Baghdad citizens in rush to grab supplies

AFTER months of displaying business-as-usual calm even as legions of US troops assembled within striking distance of Iraq, Baghdad residents showed signs of panic yesterday at the prospect of an imminent US invasion and the lawlessness that it may spark.

People cleared stores of bottled water and canned food, converted sacks of Iraqi currency into dollars and waited in long lines for gasoline.

Merchants fearful of looting emptied their stores of electronics and designer clothing, while soldiers intensified work on trenches and removed sensitive files from government buildings. People crammed into cars with their household possessions and drove out of the city.

Business was brisk at stores selling guns and ammunition as customers hurried in ahead of an expected invasion. Iraqis said publicly that they were arming themselves against the US military, but many said privately that they were preparing themselves for the anarchy that could ensue from a collapse of the government.

“Everyone is scared,” Sayed Khuder, an electronics salesman, said as a half-dozen labourers removed $12,000 worth of televisions, refrigerators and air conditioners from his store and loaded the merchandise on a truck.

For months, this city of nearly 6 million people seemed impervious to the prospect of war. Residents boasted that US threats were an everyday occurrence. Many insisted an invasion would never come to pass.

Even if it did, they predicted, it would be similar to December 1998, when the US fired cruise missiles at Baghdad for four nights, destroying empty government buildings but doing little to affect the normal rhythms of life. People said that, in any case, stores would be stocked with food and filling stations with fuel.

But now, the grim likelihood of an attack has enveloped Baghdad.

Although state-run television and newspapers have not emphasised the imminence of war, largely because President Saddam Hussein’s government does not want to spark panic and a possible insurrection, many residents have relied on shortwave radios and word of mouth to keep abreast of diplomatic efforts to avert a conflict.

By early yesterday morning, the resolve of the US and Britain to use force had ricocheted around the city.

“We’ve heard the news,” said Amal Medhi, 32, a mother of two young girls, as she waited on a busy street for her husband to pick her up along with 18 bottles of water she had purchased.

“An attack could happen at any time. Tonight. Tomorrow. So we must be prepared.”

Bottled water appeared to be in short supply. Many shops that used to display ample stock on the sidewalk were stripped bare.

Those that still had a few bottles were selling them for as much as three times the normal price. Shopkeepers who had run out of water said they were not sure whether they would receive additional shipments.

“The distributor told me maybe by Thursday,” Sahid Abid, the owner of a small food store, said as he loitered on a front stoop normally covered with water bottles.

With bottled water in short supply, many residents turned to the next best thing: large plastic jerrycans, which they planned to fill with tap water.

“This looks good,” a stout, middle-aged woman said as she peered into a blue, five-gallon jug being sold by a sidewalk vendor. She bought two, the first supplies her family had purchased in preparing for war.

She said the 10 gallons would last no more than a week. She would like to have more water on hand, she said, but could not afford to buy more containers.

She and others recalled the months after the 1991 Persian Gulf War, when Baghdad lacked electricity and running water, depriving people of not only lighting and air conditioning but also clean water and sewage treatment.

Food production was affected, as was medical care. Outbreaks of cholera and typhoid erupted.