MICHELE NORRIS, host: As the Iraqi election campaign enters its final days, we're going to be      hearing from people in Baghdad, their thoughts about the vote and their      feelings about their lives more than two and a half years since the      American invasion.  We begin with Abu Amir(ph), a 24-year-old who works      building furniture in the Karada district of the city.</s>ABU AMIR: (Through Translator) Elections are a source of hope for Iraqi people.      But if the situation remains like it has been for two years now, without      security, without anything, no one should be optimistic.  They should      just wait for their turn to die.  You see the situation in the Iraqi      streets, particularly in Baghdad.  The streets are miserable.  We cannot      work.  We cannot leave our houses because of the explosions, the      assassinations that are happening every day in our neighborhoods.  We      have to sit home because it is better for us.</s>ABU AMIR: You have come to the Karada district.  Karada is a safe place.  When you      go to other places, you will see black cloth banners saying, `This person      has been killed,' and, `That person has been killed.'  Because there's no      government, no security, besides no water and no electricity, when I      return back to my neighborhood, I see no power.  We turn on the generator      all day, except for an hour when the national power goes on.</s>ABU AMIR: I consider Iraq as a failure if there is no security and stability.  If      there is security and stability, I leave my house to my work care-free; I      drive my car, and no one steals it.  I don't want to go out and see other      people's cars stolen.  The most important things are security and      stability.  If these two things exist, we will be able to live.  If they      do not exist, then we will not be able to live in Iraq.  I would prefer      to leave Iraq and live in another country.</s>MICHELE NORRIS, host: Abu Amir works as a carpenter in Baghdad.  We'll be hearing from      other Iraqis throughout the week leading up to Thursday's election.
This week we're hearing from various Iraqis as we approach the parliamentary elections Dec. 15. Monday, Abu Amir, a carpenter in his early 20s, shares his thoughts on the election, and the situation in Iraq today.