CPTnet
23 June 2005
IRAQ REFLECTION: Life in the Green Zone
by Greg Rollins
I recently talked to a foreigner I know who lives in the Green Zone,
Saddam's old palace grounds in the centre of Baghdad. The Green Zone is
about four kilometres long and two kilometres wide. It holds the biggest
U.S. embassy in the world, the British embassy, the Iraqi parliament and
dozens of foreign organizations and contractors.
The man I spoke to works for a telecommunications company. He said the
Green Zone is like a prison. Almost every major contractor or organization
in the Green Zone has its own security unit. Each one is an entity unto
itself. He refers to these security guards as cowboys, strutting around
with their guns strapped to their thighs. Many security companies have
their own checkpoints in front of their buildings.
He said every time he leaves his apartment he must pass through two of these
checkpoints on his street alone. It can take him as long as fifteen
minutes. I asked him if the guards ever recognized him and let him pass
without checking him. He said they do recognize him but always search him.
The guy showed me several of his ID badges. Each one allows him to enter
a different place. The badges reminded me of stories about Beirut in the
1970s when journalists needed different forms to move through the
checkpoints of the numerous militias. The guy told me that each badge had
different restrictions. Some stated he needed an escort to go places, some
read he needed prior permission to enter areas. I asked him if it was true
that there was a McDonald's in the Green Zone. He said there was but you
needed a special badge to go there. My teammate Tom asked if the badge had a
picture of Ronald McDonald on it.
The man I spoke with was also irritated by the fact that the Iraqis who
work for him are not allowed to go anywhere in the Green Zone without him
escorting them. Every morning he has to pick them up at one of the entrances
and every night he has to drop them off there.
He said he does not like the behaviour of the U.S. soldiers in the
Green Zone either. He said they yell at cars to move out of their way,
pointing their guns at anyone and everything. If they drove that way inside
the Green Zone, he was afraid to know how they drove outside the Green Zone
in Iraqi traffic.
From my own experiences in the Green Zone and from what other people I
know who live there have said, life in such a tight environment is not
satisfying. It might be a "safe" place but it isn't real. Most foreigners
who live in the Green Zone never set foot outside its borders. It makes me
wonder if people inside the Green Zone, particularly U.S. military and
government officials, really know what is going on in Iraq at all.
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