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Iraq Protests: A View From 4 Diverse Cities

Heather Murdock

   BAGHDAD/KARBALA/IRBIL/MOSUL - When the tear gas clears, and the chants
   and shouting become quiet, a bit of despair sometimes filters through
   protest camps occupying Iraq's city centers.

   "At the beginning, more families came to the protests," said Ali
   Khafaji, 30, a volunteer medic and protester in Karbala, a sacred city
   to Shia Muslims about 100 kilometers south of Baghdad.

   "But since the violence began, it is mostly just young men. People are
   disappointed."

   They are disappointed, he told us, because four months of calls for
   accountable government, equitable resource distribution and basic
   services like electricity, health care and education, have led to
   almost no change.

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