For entrepreneurs considering contracting work in Iraq, the potential financial rewards outweigh the dangers.
A small-business conference in Arlington, Virginia on Wednesday encouraged business owners and others to find subcontracting opportunities in Iraq with major multinational corporations like Halliburton and Bechtel, which have collectively locked up billions of dollars in government contracts to restore Iraqi infrastructure and modernize the economy.
Basel Hijjawi, an Alexandria resident with experience in engineering and finance who speaks 30 different dialects of Arabic, has no illusions about the potential dangers.
He was born in the oil-rich Saudi kingdom, grew up in Jordan, and has traveled throughout the Middle East and is familiar with the sounds of mortar shells.
"I speak the language, but I don't look like them, so right away I know I'm a target," said Hijjawi, who inherited his fair skin from his Russian mother.
"But I grew up in an area where you did not know what might happen to you from one day to the next. ... You take precautions, but if something's going to happen, something's going to happen."
The opportunities that exist for somebody with strong technical and language skills are phenomenal, he said, cited by The AP.
"The rewards are very, very high," he said. "You land one small contract, you might walk away with $500,000, $600,000."
A truck driver who earns $30,000 to $40,000 a year in the United States might make nearly $100,000 doing the same work in Iraq.
The big companies that spoke at the conference did not sugarcoat the situation. George Sigalos, director of government relations for Halliburton-KBR, said about 40 of the company's employees have died in Iraq since the war began.
"It is very dangerous work," Sigalos said of Halliburton-KBR contracts to rebuild Iraqi oil fields and provide some basic services to the military, including fuel, water and mail delivery.
Despite the risks, Sigalos said, "We still see a lot of business people who are very interested in working in Iraq and Afghanistan. Are they concerned about security? Yes. Should they be concerned? Yes."
The company now has 26,000 employees and subcontractors in Iraq, he said, most of them Americans who are willing to accept the danger. (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
