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American Morning
Iraq: 'First Glance'
Aired December 19, 2003 - 07:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Time out from war for a moment here. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that in a city of five million, not everyone here is consumed with the battle in Baghdad. That's what we found out anyway in today's "First Glance."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER (voice-over): It's not exactly a shopping spree.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Merry Christmas.
HEMMER: But it's pretty darn close. Along Karada (ph) Street, the sidewalk shops are about as far away from the violence as you can get.
(on camera): It's 8:00 on a Thursday night, and at least in this part of Baghdad, business isn't so bad.
(voice-over): But one has to wonder, what happened to the war?
"If you're talking about the war," this man says from behind his hot dog stand, "that's against the state. Our living is with the people."
And the people are slowly coming back to this district.
"Our business, thank God, is going well," he says, "and we're stable."
And maybe the biggest business is happening inside here. Less than 3 percent of Iraq's population is Christian, but you'd never know it in Hesham Rackman's (ph) store, and he's Muslim.
"During the old regime," he says, "we had a very closed society, and people would seize the celebration for a holiday. Whether they were Muslims or Christians it did not matter."
Now, add a strong international presence, and Santa hasn't sold this well in years.
Other districts may not have the same rebirth in sales, but it is happening here. Still, many insist it can get better.
Back at the hot dog stand, that's exactly what they're talking about.
"There is still no security," he says. "We used to be able to work past 2:30 in the morning. Now, we have to close up at 10:00."
And close they did on this evening, but not before the merchants on Karada (ph) Street had a pretty good night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's enough.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: The business of Baghdad goes on, especially during the holidays.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired December 19, 2003 - 07:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Time out from war for a moment here. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that in a city of five million, not everyone here is consumed with the battle in Baghdad. That's what we found out anyway in today's "First Glance."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER (voice-over): It's not exactly a shopping spree.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Merry Christmas.
HEMMER: But it's pretty darn close. Along Karada (ph) Street, the sidewalk shops are about as far away from the violence as you can get.
(on camera): It's 8:00 on a Thursday night, and at least in this part of Baghdad, business isn't so bad.
(voice-over): But one has to wonder, what happened to the war?
"If you're talking about the war," this man says from behind his hot dog stand, "that's against the state. Our living is with the people."
And the people are slowly coming back to this district.
"Our business, thank God, is going well," he says, "and we're stable."
And maybe the biggest business is happening inside here. Less than 3 percent of Iraq's population is Christian, but you'd never know it in Hesham Rackman's (ph) store, and he's Muslim.
"During the old regime," he says, "we had a very closed society, and people would seize the celebration for a holiday. Whether they were Muslims or Christians it did not matter."
Now, add a strong international presence, and Santa hasn't sold this well in years.
Other districts may not have the same rebirth in sales, but it is happening here. Still, many insist it can get better.
Back at the hot dog stand, that's exactly what they're talking about.
"There is still no security," he says. "We used to be able to work past 2:30 in the morning. Now, we have to close up at 10:00."
And close they did on this evening, but not before the merchants on Karada (ph) Street had a pretty good night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's enough.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: The business of Baghdad goes on, especially during the holidays.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
