women whose husbands go missing find it difficult to obtain government aid.
By Hind al-Safar and Zaineb Naji in Baghdad (ICR No. 261, 10-Jun-08)
Firdaw al-Baghdadi has not seen her husband in three years. He was abducted in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, and although his family paid a ransom for his release, they never heard from the captors again.
Baghdadi, 38, from Baghdad’s Shia suburb Sadr City, cannot find work and her own relatives are too poor to help out, so she lives with her husband's family in cramped conditions.
“I don't know what to do,” she said. “Tradition prevents women from working, especially women like me.”
Women whose husbands go missing in Iraq receive little financial support and get lost in a welfare system that does not assist the families of kidnap victims, critics said.
While no reliable figures are available, abductions became a widespread – and lucrative – business from late 2003, with families paying tens of thousands of dollars for the release of their loved ones.
According to reports by the Washington-based Brookings Institution, the incidence of kidnapping reached 30 to 40 a day as civil conflict broke out in March 2006.
In many cases, kidnap victims have never been released even when the families have paid a ransom.
Wives of the victims are emotionally and financially devastated by the loss, say women's advocates, and their suffering is heightened because often they cannot access benefits intended for Iraq's most vulnerable.
While welfare is available for widows, orphans, the disabled and divorced women, it does not cover women whose husbands have gone missing, unless they can prove in court their husbands were kidnapped or killed, according to Azhar al-Sharbaf, a legal adviser with the women's affairs ministry.
This requirement is intended to prevent fraudulent claims in a country wracked by corruption. However, kidnappings can be difficult to prove.
Layla Kadhim Aziz, director of the Social Care Network, a welfare system through the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, said families affected by kidnapping must also fill out forms proving that they need aid.
Welfare benefits in Iraq stand at 75,000 dinar (65 US dollars) a month for individuals or 100,000 dinar (85 dollars) for families with children, Sharbaf said, noting that this allowance “doesn't even cover a household's basic needs”.
The wives of government employees are entitled to up to one year of their husbands' salary if their partners go missing and there is no one else who can support them, said Shatha al-Abusi, a member of parliament who advocates for women's rights.
However, many women do not take advantage of the benefits on offer, as they do not report an abduction to police, for fear of retaliation by the kidnappers. In addition, many Iraqis lost confidence in the police after 2004, when the force was infiltrated by militias. Moreover, as kidnappings are so common, the police spend little time investigating them.
Abusi said that some women whose husbands are abducted become so fearful that they abandon their homes and go and stay with relatives. “Sometimes the woman leaves her house immediately after her husband is abducted because she's afraid of being targeted,” she explained.
Khetam Abdul Karim, a 30-year-old women's advocate and a lawyer specialising in family matters, said Iraqi laws do not provide adequate support for families in kidnapping cases. The only law that deals with the missing dates from 1980, the start of the Iran-Iraq war, she said. That law states that the defence or interior minister must first declare an individual missing and after a four-year lapse, the person is declared dead and family members are then entitled to claim the inheritance.
Sharbaf said the women's affairs ministry had backed a law that would have provided financial support, health care and other aid for women who have no other means of support. The law, which was drafted by parliament's human rights committee, was shelved in May.
The ministries of finance, justice and labour and social affairs all rejected the legislation on the grounds that the government had not allocated funding for the programme and it would overlap with the social care network, said Sharbaf.
Abusi, who is on the parliamentary human rights committee, said it would continue to push for a law that aids the wives of kidnap victims. Aziz also said she would encourage the government to review the benefits system.
Weam Jasim, an activist with the rights group Dawn of the Woman in Baghdad, said that while her organisation has tried to draw attention to the plight of wives of kidnap victims, this has largely been ignored by the authorities. Jasim is not hopeful that the government will act on behalf of women.
“Women's rights are only slogans for politicians,” she said.
Hind al-Safar and Zaineb Naji are IWPR-trained journalists in Baghdad.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Screenwriter Gives Away Millions
A former CEO-turned-screenwriter gives away millions of Iraqi Dinar to Hollywood Studio executives to show how fortunes printed on paper can become worthless overnight.
I was a 25 year old single dad from a small town swimming in the Wall Street shark tank. I was brought up to take people at face value, and I trusted some of the wrong people.
Hollywood, CA (PRWEB) May 12, 2008 -- A former CEO-turned-screenwriter gives away millions of Iraqi Dinar to show how fortunes printed on paper can become worthless overnight.
The number of Iraqi Dinar given away by screenwriter Nicholas Chavez would have been worth approximately $4,825,350 in a 1989 "pre-Gulf War" Iraq.
Nicholas Chavez was once a highly celebrated technology executive of a publicly traded technology company with a market cap that once exceeded $90M, until everything came crashing down.
"Seemingly overnight, my fortune that exceeded $40M became worthless" states Nicholas Chavez, a Denver-based entertainment entrepreneur. "I was a 25 year old single dad from a small town swimming in the Wall Street shark tank. I was brought up to take people at face value, and I trusted some of the wrong people."
Monday May 12th marked the delivery of some 55 Express Mail envelopes to Hollywood studio and mini-major moguls, each stuffed with 25,000 Iraqi Dinar and a letter to the receiving executives that included the following text:
"My fortune all but evaporated in 3 months. $40,000,000 gone! A beautiful Rossa Corsa colored Ferrari, a British Racing Green Aston Martin, two Range Rovers as black as night, gated mansions with flowering gardens, stunning women & fair-weather friends. All of it slowly eroded and then, disappeared completely along with my fortune of eight-figures!"
