UAE - Iraqi expats not rushing to return home

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 002217 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP AND NEA/NGA E.O. 12958; DECL: 07/05/2009 TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON IZ TC SUBJECT: UAE - Iraqi expats not rushing to return home Ref: Abu Dhabi 1308 Classified by Richard A. Albright, Charge d'Affaires, a.i., reasons 1. 5 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Iraqi expatriates residing in the UAE are not rushing to return to their homeland now that there has been a transfer of power from the Coalition to a sovereign Iraqi government. On the contrary, most of the estimated 60,000 Iraqis living in the UAE are taking a wait-and-see approach about returning because they do not perceive Iraq as being safe yet, according to Baghdad Mayor Ala's Al-Tamimi and the Iraqi Ambassador to the UAE, Kussay Mahdi Salih. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Baghdad Mayor Ala'a Al-Tamimi, in Abu Dhabi for a brief family visit July 1-5, told Polchief that Iraqi expatriates in the UAE have told him that they are very reluctant to go home. Some say they would fear for their lives and for the lives of their families. "The time is not right yet," said Al- Tamimi, a resident of Abu Dhabi since 1998. ¶3. (C) Iraq's Ambassador to the UAE, Kussay Saleh, told Polchief July 5 that he has not heard of any Iraqi expatriates wanting to return to Iraq. They are fearful of the security situation in Iraq, he said. "If people see that life is getting better, we would hear about more people requesting to go home." Saleh, who is planning a reception for Iraqis and Coalition embassies in the coming days, said he understands why Iraqis are being prudent about going back to Iraq. "I will tell you the truth. I am afraid of returning. I have a wife and children with me" in Abu Dhabi, and do not want to expose them to the risks, he said. ¶4. (C) Al-Tamimi, who kept his wife and college-bound son in Abu Dhabi for security reasons when he was elected Mayor of Baghdad by the City Council on April 18 (see reftel),said he sees one of his missions, besides managing Baghdad's work force and public works projects, as trying to convince Iraqi expatriates that it is safe to go back. He said he has a straightforward message for the numerous Iraqi expatriates who call on him to inquire about the situation on the ground in Iraq: "It's no longer time for words; it's time for action." ¶5. (C) Al-Tamimi said Iraqis in Baghdad and in other Iraqi cities prove every day that they are prepared to make sacrifices to get their country back on its feet. Last month, after a car bomb had killed dozens of Iraqi citizens, including police recruits, Al-Tamimi said he was struck by the large number of Iraqis who returned to the same site the following day to seek jobs in the new Iraqi police force. The killers try to discourage Iraqis, he said, "but the spirit lives on." ¶6. (C) One of Al-Tamimi's best friends in Abu Dhabi, Niazi Sadiq, a surgeon, told Polchief that he intends to return to Iraq in September is first trip back to his homeland in 30 years. "I want to explore how I can make a contribution in the medical field," he said. However, Niazi said he is not contemplating relocating to Iraq permanently. ¶7. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. ALBRIGHT