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For Iraq's young voters, a sense of hopelessness
Radio host Shahad Abdul Kareem, the rhinestones on her T-shirt and sequined headband sparkling, sits in the semidarkness of the Voice of Fallujah studio waiting for the generator to kick in so she can reach out to young listeners and find out what's on their minds.
For the nearly 3 million young Iraqis who will cast their first ballots in Sunday's parliamentary elections, it's not so much about politics as the difficulties of day-to-day life. They pour out their miseries to Abdul Kareem every day.
"The first thing they mention is frustration," she says–from the lack of jobs, the lack of security and the lousy economy. One recent caller was a 32-year-old engineer who couldn't get married. Another was a young woman who hadn't been able to bathe for a week because there was never enough electricity to heat the water for everyone in the house.