Sunnis and Shiites, doctors and the unemployed, women and men, old and young - they all have no more patience in Iraq. For a month, people have been taking to the streets in the capital, Baghdad, but also in the provinces.
They protest against mismanagement, corrupt elites, high unemployment in one of the most oil-rich states in the world. At least 250 demonstrators have already been killed, in part through targeted headshots. The number of injured is much higher, there are no exact details.
Philipp Breu
Two helpers recover a man who was injured by the security forces
"Iranian militias have taken on the dirty work and shot from rooftops to the demonstrators," says Ali, who does not want to give his last name. The 45-year-old works as a logistics specialist in Baghdad.
He does not demonstrate, staying out of fear of the central Freedom Square, where the red-white-black Iraqi flags are blowing, where the masses gather night after night - and where most of the demonstrators have died so far.
Philipp Breu
Away, just a long way away: A protester throws a tear gas grenade back at the security forces
The militia he means are not from Iran. It is above all young men in the combat group "al-Hashd al-Shababi" (Popular Mobilization Units), who are supported by the regime in Tehran, which has great influence on Iraq. (Read more about the backgrounds here)
The Shiite group has opposed the Sunni terrorist militia "Islamic State" from 2014 - and after the fighting, the power in the state security apparatus gradually expanded and enriched.
"We are tired"
Abbas, a 50-year-old Iraqi living in Denmark for 25 years, has come back to his homeland for the protests. "We are tired that nothing has improved since 2003. Iraq is an incredibly rich country, but none of it is being invested in infrastructure or development," he says. "The politicians and elites use public funds and put everything in their pockets, while most Iraqis have neither electricity nor water or work."
Before leaving, Abbas has raised $ 2000 in the Iraqi exile community in Denmark. He spent the money in Baghdad on food, drinks and blankets - and gave them to the demonstrators. "I am so happy to see all these people here, we are finally united as Iraqis in our hatred of this incompetent government."
Philipp Breu
The Doctors' Union provides drinks and toiletries free of charge in a tent on the Freedom Square
Although most demonstrators on the streets barely have enough money to live on, unlike Abbas, exile, there is a great willingness to donate and solidarity. In built-up tents, meals and drinks are offered for free and even face masks against the tear gas.
The rickshaw drivers, who normally drive guests through the streets of the capital for a few dinars, race at high speed between the Republic bridge, where the police and demonstrators face each other, and the ambulances.
Philipp Breu
Under the protection of a wall, two young men watch the clashes with the security forces
That the situation calms down soon seems impossible. The protest camp is growing. Since Tuesday, several unions have joined the protesters. They laid down work nationwide. Hundreds of doctors, nurses, teachers, thousands of students and students flocked to Baghdad's Freedom Square that day alone.
"They all lie"
One of them is Ali, a 26-year-old student from the remote port city of Basra in southern Iraq. He hopes that Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi's government will resign. "We no longer want professional politicians," he says. "They all lie, they are not interested in the good of the country, but only in their own bank account."
So far, it is not yet, there is still the government of Prime Minister Mahdi. And yet, despite the uncertainty, despite the violence: the demonstrators in Baghdad are celebrating their resistance. Women dance next to men, every few meters pull sack trucks with mobile speakers on the Freedom Square, from the speakers booming music, and motorcades drive honking throughout the city.
Near the Freedom Square, right next to the bridge that leads into the heavily secured "Green Zone", where foreign embassies and government buildings stand, is a tall building called the "Turkish Restaurant".
Philipp Breu
The Freedom Square in view - but also the freedom?
It is a shell, scaffolding inside have collapsed, a biting stench is in the air, it smells of urine, filth and tear gas. From the roof of the building you can see the revolutionary panorama.
On the one hand, security forces to protect the government district, on the other, behind a wall and barricades, hundreds of thousands, peaceful protesters. The two groups are separated by a bridge over the river Tigris.
Philipp Breu
The bridge over the river Tigris in the capital Baghdad: Here rages the fight for the future of the country
At the very front of the bridge, where the risk of a tear gas grenade is so great, like nowhere else, is always an old woman. She is recognizable by her traditional black robe, the chador, and the fact that she distributes facial masks to young men and women like sweets. The old woman does not want to say her name. "My name is unimportant," she says. "The people here are, we are all Iraqis."
