Iraqi Home Makeover

Akaran_D · Post by **Akaran_D** » August 30, 2004, 11:22 am

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/Worl ... 829-1.html

Driving along the streets of Baghdad, it is depressing to see homes in ruins, streets in desperate need of repair, but amazing to see satellite dishes hanging from balconies and on top of every roof.

They were forbidden under Saddam Hussein. Now, all of Iraq is watching hundreds of channels beamed from satellites.

One of the most popular shows is an Iraqi version of ABC's hit Extreme Home Makeover. It is on every Friday, beamed into Iraq on a new independent channel called Al Sharquiya TV.

‘You Should Help Us’

A recent episode showed the program's host swooping in on an unsuspecting Baghdad widow whose home was bombed during the war.

In the episode, the host explains that the widow lived next to Saddam Hussein's anti-aircraft missiles. Her home is now in ruins, and her daughter bursts into tears saying, "This is my father's land. We used to have the best. We needed nothing. You should help us."

The host of the show, Shaima Emad Zubair, listens sympathetically. Zubair looks like she could be a host on MTV. She wears a baseball cap backwards and bright makeup.

After the family explains their needs, Shaima pulls out her cell phone (another luxury Iraqis lived without when Saddam was in power) and calls in the cavalry.

A dump truck is secretly waiting a block away. In a flash, construction crews arrive and begin tearing out walls.

The official name of the show is Labor and Materials. The labor and everything needed to rebuild a home is provided free of charge. Not only does the widow get a new home, but the family takes a trip to a furniture store. They bring home a truckload of new tables, chairs, beds and sofas.

There is an unusual celebration that you certainly will not see in the American version. Before the walls are completed, they slaughter a chicken and the host and others smear the blood on the wall of the house. It is a Muslim custom to ensure that God will bless the home.

E-Mail Bombardment

Since the first episode was broadcast, the station has been bombarded with e-mail and letters from other families asking for help.

In the final moments of the broadcast, a ribbon is cut and the widow is presented with a wonderful new home.

It is reality TV in a country where the reality is war.

This story originally was reported Aug. 25, 2004 on ABC News' Good Morning America.

kyoukan · Post by **kyoukan** » August 30, 2004, 4:54 pm

people who appear on the show get a new home valued at 17.4 million dollars, estimated by Halliburton's accounting department.

archeiron · Post by **archeiron** » August 30, 2004, 4:56 pm

kyoukan wrote:people who appear on the show get a new home valued at 17.4 million dollars, estimated by Halliburton's accounting department.

Your liberal exaggeration is way out of line! Halliburton was honest and reasonable, the cost of materials and labour was only 3.4 million!

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » August 30, 2004, 5:01 pm

Halliburton gets a bad rap!

Community Impact

Halliburton employees pitch in their "Energy to Help" in their communities, from fundraisers for research to cure devastating diseases, to environmental improvement projects, to aid to children and the elderly. Recently, employees performed community service in Bosnia, Brunei, Chad, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, Scotland, Thailand and Venezuela, as well as all over the U.S. Here is a sample of what they did:

Promoting Supplier Diversity In Brazil
Once almost exclusively an American business phenomenon, supplier diversity is becoming a commercial issue internationally. In support of global supplier diversity, Halliburton representatives joined an international corporate mission to Brazil.
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Partnering With JDRF Around The World
More than 2,200 Halliburton employees, family members and friends worldwide hit the pavement for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) in 2003. As a global corporate partner of JDRF, Halliburton teams participated in the Walk to Cure in Australia, Canada, England, Scotland, Texas, Louisiana and Colorado, raising more than $300,000.
More >

Caring For Children
Worldwide, the Company assists nonprofit organizations dedicated to children. Our Bolivian operations contributed to the Argentine Ladies Association, a local volunteer organization, for the reconstruction of Dr. Mario Ortiz Suárez's Children's Hospital Surgery Pavilion. The facility is in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the location of Halliburton's only Bolivian base.
More >

Fighting Cancer Worldwide
When it comes to fighting cancer, Halliburton employees have time and energy to spare. It's common to find Company teams at a Relay for Life benefiting a national cancer society. Recently, our employees took part in the Relay for Life in Rock Springs, Wyoming; Perth and Canberra, Australia; Mobile, Alabama; and Lafayette, Louisiana.
More >

Acting Locally To Help The Environment
Green thumbs came in handy for employees in Maturin, Venezuela, on United Nations World Environment Day in 2003. Workers pitched in to purchase and plant trees around the Servicios Halliburton de Venezuela facilities.
More >

Building Homes For Deserving Families
Over 150 Houston employees helped build five homes as part of the Houston Habitat for Humanity SuperBUILD XXXVIII program. Including a day of landscaping at one of the homes, Halliburton workers donated 1,178 hours to SuperBUILD. They were among community volunteers who built a total of 38 homes in 38 days for deserving local families in advance of the Super Bowl in Houston.

