Iraqi youth turn to bingo-like game to forget their worries
Dambala, a game similar to bingo, has become very popular in Baghdad, especially among the youth.
The lounge at the playwrights’ club in central Baghdad’s Karada district offers alcoholic beverages and dambala, a game similar to bingo. The scene there looks like a stock market’s trading floor as depicted in American movies. Everyone has taut nerves, tensely holds a pen and hears nothing but the sound of the numbered balls quickly spinning in the basket, as they are drawn one by one.
Mohammad Sami, a young taxi driver, slammed the table and threw his pen and paper when he heard the number 45 called. The man, in his 20s, wanted number 47, which would have paid for his accumulated debts. That number “would have won me $1,000,” he said angrily.
