BAGHDAD - At the gates of the Green Zone every day, Marwa Yasin is greeted by a
volley of suggestive remarks from the Iraqi guards who this month took over
from their American counterparts on checkpoint duty.
"Why is the moon so cross?" the men say, calling Yasin by the colloquial term
for an aloof, beautiful woman. "What are you doing after work today? Why didn't
you call me yesterday?"
The 19-year-old student is one of a growing group of women who says they run a
gauntlet of insults and innuendo when they go to the Green Zone, a fortified
complex of government offices, palm orchards and palaces built by Saddam
Hussein. For the past six
years, it has symbolized the United States presence in Iraq.
Iman al-Khalidi, a 23-year-old journalist, says she returned from a trip to the
Green Zone to find a note containing a phone number inside her bag, supposedly
left by a "lover who could who could not sleep" since he saw her at a
checkpoint.
Khalidi believes the paper had been placed inside her bag during a search.
The responsibility for securing this vast area of central Baghdad passed from
American to Iraqi forces on January 1, 2009.
Iraqi officials insist they will investigate all allegations of harassment
against the guards now in charge of security.
Marwa Yasin, who attends an exclusive school inside the zone, says women had
less to fear when the Iraqi security forces had American overseers.
"The American soldiers would punish any Iraqis who verbally harassed us and
take away their badges," she said. "Now we miss their protection."
Most Iraqis and foreigners were barred from the Green Zone unless they lived or
worked there. The US military controlled access, protecting government
officials and diplomats from the insurgency raging beyond its walls.
Amid a recent improvement in security, Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki was
able to hail the handover of the Green Zone as a sign that his country was
regaining its sovereignty.
Weeks earlier, his government had finalized a deal on the eventual withdrawal
of US forces from Iraq.
The government says it will eventually open up the Green Zone to the public,
though it has not set a date for this.
Mahdi Kathem, the 33-year-old owner of a food store in Baghdad's Harethya
neighborhood, said, "Entering the Green Zone has been like a dream for us."
He says the transfer of the zone to Iraqi control is a big step in the
"restoration of our sovereignty".
Like Kathem, most Baghdadis are pleased at the promise of regaining access to a
once-forbidden part of their city.
However, many who have been working inside the Green Zone are pessimistic about
its prospects under Iraqi control.
They fear the gradual withdrawal of American forces will worsen security and
take a chunk out of their earnings.
Adil Mahmoud, a 20-year-old taxi driver, says the takeover of the zone by Iraqi
security forces has been bad for business.
"My profits have fallen because of traffic jams inside the zone," he said. "The
Iraqi forces are closing off streets and setting up checkpoints, creating
congestion just like they've done in the rest of Baghdad."
Ali Jasim, a 22-year-old working in the zone's Iraqi-owned Freedom restaurant,
says the new security arrangements have prompted foreign companies to relocate
to Baghdad airport, which remains largely under the control of foreign guards.
"The number of customers who used to come to the restaurant has fallen by half
because of the danger," Jasim said.
A government official insists Iraqi forces are capable of keeping the zone
secure for all its occupants.
"I am not aware of any organizations leaving the Green Zone," said Firyad
Rawanduzi, a member of the Iraqi council of representatives' security and de
fence committee.
"Security for all areas inside the zone is handled by Iraqi forces and they
have done their job successfully."
Rawanduzi also said his committee had not received any reports from women of
misconduct or harassment by the guards. "We will punish anyone guilty of such
behavior if we receive complaints in the future," he said.
Over the past year, general improvements in security across Iraq have helped
lessen the Green Zone's isolation.
Mohammed, a 17-year-old working with a private security firm inside the zone,
says he is now able to visit his family outside more frequently.
At the height of the violence, he was confined to the zone because of the
threat from militants to anyone who worked there. The teenager spent long
periods without seeing the family he had given up his schooling to support.
Mohammed's mementos from his last two-and-a-half years inside the zone include
a photo of himself with some American soldiers.
"The handover is a good step," said Mohammed, who did not give his real name
because of security concerns. "We have to protect our areas by ourselves."
Despite the ceremonial handover on January 1, the US military currently still
has a presence in the Green Zone, mentoring and supporting the Iraqi force.
Iraqi officials say the handover will be completed on March 31, at the end of a
three-month transition period. The minister for national security, Shirwan
al-Waeli, says US forces are training and monitoring the Iraqis' handling of
"technical equipment and other such issues".
Waeli says protection of the Green Zone has been assigned to a brigade of 3,000
men from the ministry of de fence, who are under the command of the prime
minister.
He says the government plans to support the brigade's work with an intelligence
unit, supplied by the ministry of national security.
The agreement on the US forces' withdrawal from Iraq, signed late last year,
says the Green Zone must be fully handed over to the Iraqi government.
Iraqi forces already guard all five entrances to the zone. They also control
vehicle checkpoints inside the zone.
Pedestrian checkpoints inside are jointly manned by Iraqi and American forces.
The Iraqis there have the same duties as the Americans, asking for badges and
checking them.
On the ground, the Iraqis are getting to grips with the new order.
"Now I, as an Iraqi officer, can give orders to the American soldier, whereas
this was not possible in the past," said Mohammed Amen Abbas, a 24-year-old
officer in charge of a checkpoint in the Green Zone.
Ali Hameed, a 19-year-old soldier at another checkpoint, said Iraqi guards are
more understanding than the Americans.
"We can still assist our citizens, even if they do not have identification
cards with them," he said. "The Americans were strict in their treatment of
Iraqis. It is different now that we have taken responsibility."
However, Marwa, who goes to school inside the zone, fears the Iraqi guards will
be less reliable.
"The American soldier would never single anyone out for favorable treatment,
even if it was his father," she said.
"But the Iraqi soldiers can show courtesy to their friends and let them enter
the Green Zone, even though they do not have identification cards. What
guarantee is there that a suicide bomber might not enter the zone and head to
my school?"
Abeer Mohammed is an IWPR trainee and freelance journalist in Baghdad.
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
