Fruits and Vegetables on the rise in Iraq

After the War...? Fruits and Vegetables prices rise in Iraq
Accounts from a woman in Baghdad Posted Sept. 3,2004
And we are also concerned about the reports of Iraqi Police and ICDC ( Iraq Civil Defence Corps) being used in the front line against the Resistance in Nagaf, Sadr City and other places. Is this America trying to create tension, strife and civil war - not between Sunni and Shia (that didn't work), but between the Resistance and government/coalition employees? Today we bought some fruit and vegetables, and in yet another example of how the ordinary Iraqi suffers, we found that the recent upsurge in Resistance has caused prices to rise.
Tomatoes, eggplants, onions, grapes and water melons had all gone up in price (and that's just what we checked). Tomatoes and water melons had almost doubled in price from 10 p a kilo to nearly 20 p a kilo. This is because 'Jamila', the main wholesaler for all the food in Bagdad , situated in Sadr City , has had to shut down due to the fighting. The shopkeepers are now having to travel out of Bagdad to Mahmoudya or Yusefia for example (30 and 40 kilometres away respectively) to obtain their wares. The travel and time costs are then passed onto the customer, just as the taxi drivers have to charge more when they end up sitting in a petrol queue for one day a week instead of earning money working. Where will all this end, I don't know? But I feel certain that if America pulled out and went home, the situation would be sure to improve. A Muslim peacekeeping force may work here, but NOT if it works under or with the Americans. If they do this they will become America 's canon fodder - just as the Iraqi men in the Iraqi Police and ICDC are now.