US refuse in demand - but causing health problems

Refuse discarde by US forces in Iraq is being collected and sold on by local people desperate to make a living any way they can. But some of it is causing health problems. Spoiled food, used medicines, toothbrushes and blades, and items such as milk and juices well past their expiry dates are proving tempting to some Baghdad residents - many of whom believe anything American is worth having. "This food looks fine for me as it carries a label 'Made in USA', Mowafeq Salem, one resident who makes a living selling US forces' rubbish, told IRIN. "I know it's rubbish, but some of the foods are packed well. I always buy for my children the packets of sweets and dry juice and small packs of Nescafe [coffee]," Sana'a Hassin, an unemployed 35-year-old scavenger, said. School pupils in some villages around Baghdad are reportedly eating food in their canteens sourced from similar rubbish tips. "I bought some of this American expired food, like juices and chips, because they are cheap and the children find them tasty," Beder Saad, canteen manager in the Al-Sha'ab primary school, explained. Discarded medicines are much in demand by locals, who are ignorant of their use or effects. "I buy some of these medicines because they are doing me good," said Azeaz Abid, a 38-year-old asthma sufferer who cannot afford shop prices for the drugs that help him stave off debilitating attacks. Despite this, many people who eat foods discarded by the US military say they have become sick due to food poisoning or have developed allergies from taking unknown medicines from similar sources. "I start to throw up after I have eaten tins of beans bought from vendors selling US rubbish," Zaheda Hussein, a 14-year-old student, told IRIN. The story is similar in other parts of the city. "I bought pills for my stomach ache from a peddler of American rubbish. I used the green ones and everything became bad. A skin rash appeared over my body and fever," Mustapha Ali, a Sadr City resident, related. The Ministry of Health (MoH) said it was concerned. "We tried to contact US forces to talk about the problem. We asked them to burn the rubbish in order to prevent the vendors from buying it, but they did not cooperate with us," Dr Whaleed Al Ani, director of food samples in the health care section of the ministry, told IRIN. US forces in Baghdad said contractors had been hired to remove the rubbish from their facilities, but after removal it was no longer their responsibility. "We do not mean to harm people, but there is no special programme to treat our rubbish by burning or burial. We had contractors to move the rubbish of food and medicines outside our camps," General Peter Kali, a US Army spokesman in Baghdad, said. Some people accused greedy contractors of selling the refuse on rather than disposing of it safely. Middlemen who sell the more valuable items found in the rubbish are aware of the health risks involved, but say poverty and unemployment leave them no choice but to continue with the trade.