Ugandan Iraq Guards: Putting Their Hands in The Lion's Mouth

Recruiting of local people to travel and serve in Iraq has become the easiest way out of Uganda to travel abroad. So many youth after getting done with high school or university want to get that dream job and live a comfortable life there-after, which unfortunately, never materializes!

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Most knock on every door before them, walk their soles off and exhaust every little penny they can get, taking time to reply to the numerous adverts to non-existent jobs. With all the frustration and disappointment from having no feedback to all their job searching, the only option is to apply for that dangerous opportunity to Iraq.

Now, enter Askar security services Uganda - the Iraq guard recruiting agency. Because of huge level of unemployment among the youth, the security company can only enroll applicants with high school certificates and above. The wages in Iraq are very enticing compared to whatever anyone earns locally. Initially these guards were paid $1,000 but lately it has dropped down to $600. Unless you are a government minister, very few households can boost of getting such an amount in the whole year!

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Over 20,000 youth had joined the gold rush in Iraq, way back in 2007 but that number has more than doubled lately.

Asiimwe (in picture), only 25 years old, after 9 months of successfully hiding away from all the bullets and bombs in Iraq never made it just at the point when he was about to get out of it all. His story is one of the few stories to appear in the media. Others never get known or identified. His life was snuffed out by a road side bomb which blew the vehicle (leading picture) to pieces.

The money being paid his family as compensation is $258,392. Is this the price of a life? Would this amount be given his family if he had only arrived in Iraq and in a day died in the similar accident? Food for thought, i hope you can find the answers many of us quietly ask.