Turks now see opportunities, not problems, in Iraq

Turkey's mountainous border with Iraq was witness in 1991 to the desperate flight of some 400,000 Kurds seeking refuge from Saddam Hussein's troops.
Fourteen years on, fear has given way to hope and workers, goods and investment are flowing into northern Iraq, a region developing rapidly in the wake of Saddam's overthrow.
The unemployed of Turkey's south-east are crossing the border in growing numbers to work on building sites or sell goods, frustrated by the lack of opportunities in a region a world away from the European Union that Turkey hopes to join.
"People have gone to work in northern Iraq because there are better opportunities and a lot of work. There are construction workers, engineers and businessmen," said Adnan Elci, head of a local chamber of commerce on the Iraqi border.
Changing views of Iraq in Turkey is not easy.
Kurdish rebels based in the Iraqi mountains regularly stage attacks on Turkish soil and Ankara remains concerned that Kurdish autonomy in north Iraq could fuel separatism in the mainly Kurdish south-east.
Workers have also had to overcome fears about security as the Iraqi insurgency rages. Dozens of Turkish truck drivers have been kidnapped and killed bringing goods in for US forces. Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq has remained relatively calm.
Some 5,000 construction workers went to work in Iraq last year on US bases or in projects in major cities like Arbil and Sulaimaniya. Elci said they earn up to some $1,000 a month.
Kurds along the border also engage in small-scale trade in basic consumer goods which they take into Iraq.
"In an economic sense, northern Iraq has become Turkey's backyard," said Sabah newspaper columnist Erdal Safak.
"Many small entrepreneurs from the south-east are investing there, from restaurants to supermarkets. Also many labourers from the south-east are working on building sites," he said.
Among those to benefit is businesswoman Ferda Cemiloglu, from the main south-eastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir, whose company won tenders to build two ministry buildings in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil.
She has also opened a restaurant and beauty salon in the city and speaks of her efforts to strengthen solidarity with the women of Arbil, but problems persist for intrepid entrepreneurs.