Missing Iraq

I've been suffering from a bit of culture shock since I've been back in England. I'm used to walking out on the street and immediately being bombarded with calls of "Hello Mister!" from kids, handshakes from shabab (youths) and invitations from old men to "stikhir" (sit down) and drink tea. Now I leave my flat on a cold overcast morning and spend half an hour standing squashed in the Underground on my way to work, during which time not a single person makes eye contact or acknowledges my existence.

Here's something bizarre. Some of my friends are protesting next week outside a conference for companies trying to win contacts in Iraq, they are taking a huge Iraq-shaped cake and will be offering delegates a slice to represent the corporate takeover of Iraq. The bizarre thing is that I'm not going to be involved in the protest because I'm speaking at the conference! I got a call this week from the conference organisers and am hurridly preparing a presentation this weekend. I'm going to explain why companies should support cancellation of Saddam's debt, and also argue a business case for them operating ethically in Iraq. Instead of making a quick buck from unfair contracts and being chased out when Iraqis take over, if companies employ Iraqis on good terms, partner with Iraqi companies and generally treat Iraqis with fairness and respect, then they will benefit in the long term as Iraq prospers. I feel very out of my depth, but thankfully my friend David has stepped in to help.

There's a new US soldier blogger online, Boots on Ground. One of his first posts notes that Iraqis "aren’t all that different than us Americans", which is an enouraging observation of shared humanity. The final version of my visit report is online by the way: Iraqi views on debt and reparations (pdf).

Finally, off the topic of Iraq completely, I was very excited to meet one of my heros this week - Zackie Achmat. He heads the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa, which lobbies on behalf of people with HIV/AIDS. Zachie is HIV+ himself, but refused to take antiretroviral drugs (which he could afford to buy) until the South African government agreed to make them available to poor people as well. Back in August there was a U-turn in SA policy, as i mentioned, and in principle the government is now committed to providing universal access to drugs, though roll out may take 3-5years. Zackie has therefore been taking drugs for 7 weeks now, and says his energy level has doubled. In the last few years he's struggled to concentrate enough to read a single book a year, but has now read 4 in the last 7 weeks alone. Here's a picture of us: