Rebuilding Iraq
After spending my first week in southern Iraq, I was sent to some new construction sitees for a little on-the-job training with Dave, my basin manager counterpart from New Hampshire. Yesterday's sand storm across the gulf region has us all coughing and red-eyed. The weather has turned cold again and the fine sand hangs in the air like smog. There was little to tell the sand storm wasn't ground fog, no ripping wind accompanied it, just dirty air.
There is an incredible amount of construction going on in southern Iraq. Over 150 school buildings are being built. Clinics, hospitals, mosques, rail stations, roads, bridges, prisons, water treatment plants, power stations... Everything needed for a modern country that was either destroyed in the war, not maintained by the Saddam regime, or looted, is being rebuilt. There are some desperately poor people trying to scratch out a living here.
The buildings going up are a cross between western and eastern mindsets. Metal prefab buildings with mud brick and tile restrooms instead of sheetrock. There are literally thousands of Iraqis working on some of the larger projects with expectations that more manpower will speed the finished product. Large U.S. contractors are overseeing Iraqi subcontractors, most of whom have no experience with western building techniques. Little things are striking on the constructions sites, like debris. There is absolutely no concept here of cleanup. When a broken glass pane is removed, I hear the foreman barking to throw it in the dumpster and not on the ground when it's removed. The construction sites look like landfills. At inspections, an Iraqi hands out cold soda cans to all attendees as they arrive, part of their culture to serve tea is being adjusted to western supplies.
Many of the ex-patriates I've met here have been here for over 6 months. Some are on a one year contract, some are assigned with their units for a year. This is tough duty for that amount of time and nothing here is remotely like anything back home.
At lunch time, Dave plays basketball with the Fijians. That is funny in itself because the Fijians (Fiji islanders) are built like physically fit Samoans and Dave is a little guy and he is kicking their butts. He says he doesn't dare play their game, rugby.
There is an incredible amount of construction going on in southern Iraq. Over 150 school buildings are being built. Clinics, hospitals, mosques, rail stations, roads, bridges, prisons, water treatment plants, power stations... Everything needed for a modern country that was either destroyed in the war, not maintained by the Saddam regime, or looted, is being rebuilt. There are some desperately poor people trying to scratch out a living here.
The buildings going up are a cross between western and eastern mindsets. Metal prefab buildings with mud brick and tile restrooms instead of sheetrock. There are literally thousands of Iraqis working on some of the larger projects with expectations that more manpower will speed the finished product. Large U.S. contractors are overseeing Iraqi subcontractors, most of whom have no experience with western building techniques. Little things are striking on the constructions sites, like debris. There is absolutely no concept here of cleanup. When a broken glass pane is removed, I hear the foreman barking to throw it in the dumpster and not on the ground when it's removed. The construction sites look like landfills. At inspections, an Iraqi hands out cold soda cans to all attendees as they arrive, part of their culture to serve tea is being adjusted to western supplies.
Many of the ex-patriates I've met here have been here for over 6 months. Some are on a one year contract, some are assigned with their units for a year. This is tough duty for that amount of time and nothing here is remotely like anything back home.
At lunch time, Dave plays basketball with the Fijians. That is funny in itself because the Fijians (Fiji islanders) are built like physically fit Samoans and Dave is a little guy and he is kicking their butts. He says he doesn't dare play their game, rugby.
posted by Bob at 5:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home