As Bombs Fall Silent, an Iraqi City Rebuilds

NEW YORK TIMES October 3, 2008 By ERICA GOODE and MOHAMMED HUSSEIN SAMARRA, Iraq — Bombs go off infrequently now in Samarra, and they are mostly small, nothing like the massive explosion that two years ago toppled the golden dome of the famous Askariya Shrine in this ancient city, setting off a wave of sectarian bloodletting across Iraq. A bakery and a shawarma shop recently opened in a heavily guarded central neighborhood. Earlier this week, dozens of children rode a creaky Ferris wheel and took wagon rides on a downtown street to celebrate Id al-Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan. The Askariya Shrine is slowly being rebuilt. This week, for the first time in two years, hundreds of worshipers attended morning prayers for Id al-Fitr under the delicately blue-tiled dome of the mosque next door. “It is better now,” many residents say if asked. “Today is better than yesterday.” Yet in Samarra, as in many parts of this ravaged country, better is a relative term. The city’s name is derived from an Arabic phrase meaning “a joy for all to see.” But joy, or even basic satisfaction, remains a scarce commodity. The violence that once raged throughout the overwhelmingly Sunni city has quieted in the last few months. In August there were only nine small weapons attacks, compared with 44 last November, according to the American military. One homemade bomb exploded in August. Last November there were 13. The curfew for residents has been pushed back to midnight or even later if there are religious events. Yet the costs of greater safety are also apparent. At virtually every corner there are checkpoints staffed by members of the Iraqi security forces or guards from the Awakening Councils, the citizen patrols that the American military paid and trained to fight the insurgents. Blast walls line the streets. And to stray outside the nine “safe” neighborhoods that American military officials say have been secured by the Awakening guards is still to invite violent death. The worshipers at the mosque — the site where the Imam Mahdi, viewed as a savior by many Shiite Muslims, is believed to have gone into hiding from the world — were thoroughly searched by special guards who report directly to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s office. One of Iraq’s most famous historical sites, a spiral minaret built in the ninth century known as Malwiya, remains off limits because snipers can too easily pick off anyone who climbs the tower. And two Westerners and several Iraqis from Baghdad who traveled to Samarra this week were not allowed to enter the downtown area without an escort from the Iraqi security forces. Still, new reconstruction projects for the city are planned, including the building of a water treatment plant, the refurbishment of five schools and the repair of an asphalt factory. “Progress has been made, some of it has been significant, some of it has been slow, some of it has been mixed,” said Lt. Col. J. P. McGee, commander of the Second Battalion, 327th Infantry stationed in the area, who added that there had been a “complete security transformation” in Samarra. The local council is finally able to meet. A court has reopened, making it no longer necessary for couples who wish to marry to travel to another district to register. But the streets of newly opened shops are ringed by blocks of bombed-out buildings fronting on deserted sidewalks piled with broken glass, crumbled pillars, tin and rebar. Residents complain that there are few jobs available, that the water is not potable, that the electricity is intermittent at best, that they have not received their pensions and that there are shortages of medicine. Omar Abbas, 32, said that rebuilding the shrine is important, because “it is our heritage.” He added: “But more important than rebuilding the shrine is employment.” The money from the thousands of tourists who once flocked to the Askariya Shrine — where two descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, Imam Ali al-Hadi and Imam Hassan al-Askari, are said to be buried — provided income for one-fourth of Samarra’s residents, Mr. Abbas said. Scheherazade Shihab, 29, an English teacher from Baghdad, says that she now feels safe in Samarra, safe enough to visit her family for Id al-Fitr, something she has been unable to do for two years. “But we need some projects,” she said, “pavement of the streets and the water is not very good in our area.” Even the shrine’s wounds, like those of the city, are slowly healing but still raw. Small craters left by the bombing are still visible in the interior. The two minarets destroyed by another bombing in 2007 have not yet been rebuilt. The architect in charge of the reconstruction, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about the project, said the most difficult challenge was working without blueprints. “We don’t have any map of how it was built to work from,” he said, “so we establish a survey and we depend on ourselves to rebuild.” Between 150 and 200 workers from Samarra, Baghdad, Karbala and other regions are involved in the project, which has so far cost $8 million, the architect said, and is likely to end up costing far more. But the rebuilding of the shrine, and of Samarra itself, will take time. The bombing, the architect said, broke his heart, “and still, it is broken.” In the past, the architect said, he came to visit the tomb of the Imam Hadi many times. “And for that reason I am here,” the architect said. “I am now here to serve him myself. I am checking it brick by brick, mortar by mortar.”