The letter goes on to indicate that Chavez has chronicled the events of his sudden upward mobility, and his dramatic fall in a spec-script that is available for purchase to the highest bidder in an auction that will be conducted via phone with his attorney, Wednesday May 14th.
Lawrence Gordon, Producer of such hits as "Boogie Nights," Field of Dreams," and "Predator" described the advantages of spec scripts in a New York Times interview. "You can eyeball the script to get an idea of what the budget will be. You don't have to wonder if the script is going to work and how much the movie will cost." To date, Mr. Gordon has made multiple spec-script purchases paying seven-figures per script in many cases.
Chavez is confident that the script is a winner and will bring in a seven-figure winning bid.
"There are dozens of instances that I have read, where screenwriters in their 20's sell scripts for one to five million dollars. Often, these scripts come from unknown writers, and are not based on a true, captivating story of money, sex and deceit." said Chavez.
Andrew Contiguglia, Chavez's entertainment attorney, will be conducting the auction.
"If you think about it, the information in this screenplay cost me $40M to produce, so whoever in Hollywood is smart enough to buy it- will be getting a $38M discount."
About Nicholas Chavez:
Nicholas Chavez is a 28 year old entertainment entrepreneur, who has just wrapped filming on his first feature length film "Passing Buck" which he co-wrote and directed, starring Russell Costen, Rachael Weinstein and Andrew J. Mark. The film is expected to be released in August of 2008, along with a 12 song soundtrack, featuring musicians that have had albums executive produced by Chavez.
Nicholas is also a member of CXO Colorado, The National Management Association, National Association of Record Industry Professionals, The Board of Advisors for the Impact Film Fund, and is Chairman Emeritus of The Colorado Film Coalition: a grassroots organization which aims to boost the film economy of Colorado. In his spare time, he spends time with his two boys and works with Family First- a non-profit which provides abused or neglected children with foster care or adoption.
Contact:
Andrew Contiguglia
Contiguglia P.C.
303.905.0156
I was a 25 year old single dad from a small town swimming in the Wall Street shark tank. I was brought up to take people at face value, and I trusted some of the wrong people.
Hollywood, CA (PRWEB) May 12, 2008 -- A former CEO-turned-screenwriter gives away millions of Iraqi Dinar to show how fortunes printed on paper can become worthless overnight.
The number of Iraqi Dinar given away by screenwriter Nicholas Chavez would have been worth approximately $4,825,350 in a 1989 "pre-Gulf War" Iraq.
Nicholas Chavez was once a highly celebrated technology executive of a publicly traded technology company with a market cap that once exceeded $90M, until everything came crashing down.
"Seemingly overnight, my fortune that exceeded $40M became worthless" states Nicholas Chavez, a Denver-based entertainment entrepreneur. "I was a 25 year old single dad from a small town swimming in the Wall Street shark tank. I was brought up to take people at face value, and I trusted some of the wrong people."
Monday May 12th marked the delivery of some 55 Express Mail envelopes to Hollywood studio and mini-major moguls, each stuffed with 25,000 Iraqi Dinar and a letter to the receiving executives that included the following text:
"My fortune all but evaporated in 3 months. $40,000,000 gone! A beautiful Rossa Corsa colored Ferrari, a British Racing Green Aston Martin, two Range Rovers as black as night, gated mansions with flowering gardens, stunning women & fair-weather friends. All of it slowly eroded and then, disappeared completely along with my fortune of eight-figures!"
The letter goes on to indicate that Chavez has chronicled the events of his sudden upward mobility, and his dramatic fall in a spec-script that is available for purchase to the highest bidder in an auction that will be conducted via phone with his attorney, Wednesday May 14th.
Lawrence Gordon, Producer of such hits as "Boogie Nights," Field of Dreams," and "Predator" described the advantages of spec scripts in a New York Times interview. "You can eyeball the script to get an idea of what the budget will be. You don't have to wonder if the script is going to work and how much the movie will cost." To date, Mr. Gordon has made multiple spec-script purchases paying seven-figures per script in many cases.
Chavez is confident that the script is a winner and will bring in a seven-figure winning bid.
"There are dozens of instances that I have read, where screenwriters in their 20's sell scripts for one to five million dollars. Often, these scripts come from unknown writers, and are not based on a true, captivating story of money, sex and deceit." said Chavez.
Andrew Contiguglia, Chavez's entertainment attorney, will be conducting the auction.
"If you think about it, the information in this screenplay cost me $40M to produce, so whoever in Hollywood is smart enough to buy it- will be getting a $38M discount."
About Nicholas Chavez:
Nicholas Chavez is a 28 year old entertainment entrepreneur, who has just wrapped filming on his first feature length film "Passing Buck" which he co-wrote and directed, starring Russell Costen, Rachael Weinstein and Andrew J. Mark. The film is expected to be released in August of 2008, along with a 12 song soundtrack, featuring musicians that have had albums executive produced by Chavez.
Nicholas is also a member of CXO Colorado, The National Management Association, National Association of Record Industry Professionals, The Board of Advisors for the Impact Film Fund, and is Chairman Emeritus of The Colorado Film Coalition: a grassroots organization which aims to boost the film economy of Colorado. In his spare time, he spends time with his two boys and works with Family First- a non-profit which provides abused or neglected children with foster care or adoption.
Contact:
Andrew Contiguglia
Contiguglia P.C.
303.905.0156
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)