IRAQ: Baghdad street seeks to reclaim former glory on reopening

Baghdad's famous Abu Nawas Street, once known for its bars, nightclubs and seafood restaurants, which went into steep decline following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, is about to reopen as businesses attempt to recapture their former glory. One of Baghdad's most famous streets, Abu Nawas, has undergone several transformations over the years and was once known for its bars, nightclubs, fish restaurants and its tranquil park which stretched towards the Tigris River where families would picnic. Then came the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 and the street bustling atmosphere and businesses died. The street, where U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker fondly remembers strolling during his first posting to Baghdad in the 1970s, fell into ruin. It remained that way until last April when the U.S. military, along with the Iraqi government and Baghdad city council, launched a multi-million dollar (USD) project to return the street, named after the famous 8th century poet Abu Nawas, to its former glory. "As a matter of fact this project is an Iraqi project, it just being currently facilitated by the coalition. What we have provided in the interim is we have been providing initial security. We came down and we cleared the street, make sure the street was safe. Then we hired contractors to basically clear the street from all the concrete barriers that originally existed down here," explains U.S. Major Anthony Judge, who is responsible for the streets regeneration project. The street officially reopens next week, although many businesses are still in the midst of refurbishment. Judge is confident that the regeneration project will be a success and hopes it will transform the street into a place where Iraqis can come and experience a sense of normalcy. "The intent was to actually bring it back to its former glory, to what it was before Saddam Hussein's day, a place where the Iraqi people would come here and feel safe, feel comfortable, spend sometime with their families, eat some fish, do some shopping and not to worry about IEDs [Improvised Explosive Device], VBIEDs [Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device] or anybody shooting at them," he says. As the city hunkered down behind curtains of blast walls that had sprang up to protect against car bombs, Abu Nawas was cut off from the rest of the capital by tons of concrete blocks. Businesses in the street shut their doors. The restaurants serving mazgouf, a traditional Iraqi seafood dish cooked over a wood fire, went from selling 70 fish a day to just five. "Business was very good, but now there is a recession and business has stopped. The street has been blocked by the Americans for more than two years and this has reduced the number of customers. We thank the Baghdad municipality for its efforts to restore life to this important street and we call on our brothers, the authorities, to reopen the street so that business will be the same as it was on Abu Nawas street," says Mohammed Mehdi, who owns a Mazgouf restaurant on Abu Nawas street. For the past three years, Abu Nawas has been largely a ghost town, deserted even in the middle of the day and used mainly by military vehicles. The street can be entered only from one end and culminates in a checkpoint which protects the Palestine and Sheraton hotels. "If this street is reopened, then many people will benefit from it. You know, shop owners and families will be able to come here and relax," says Ali Hussein Jassim, who lives in the neighbourhood. Despite the publicity on Iraqi television stations, tempting Iraqis to venture back will be a hard sell. Crowded markets and shopping areas have been the favoured targets of car bombers. Once the streets reopens, entry will only be possible through one of four checkpoints. Vehicles will only be allowed on certain stretches and side streets will be blocked off with blast walls. U.S. troops will also be constantly patrolling the area. The threat of attack means Abu Nawas will be reopened without a fanfare and the exact date has not been given. However, officials hope the revitalisation of the street will have a domino effect, encouraging more development across the city. The project used Iraqi sub-contractors and local labour, although the funding came from the U.S. military and USAID. On September 10, when General David Petraeus reports to Congress on the success of his military strategy in Iraq, he will likely point to a Baghdad riverside avenue lined with eucalyptus trees that has been given a $2 million (USD) facelift. The heavily publicised project is aimed at showing Iraqis that a major U.S.-led crackdown launched in February in the city has succeeded in damping down bitter sectarian violence, reducing the number of car bombs and death squad killings.

ITN Source | September 5, 2007

Tags:. .labour. .coalition. .atmosphere. .mohammed. .husseins