Rafah border crossing: That is what the residents of Sadr city call the T-walls being raised across it. Huge cranes work at night in this city on the outskirts of Baghdad, extending the separating structure.
Sadr had been the launching ground for more than 700 missiles and mortars that hit the Baghdad Green Zone a few months ago.
The city is now in shambles. “Wanted dead or alive” posters for members of the Mahdi militia dot the billboards in the grey surroundings that remind one of the Wild West.
At night, residents gather to watch the concrete wall coming up, dissecting the poverty-stricken Shiite city.
Sadr residents, while breathing a big sigh of relief to be rid of the unruly armed militia, however, are unhappy about the wall.
People are never happy to be behind walls. The Berlin Wall, for instance. Erected in August 1961, it kept the city divided for 28 years.
Streets, the railway and the S-Bahn (city railway) were broken. Stations of the U-Bahn (underground railway) were closed.
Even cemeteries had not been spared.
The wall was demolished in 1989, paving the way for Germany’s reunification, which was formalised on October 3, 1990.
Israel’s Separation Barrier is another horrifying example of a dividing structure. The barrier has fences with vehicle-barrier trenches and 8-metre-high concrete walls.
Erected mainly in the West Bank, it has increased the misery of Palestinians. Although two similar barriers — the Gaza strip barrier and the Israeli-built (12-metre) wall separating Gaza from Egypt — exist, they have been much less controversial.
So far, about 300,000 people have been affected by the land acquisition and tree felling carried out for the erection of the wall.
The Separation Barrier and the electrified fences have also cut off residents of the northern West Bank, Occupied Jerusalem and Bethlehem from access to their lands and water sources.
Referring to the T-walls, Rear Admiral Patrick Driscol of the multinational forces in Iraq, said: “These temporary security barriers have contributed to an 85 per cent drop in violence in Baghdad since the surge hit full strength in June 2007.
"The barriers were also instrumental in protecting citizens in parts of Sadr city. It [facilitated] restoration of essential services and the rebuilding of the Jamila Market. It has also contributed to the low levels of violence there now.”
The Mahdi militia denounced the wall as an evil effort to divide the city. Militia fighters with rocket-propelled grenades, machineguns and small arms have been trying to halt its construction.
However, although they succeeded in blowing a few openings in the wall, its construction has continued and is nearing completion. The 3.5-metre-high wall, which was 3 kilometres long, is now being extended.
Brigadier General A. Hussain of the Iraqi Ministry of Interior said the wall itself was not a solution but “Our [United States’] partners decided to try out the T-walls as a preventive measure to be part of the ‘State of Law’ plan. … [Erecting] walls will only increase the feeling of isolation. One day we will see people carrying arms against the wall.”
Violence in Sadr city has declined since 2004. Though the residents say the wall is a source of misery, they also acknowledge that it has proved its worth in providing them security.
Where people could not stay out after sundown, the streets today bustle with cars and pedestrians. Markets overflow with people.
The sense of captivity, though, is overwhelming: cars entering and leaving the city are still checked, jobs are scarce and infrastructure is non-existent. Nevertheless, everyone is relieved that the Mahdi militia is no more.
No one wants to live in a prison, said Faris Taimour, a security officer in the Iraqi forces, “but these T-walls are essential to protect Iraqis.
However, it would be great to see the Iraqi government take care of the place by spending money on essential services in this city,” he added.
Sami Al Askari, adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki and a member of the Iraqi parliament, said no one was happy with a concrete wall dissecting any part of their city.
But before criticising the construction of these walls, the armed militias who forced the law and peacekeeping forces to resort to the hateful measure have to be blamed.
The armed militias transformed this poor area into a missile-launching base, making government buildings and civilian locations the targets of their mortar attacks.
According to Al Askari, the T-walls will be removed as soon as peace and stability return to Sadr.
The process of rebuilding the city will commence after that, he said, adding that the government has allocated 100 million Iraqi dinars for the first phase of reconstruction.
“You can’t really repair anything that is broken until you establish security,” said Lieutenant Colonel Dan Barnett, commander of the First Squadron, Second Stryker Cavalry Regiment.
“A wall that isolates those who continue to attack the Iraqi army and coalition forces can create security conditions [in which] they can go in and rebuild.”
M-1 tanks, Stryker vehicles and Apache attack helicopters were on the lookout, protecting the construction team.
If the T-walls are a temporary security measure as the US army insists — and they are in fact yielding security and stability— then what other option do Iraqis have other than to bear the burden and wait for sunnier days?
