Brussels, 13/04/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs heard representatives of the Iraqi marsh people last week, in Brussels. Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, British Liberal, chaired the sitting attended, among others, by a representative of the new Iraqi government, Sheikh Sami Azara Al-Majum, Professor Omaran S. Habib, and a representative of UNESCO, Dr Ahmed Jalali.
Sheikh Al-Majum, who took stock of the progress made thanks to EU assistance, noted that, since the dictator was overthrown, and given the nearly 13,000 people seeking employment, nearly 6,000 posts have been created in the marshes and that the creation of crèches for around 1,540 children has allowed a further 60 people to gain employment. This is encouraging. However, Sheikh Al-Majum said, it is only a beginning. He added: "You must continue to help us". It is the view of Professor Habib that: "The future of the marsh people depends on their health (…). It is a population which used to fish, to farm, but which today has an uncertain way of life in slums (…). The elite members of the marsh people have left, been exiled, and will never return (…) This population must improve its farming system given the risk of flooding in the marshes, and must also rebuild the educational system". Dr Jalali deplored the fact that the United Nations had left the marshes, which has meant that this area is cut off from any development programme. A leader of an Iraqi tribe of 800 families, Sheikh Al Boshama, said: "I could make you shed tears but what we want is aid, and as quickly as possible". European elected CDU member Jürgen Schröder felt that "Europe's role must, among other things, be to throw a bridge between our two cultures", a sentiment largely approved by Iraqi representatives.