TRAVELOGUE TO IRAQ- ENTRY # 7

All hands-

Thanks again for your comments and emails.  Your support means a tremendous amount to me and our team.

We’ve had another productive few days.  It is early here and I just went to the roof of Camp Burgess, the last US post in Fallujah to set the camera up for a sunrise shot over the mosques of Fallujah.  Apparently the city is known as the city of mosques.  After the first Gulf War, Saddam began to lose his grip on Iraq and turned away from secular Arab nationalism toward religion.  He started building mosques, many were along the banks of the Euphrates in Fallujah.

Yesterday, we went out on a few patrols.  In the morning we headed out to Andaloos, the crowded market place and business area of Fallujah.  It was one of the neighborhoods my Battalion pushed through in 2004 and site of some of the heaviest fighting.  Today, it is filled with vendors.  I bought some presents for family and friends.  It was potentially the last daylight US patrol through that area of Fallujah and many of the Marines also took the opportunity to buy presents for loved one’s back home.

In the afternoon, I sat down with Lt. Passman, the platoon commander for the unit assigned to Camp Burgess.  He will most likely be the last Marine platoon commander in the city.  Amazing to think we entered the city a little over 4 years ago.

In the evening we went out on a second, more interesting patrol.  All patrols are now conducted in support of Iraqi police forces and the Marines only leave the lines at the invitation of Iraqi forces.  Last night, we were stopping vehicles along the roads to search them and provide a presence for the elections taking place tomorrow.  Iraqi security forces get to vote early and already 60% of the Fallujah police have voted.  They vote early so that they are free to protect polling sites on election day.

I wanted to be able to meet with regular Iraqis.  We’ve already met with Sheiks, political leaders, police chiefs, and businessman, but I wanted to talk to a few people who are just leading everyday lives and trying to make ends meet in Fallujah.  Chap, the Lebanese platoon interpreter offered to bring us by a few houses during the patrol.  Chap is quite a character.  He knows everyone and can get anything.  We’ve been filming so much that we’re running out of digital storage for our footage and he has been able to find us 2 terabyte drives.  The first house we entered was heartwrenching.  A family of refugees from Baghdad, Sunnis who had been pushed out of their neighborhood by the sectarian violence.  For those faint of heart, I suggest you skip the next paragraph.

The husband left the family and the young daughter was stricken with a terrible form of cancer.  She had large tumors on her face and neck and her mother fears the cancer may have already spread to her brain.  She gasped for air through a hole in her neck and had tubes portruding from her stomach. It shook my faith in G-d.  Her sisters and brothers played with the Marines outside, while the Marine Corpsman, kneeled beside her, but what can he do to cure cancer?

We left the house with the promise that Chap and I would take the mother over to the city council on Sunday to see if someone there can help them.  She needs medical attention, probably in Jordan, and the city should have funds to be able to help her.  Inshallah.

Chap then brought us by a second house.  It was still under construction.  It was beautiful and huge and the owner’s son came out to tell us his father hadn’t moved in yet, but we could visit him down the street at their old house.  It was a little bit further than just down the street, but when we arrived we went into a small, decrepit house with a new BMW parked in the gated garage.  Apparently this man has done well the last few years and when we met, we immediately recognized each other from my meetings at the city council a few days ago.  He brought out plates of fruit- delicious apples, oranges, and bananas. I asked him if he knew how hard it is to ship bananas.  If they aren’t shipped properly at specific temperatures and humidity they turn quickly.  He mentioned that before the war, fruit was very expensive and only the rich could afford it.  I mentioned that we’d just walked by his new house and apparently he could have afforded it. He is running for election and lived and studied human rights law in Dubai, Jordan, and Egypt. I’m not sure what kind of human rights lawyer he is because he was very concerned that they US was pressing the Iraqi authorities to release prisoners it did not try or have evididence of a crime. As he said, ”How can you respect the human rights of someone who doesn’t respect human rights?”

At the end of the meeting, Chap asked him if he could help the little girl we’d just visited. He said there was nothing he could do.  When we left, Chap was infuriated.  So was I.  Here was someone who has benefited tremendously from the coalition and is already one of the city leaders, running in the electiont to, apparently, take care of his constituents.  Meanwhile, he is building one of the largest mansions in Fallujah and is unable to help a cancer stricken child?   I’m not sure if Chap had all this up his sleave, but having spent time with him on this trip and my last trip out here in April, I wouldn’t put it past him if he had both of these stops planned for a reason.  On Sunday, I am keeping my fingers crossed that the young girls mother stops by so that we can bring her case to potentially more concerned members of the city council.

Iraq’s provincial elections are tomorrow, the 31st.  There is a lot of excitement on the streets, political rallies, posters, and looking forward to seeing the results come in.

Love and miss you all,

Zach