IRAQ: After the bombs, lingering car wrecks haunt Iraqis

Across the Iraqi capital the shells of bombed and burnt out cars are a constant reminder of the violence residents would rather forget. Blackened, broken and twisted, they are a daily reminder of the violence which Baghdad residents would rather forget. Across the Iraqi capital the shells of bombed and burnt-out cars litter the streets, stranded by the roadside long after the bombs go off, the dead and wounded are dragged away and the blood and shrapnel are swept up. "These cars were caused by wars; they have been collected in this garage. If you looked at them, you would find an ugly sight. How can someone forget the war when he sees these cars, their destruction and blackness? It is unpleasant sight in Baghdad," said Fayez Seddiq Ahmed, pointing to a parking lot filled with wrecked vehicles in central Baghdad. Dozens of cars in various stages of destruction have been dumped at the site, across the road in the capital's Salhiya district. Some are almost intact, their windows blown out and black marks showing where an explosion may have struck. Others are charred shells, their doors or bonnets blown out by the blasts. A few, most likely the vehicles once used as car bombs, are little more than mangled sheets of metal. Traces of orange and white -- the distinctive colour of Baghdad taxis -- are the only recognisable feature in one pile of scrap. "The sight should not be like this because it will have a psychological impact on the people. When they go out and see it they remember the fear, terror and death. We want to remove this image and replace it with something more optimistic and joyful. So people can forget what is happening," said Watheq Adnan. U.S. and Iraqi forces have stepped up security across Baghdad in recent months, hoping to stem the waves of roadside bombings and car bombs which have killed thousands of people since U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein four years ago. Officials say the increased security patrols have curbed the capital's rampant violence, but bombs are still a daily feature of Iraq's sectarian war. In many parts of Baghdad cars are simply left at the scene of an attack -- dragged away from the traffic and abandoned by the side of the road. Naeem Abaoob al-Kaabi, undersecretary for municipal affairs in Baghdad municipality said that the Baghdad municipality cadres are working together with offices of the Interior Ministry to get the numbers of wrecked vehicles in Baghdad so that they will work on removing them and burying them in suitable sites in Baghdad. Al-Kaabi said that the municipality is facing obstacles when removing burnt out wrecks of vehicles dumped in different places of Baghdad. "Many people have prevented the municipality cadres from removing the car chassis, giving the excuse of having traffic procedures and compensation documents among the governing council, the governor and traffic offices to compensate the cars, which have been exposed to terrorist acts. The Municipality will be obliged to leave these chassis until we end the process of traffic procedures," al-Kaabi said. The city municipality says the wrecks of 1,500 cars have been removed so far this year, but concedes that many are still scattered around the city's highways and sideroads. "We have removed more than 1500 car chassis this year, 2007 and we have buried them in suitable places in Karkh and Rusafa," al-Kaabi said. Al-Kaabi talked about future plans for Baghdad municipality, saying that it is working on establishing a factory to crush scrap chassis and use take them to scrap metal factories in the southern city of Basra to remanufacture them. He added that the factory will start its work at the beginning of 2008.

ITN Source | October 10, 2007

Tags:. .rather. .forget. .broken. .wounded. .highways