Violence Drives Iraq's Brightest Abroad

[deadparrot]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - First, gunmen burst into Riyadh Tamimi's home, beat his guard, terrified his wife and three daughters and stole appliances. Later, kidnappers held his brother until the family paid $20,000. When gunfire blew out Tamimi's windows, that was the last straw.

The 40-year-old businessman packed up his family and fled the southern city of Basra to the United Arab Emirates, joining an exodus of educated and affluent Iraqis driven out by instability and violence at a time their rebuilding homeland desperately needs their skills.

"There are almost no more qualified people in Basra," said Tamimi, who returned to Iraq's second biggest city recently without his family for a short business trip. "Any successful engineer, doctor or businessman is now abroad. All this will have a negative impact on Iraq."

Successful Iraqis want to invest their money "where there is peace and stability," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051030/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_brain_drain