Iraqis suffer walls that divide and save

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An Iraqi National Police officer directs gridlocked traffic at a checkpoint outside a south Baghdad market. Extra security measures in some neighborhoods are credited with reducing violence but many residents also blame them for making traffic unbearable and hurting businesses.


Iraqis suffer walls that divide and save
By Heath Druzin, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, November 25, 2008

BAGHDAD — A mural splashed across a concrete blast wall in a traffic-clogged market here symbolizes how many Baghdad residents feel about ongoing security measures in the city’s more troubled neighborhoods.

The painting depicts a crow pecking a woman’s eye.

The artwork is part of a beautification project aimed at softening a landscape of ubiquitous checkpoints, concertina wire and concrete barriers that separates Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods and filters traffic to reduce the chance of car bombs.

No amount of art can change the congestion created by the security measures, which many city residents say are hurting business and creating unnecessary hassles.

"When they check the cars, they make the people late for work," said Haiwee Karim Abdal, who commutes across the city each day.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=59041