Pure Human Goodness!

Toshira · Post by **Toshira** » August 30, 2004, 5:56 pm

So nice of us to rebuild their homes!!!

Siji · Post by **Siji** » August 30, 2004, 6:34 pm

I guess I missed the part where it mentioned why the homes needed rebuilding in the first place..

Oh wait.. bombs from the US. How could I forget?

*~*stragi*~* · Post by ***~*stragi*~*** » August 30, 2004, 7:23 pm

bombs over baghdaddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Cartalas · Post by **Cartalas** » August 30, 2004, 11:13 pm

Siji wrote:I guess I missed the part where it mentioned why the homes needed rebuilding in the first place..

Oh wait.. bombs from the US. How could I forget?

Yeah that happens when you have a Dictator/Killer for a leader.

Kaldaur · Post by **Kaldaur** » August 31, 2004, 2:51 am

Like Cuba, ninety miles away. Like North Korea, across another ocean. That's what happens when you have a dictator/killer for a leader, we will pick and choose at random! Beware, o lottery balls of nations! Your country might be the next Powerball for the US military!

Akaran_D · Post by **Akaran_D** » August 31, 2004, 9:51 am

Kal: How is that bad?
Good lord, if we're going to get rid of an evil little dictator, let's start with the ones we can get soemthing out of to help fund our way through the next couple.

Cartalas · Post by **Cartalas** » August 31, 2004, 9:59 am

Kaldaur wrote:Like Cuba, ninety miles away. Like North Korea, across another ocean. That's what happens when you have a dictator/killer for a leader, we will pick and choose at random! Beware, o lottery balls of nations! Your country might be the next Powerball for the US military!

I dont see the problem with that.

Post by **Sylvus** » August 31, 2004, 1:00 pm

Cartalas wrote:
Siji wrote:I guess I missed the part where it mentioned why the homes needed rebuilding in the first place..

Oh wait.. bombs from the US. How could I forget?

Yeah that happens when you have a Dictator/Killer for a leader.

What, your house gets blown up? I suppose that if they don't want their houses bombed, they should start an uprising or some sort of a civil war. But then I suppose they run the risk of geting gassed to death. Then when that happens, we'll be justified in coming in and bombing the shit out of a country run by a "Killer" who has WMDs. And their houses will still end up getting blown up...

Sounds like a bit of a catch-22 if you ask me.

Hesten · Post by **Hesten** » August 31, 2004, 1:06 pm

Cartalas wrote:
Siji wrote:I guess I missed the part where it mentioned why the homes needed rebuilding in the first place..

Oh wait.. bombs from the US. How could I forget?

Yeah that happens when you have a Dictator/Killer for a leader.

Hmm, did you mean Bush or Saddam here?

Toshira · Post by **Toshira** » August 31, 2004, 1:19 pm

Cartalas wrote:
Kaldaur wrote:Like Cuba, ninety miles away. Like North Korea, across another ocean. That's what happens when you have a dictator/killer for a leader, we will pick and choose at random! Beware, o lottery balls of nations! Your country might be the next Powerball for the US military!

I dont see the problem with that.

You really don't, do you.

Kwonryu DragonFist · Post by **Kwonryu DragonFist** » August 31, 2004, 1:35 pm

Hesten wrote:
Cartalas wrote:
Siji wrote:I guess I missed the part where it mentioned why the homes needed rebuilding in the first place..

Oh wait.. bombs from the US. How could I forget?

Yeah that happens when you have a Dictator/Killer for a leader.

Hmm, did you mean Bush or Saddam here?

Time for Kerry to take over!

Cartalas · Post by **Cartalas** » August 31, 2004, 2:19 pm

Toshira wrote:
Cartalas wrote:
Kaldaur wrote:Like Cuba, ninety miles away. Like North Korea, across another ocean. That's what happens when you have a dictator/killer for a leader, we will pick and choose at random! Beware, o lottery balls of nations! Your country might be the next Powerball for the US military!

I dont see the problem with that.
You really don't, do you.

Nope!