Informant38

Baghdadis dream of messing around on their river again
After decades of dictatorship, war and suffering, Baghdadis dream that they will once again be allowed to mess around on their great river, the life-giving Tigris.
Its course loops lethargically through the city but the grand architectural follies of the �ancien regime� of Saddam Hussein dominate the riverbanks.
�Baghdad owes its existence to the Tigris, and Saddam deprived people here of their river,� says Jalal Mashata, editor in chief of the An-Nahda newspaper.
The fallen dictator �simply banned the population from using the river�.
For ordinary people, who once lived by and even on the river, it was a communications highway, a source of food and a playground. Under the iron rule of the Baath Party they had little or no access.
�Rouba Kabbara Jordan Times/AFP 09.11.03