What is left of Iraq's brains, after most had fled the war-ravaged country, are turning to small jobs to eke out a living.

"I searched for a job at the health ministry where I can utilize my skills but I have not managed it," a bachelor of science graduate told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Wednesday, February 20.

He now works drives a 20-year-old Volkswagen taxi in Kadhimiyah, northern Baghdad.

Geography teacher Asad Mohammed, 36, was among tens of thousands who lost their jobs after the 2003 invasion.

"I dream of working again for the ministries of education or higher education, but the doors are not opening despite my repeated attempts."

Mohammed now sells toys in a central Baghdad market and is more concerned with the latest crazes among children than climatology and geomorphology.

He drives everyday from Mahmudiyah, 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad, to the capital to run his toy stall.

The enormous public sector, which dominated the economy under the former regime, was most affected by the war.

Thousands of employees and army officers were purged for belonging to Saddam Hussein's Baath party.

Unemployment estimates range between 25 and 48 percent and Iraqi officials estimate that 43 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.

A UN Development Program (UNDP) report has said that a third of Iraq's 26 million people now live in abject poverty.

The government's promises of economic revival have failed to materialize, despite a state budget this year of 48 billion dollars -- more than double what it was before the invasion.

No Jobs

Five years after the invasion, the Iraqi state remains unable to answer the needs of job-seekers.

Every morning Saad Zghayir, 34, goes from door to door searching for work to provide for himself, his wife and four children.

"I have been searching for a permanent job for four years but in vain."

Zghayir, who graduated from the college of fine arts, carries a bag with his paintbrushes and colors, just in case someone would like a portrait or landscape painted.

"Because of nepotism or corruption or because I am not a member of the right party, I am still unemployed," he fumed.

"I felt such deep pain that I cried when I decided once to join the police hoping to get a job," he said, adding that he had been unsuccessful even at that.

A computer engineer, who would only be identified by his initials M.S., had fruitlessly sought a government job.

"I even paid more than 500 dollars to facilitate this but it was useless," he said.

He has rented a small shop in al-Bas al-Sharqi neighborhood in central Baghdad, where these days he repairs personal computers for a living.

"The economic situation is very tough, I work long hours each day and still do not earn enough to live a reasonable life."

Iraq has been running out of intellectuals and professionals who flee the country to escape the raging violence.

At least one-third of its 40,000 doctors have fled the country, according to recent official estimates.

Health Ministry estimates also show that a staggering 50 percent of medical students left Iraq upon graduation.

HEYET Net- Islamonline