Online in Iraq


Hunger for the internet
Good news from Iraq.

Nearby, partially hidden by wood-paneled booths, were a dozen other young men staring intently at their screens, most chatting simultaneously on three or four different e-mail accounts. All of them were paying 1,500 dinars an hour — about a dollar — to escape the gray confines of Baghdad's blasted walls for a while. Two heavyset men sat on a black faux-leather couch by the door, keeping a watchful eye on the street.

Three years ago, the Internet was virtually unknown in Iraq. Today, Baghdad has dozens of Internet cafes like ShreifiNet, which consists of three sparely decorated rooms with a total of 34 computers and a satellite dish on the roof. Most of the cafes also transmit wireless services to home Internet users in the surrounding area for a monthly fee; in parts of central Baghdad there are about 20 overlapping wireless networks.

The universal hunger to get online has made computer and Web services one of the few bright spots in Iraq's stagnant economy. On Sinaa Street, the two-lane thoroughfare in central Baghdad lined with computer and software stores, business is brisk. Companies that install wireless networks and satellite dishes are also thriving, despite the irritation caused by frequent power failures. So are many Internet cafes.

"I have to work to persuade people to come to my clothes shop," Mr. Ali said. "But you don't need to advertise to tempt customers to come in here."

Few people on earth have more incentive to communicate online (and indoors) than Iraqis, who risk their lives every time they go out for a quart of milk. The Internet can also be a way to get around the rising Islamization of everyday life. Young people caught flirting on the street even in Baghdad are sometimes chastised or even beaten by self-proclaimed Islamists, but no one can stop them on the Web. "If you look at the chat rooms, it is mostly young guys and girls," Mr. Ali said.

The internet may well be the single most remembered invention of the 20th Century. And with luck, it will become one of the foundations of democracy all over the globe.

So articles like this make me smile.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Fri - February 10, 2006 at 07:44 AM  Tag


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