Sadr City .. Human reservoir of protesters in Iraq .. Why?

A report published by the New York Times on the role of Sadr City, northeast of the Iraqi capital, in the protests in the country since the beginning of last month, and the reason behind this distinctive role.

The report, written by Alisa Rubin, the Baghdad bureau chief, said Sadr City's masses had been involved in the protests, angered by the government's disregard for them and backed by a long history of resistance and defiance.

In protests since last month, more than 330 people have been killed and 15,000 injured, mainly driven by widespread corruption, unemployment and Iranian influence.

Young
The main participants in the demonstrations are educated young people, the majority of whom are civilians and "secular", as described by the author of the report.

Iraqis have long suffered decades of economic deprivation and government repression under Saddam Hussein, and they thought that toppling him would save them from the tragedies they had endured for years.

Most of Sadr City's residents are people who have emigrated from southern Iraq and kept ties with tribes there. In this sense, the city offers an opportunity to find out the passion and passion behind the current protests, which are rooted in the legacy and challenge of the Iraqi south.

Activity and vitality
Sadr City, with a population of more than three million, is a crowded area, with wide streets lined with unpaved roads and cracked asphalt alleys.

Despite the deprivation of the city, it is a region full of vitality, has provided Iraq with the best musicians, poets, painters and sculptors.

"It's like a clay quarry," says Wajih Abbas, an Iraqi poet and writer. "The more you pick your jewels, the more you find them."

"We in Sadr City are poor and need a lot of things like schools, health centers and jobs," said Bassam al-Kaabi, 41, one of Sadr City's protest organizers.

"We believed the politicians we called to vote for in return for service promises, but we later discovered that they were liars, so we say enough is enough."

Support
Sadr City is characterized by its tribal character - and talk to the Kaabi - and the ethics of the tribe that if something happens to one of its members rush to support and support.

Alissa Rubin goes on to talk to Kaabi, a taxi driver, who explains how he finds it easy to mobilize his people to join protests in Baghdad.

He reports that a deaf son of a clothing store owner was collecting donations from kiosks in the city's market until he raised $ 140.

Residents of Sadr City regard the revolution and the resistance as part of their identity. Their ancestors in the south resisted the British occupation in the so-called 1920 revolution.

Thousands of Sadr City soldiers were recruited in the Iran-Iraq war, which lasted from 1980 to 1988.

As a result, the city's residents gained experience in resistance and war, which helped them resist the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.