Polltakers' Field Journals Underscore Iraq's Advances and Challenges Alike

March 16, 2009 — -- Children walking to school, bags swinging on their shoulders. Stonemasons laying sidewalks. Water purification kits in use. Strangers greeted with a friendliness unseen in years.

On these, nations are rebuilt.

But in the next village: wrecked homes. Rutted roads. Open sewers. Rotting garbage. Kidnappings for ransom. Suspicious faces.

On these, progress faces its many challenges.

So it is in the two Iraqs of today. One, a nation where confidence and hope are swelling on the strength of newfound security, development and political accommodation. The other, a place where six in 10 still lack good access to medical care, where rebuilding is hit-or-miss, where car bombs explode with depressing regularity, if far less frequency.

Both are apparent in the results of our latest poll there, the sixth in Iraq sponsored by ABC News and media partners. They're evident, as well, in field notes from some of the trained Iraqi interviewers who conducted the random, house-to-house surveys for us.

"We went to Al-Sarta area on 18 February," reported one, in Basra province. "We saw many children walking to school with their bags which made me very happy, because it was nearly impossible in the past years. There are schools, teachers, and paved roads in the area. We noticed that there is a very good relationship between the police and inhabitants of the neighborhood; they are cooperating with each other."

In the al-Askari district of Maysan province, more good news: "We noticed that some of the immigrated Sunnis are moved back into their neighborhood. There are no problems among them; they told us they are good neighbors. The condition of the area is good. There are parks for children, some reconstruction of buildings. We noticed there is a good relation with police in the area."

It was peaceful, too, at Al-Msayb, in Babil – but with other problems: "This area was very quiet, no security concerns, no kidnappings, only the services are very bad," another interviewer reported. "No paved roads, no stable electricity, no fuel. Most of them complained about high prices of the farming tools, high prices of limited fuel. They asked us to reach their voices to the officials."