In the early morning hours at the side of the main highway in Erbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, men squat, shading their eyes from the sun with their hands. They are looking for construction trucks that sometimes pick them up off the side of the road and hire them for the day. The pay is not much, but for many working-age men, sporadic day jobs are the only way they can afford to pay for dinner. Meanwhile, across town, government employees are working with no pay. They have not received salaries in six months.
