Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Corruption rife as unemployed flock to join Iraqi army
Security
(Azzaman) - Volunteer armies complain of lack of recruits but that is not the case with the nascent Iraqi forces. Officers complain that they normally have more volunteers than the number of applicants they ask for despite mounting violence and suicide attacks. When Iraqi police and military authorities announced their need for 3,000 volunteers in the violence-torn districts in Baghdad’s suburbs, they received more than 15,000 applications.
“Unemployment is worse than death,” replied a young man amid a big crowd of people willing to register their names as volunteers at an army recruit center in Baghdad. Army recruitment centers have been scenes of repeated suicide bombing and hundreds of recruits have been killed in such attacks. Guards at the center at Alzawara Park could hardly bring some sort of order to a crowd of recruits fighting to present their papers.
Some recruits complained of corruption, saying officials in the center would normally ask for a tip of nearly 1,000 dollars to have their names registered as volunteers. Ali Hussain, whose application was not even handled, said he was turned away by an officer who openly asked for a bribe. “He (the officer) asked for ten 100 dollar bills. I asked him earnestly to reduce the amount, but he refused and my application was rejected. Finding a job is almost impossible and the only way to earn a decent living is by joining the army despite the hazards,” he said.
Other recruits refusing to be named said their applications were eventually rejected despite paying the money to those running the center. It was hard to get any of the officers in the center to speak on the record. One officer, who would only talk on condition of not revealing his name and rank, agreed that there was corruption in the army and particularly at recruiting centers.
“What you have discovered is true … but those found guilty of corruption are charged and dismissed. But I don’t think the problem is on the scale described in the media,” he said. He said the problem was that the number of volunteers always far exceeds what the army really needs. “This prompts some to use corruption and bribes in processing the applications,” he said.
“Unemployment is worse than death,” replied a young man amid a big crowd of people willing to register their names as volunteers at an army recruit center in Baghdad. Army recruitment centers have been scenes of repeated suicide bombing and hundreds of recruits have been killed in such attacks. Guards at the center at Alzawara Park could hardly bring some sort of order to a crowd of recruits fighting to present their papers.
Some recruits complained of corruption, saying officials in the center would normally ask for a tip of nearly 1,000 dollars to have their names registered as volunteers. Ali Hussain, whose application was not even handled, said he was turned away by an officer who openly asked for a bribe. “He (the officer) asked for ten 100 dollar bills. I asked him earnestly to reduce the amount, but he refused and my application was rejected. Finding a job is almost impossible and the only way to earn a decent living is by joining the army despite the hazards,” he said.
Other recruits refusing to be named said their applications were eventually rejected despite paying the money to those running the center. It was hard to get any of the officers in the center to speak on the record. One officer, who would only talk on condition of not revealing his name and rank, agreed that there was corruption in the army and particularly at recruiting centers.
“What you have discovered is true … but those found guilty of corruption are charged and dismissed. But I don’t think the problem is on the scale described in the media,” he said. He said the problem was that the number of volunteers always far exceeds what the army really needs. “This prompts some to use corruption and bribes in processing the applications,” he said.
Labels: corruption, Iraqi Army, recruitment, unemployment, volunteers
