Big bucks

Thousands of South Africans, with police and military experience, are seeking fortunes as guns for hire in global hot spots. Iraq is the most lucrative for them. Klaus Weber, a former West German spy turned risk consultant, gets paid by recruitment agencies to do background checks on South Africans recruited as security guards in the Middle East. He claims that between 1 500 and 2 500 South Africans are doing military-related work in Iraq. The highest-earning South Africans in Iraq included intelligence officers, counter-insurgency specialists, helicopter pilots and combat surgeons who earned up to $25 000 per month. Afrikaans is frequently heard on the streets of Baghdad, Fallujah, Kirkuk and Tikrit, yet most of the South Africans are not the elite ex-soldiers from such units as the 44 Parachute Regiment and 32 Battalion, but regulars often with a Koevoet or police background. Such South Africans are sought after by the civilian companies contracted by the coalition forces in Iraq because they are far cheaper than their British or US counterparts, and have experience in counter-insurgency. South African daily newspapers often carry adverts for these jobs. Most recruits are first screened and if they pass, are asked to attend an interview in cities such as London, Windhoek and Harare. If selected, they fly to Dubai first.