south, the hottest part of the country. Daytime temperatures in Basra can rise above 130 degrees.

Protests

In response to the protests, local power-industry managers promised to increase the number of hours that the electricity would be on in Basra.

“Ministry teams are working hard to repair damaged lines, and we promise people that the supply will improve,” Sabah Abdul Wahed, director-general of Basra’s electricity distribution department, said. “I can tell you that there’s been a marked improvement in the last few days.”

“We’re now getting a better level of electricity — about six hours a day, but who can say how long that will last?” said Hanan Abuldamir, a student. “If they do it again — cut the power supply — we will do it again — protest.”

Waleed is a reporter in Iraq who writes for The Institute for War & Peace Reporting, a nonprofit organization in London that trains journalists in areas of conflict. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune.