Without the civil service to maintain the roads, the power grids, and the sewer systems, they crumbled. As the infrastructure crumbled, doctors also left, and with a limited amount of medical supplies, the population has also become more susceptible to disease. Thousands of children are dying monthly, according to Rania Masri, of the Iraq Action group. But those that survive have little chance of replacing the brain drain, experts say. Inflation has caused families to take on three and four jobs at the same time.
Parents pull their younger children from school, and older children delay their studies to work.
Meanwhile, the sanctions have keep Iraq's educational materials frozen in time. Students work with textbooks and equipment dating back to before the 1991 Persian Gulf War. For the rest of the day's top world stories, click here , to our International News page. Keep up on the latest breaking developments on this story and the rest of the Middle East by clicking here to our Raw News page. The Web Copyright 2001 ABC News Internet Ventures.