"Now, because of the rise of the dollar and the pensions people aren't receiving, there are two classes of people," says Saad Salman, the owner of a Baghdad sweet shop. "A poor class and a rich class." Alice Fordham/NPR
With the gold domes of the famed Kadhimiya shrine as a backdrop, nearby streets full of shops, markets and tea-sellers in Baghdad look bustling and vibrant, even at night. Tempting windows display sparkly clothes and cascades of candy in rainbow colors.
But shopkeepers say no one has been buying much since Iraq devalued its dinar against the dollar last year.
"Regarding the economic situation and the rise of the dollar — it destroyed the people," says Saad Salman, the owner of one of the sweet shops. "Purchasing power has fallen. Someone who used to buy a kilogram, now they buy half a kilogram, you know?"
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WNU Editor: The collapse of oil prices and the Iraqi government going broke has been disastrous .... IMF says Iraq seeking emergency loans after oil price plunge (Al Jazeera)
