In my heart, I am terrified for the future of the children in Iraq.
When you catch them in a relaxed, normal moment you can see it in their dark eyes. You can hear it in their small voices. They are exhausted... physically, emotionally and mentally. It fills their heart, pumps through their veins and runs straight to their soul. It encompasses every waking moment and long, fitful nights filled with terrifying dreams that play like horror movies in their young minds. They are exhausted by violence...by turmoil...by bombings and gunfire and kidnappings and destruction and fear and helplessness and hopelessness.
Exhausted by death. Exhausted by life. This is not the existence for every Iraqi child. But it is for many. Probably for most. Strife and turmoil are a rite of passage for children in many troubled areas of the world. But the long-term potential for what is happening here could be much worse. Generations of Iraqi children lost to war and brimming with the life-long anger that fills the void of children who are surrounded by violence and starved of a natural and nurturing upbringing. But even in a war zone, it's not all bad. Iraqi children are quick to smile, to shake your hand, to ask your name and to tell you their's. Some speak surprisingly good English. For others the response, no matter what you say, is always a thumbs-up and "Cool...cool." Spending time with them is sad and uplifting at the same time. I have been fortunate to take part in several outreach programs during my time here.
A
few weeks back I went with a group of military friends to a neighborhood in the IZ where several families live in heartbreaking conditions. One family of six survives in a tin shack about 10' wide and 20' long. Their front door is a drape. Another family lives in the front half of a home where the back half collapsed after a rocket or mortar attack. We arrived in three separate SUVs packed with boxes of clothes, toys, toiletries, food and candy. The street was empty when we pulled up, but as the word spread people started coming from all directions. We exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes then opened up the backs of the SUVs. The crowd that had gathered was mostly women and children. Their eyes went wide when they saw the boxes nearly overflowing with the donated items. We tried to hand things out individually to be sure that what we were giving away was going to Iraqis who could use it.
But it
quickly became a feeding frenzy.
Both children and adults started reaching into the vehicles and into the boxes and just grabbing whatever they could. We suddenly found ourselves swarmed and realized we needed to control the situation more firmly. So we closed the boxes and raised our voices telling everyone to slow down and back up. There was one mild-mannered older teenager named Mark who helped us get things calmed down. Then we gradually handed things out to a few people at a time. The youngest kids would come to the vehicles, take what they were given and bring it to their parents. Then they'd rush back and tug at our shirts and arms shouting "Me..me! Baby...Baby! Me...me!" I made sure the smaller children got something special just for themselves.
A doll, a teddy bear or toy.
To see the excitement in their
faces and their eyes light up was truly amazing, but heartbreaking at the same time. Once the items were all gone the mood quickly became normal again. We were thanked repeatedly by everyone. They would grab our hands, look us firmly in the eye and say "Shukran. Shukran." ("Thank you. Thank you.") Despite the chaos of the gathering they were truly grateful and tried to express it the best way they could. We were invited for tea by one family. But this was not a good area to stay in too long, so we had to decline. But promised we'd be back.
I have also joined The Green Zone Council (The GZC) here at the Palace. It's a group of military and civilians working to rebuild Iraq's Boy & Girl Scouts program. It used to be one of the premier Scouting organizations in the world until Saddam broke it apart and turned it into more of an Iraqi Military Youth group.
According to Wikipedia: After the Baath party took control in 1968 and especially after Saddam Hussein seized power in 1979, youth groups were retooled to serve the state. One replacement program, Saddam's Cubs, offered "summer camps" where 10 to 15 year-old boys endured 14-hour days filled with hand-to-hand fighting drills. So the GZC is working with former Iraqi Scout Leaders to rebuild the program to what it once was. A couple of weeks ago we had 50 scouts come in from the Red Zone for a camp area cleanup. We've got control over a huge and beautiful plot of land inside the IZ. We are working to get the Government of Iraq (GOI) to designate the land as a permanent camp site for Iraqi Scouts. It's about 6 or 7 acres of beautiful wooded and open land surrounded by a 12 foot wall that Saddam used as his personal hunting ground.
They had animals caged there and would let them out anytime he felt like a "sporting challenge". The cages are still there. The land needs a lot of work to get cleaned up and be useable for the Scouts. All the children had a great time and all the adult Scout leaders are truly good hearted people.
Many of them are literally putting their lives on the line for this program.
I went to an elementary school here in the IZ not too long ago to help with a cleanup project. This was a pretty sad place. The school is very rundown and operates with minimal support or teaching supplies. The classrooms are all just broken desks with a chalkboard. Several rooms had large puddles on the floor from roof leaks. When I heard the school had a room full of donated computer equipment they were hoping to get assembled I volunteered for that mission. The teachers didn't know what they had or how to make it work. Since I had the best tech skills I became the project manager. I wasn't sure what to expect from the donated equipment. When they opened the storage area it was piled high with dusty, dinged and dreary looking desktop PC's and LCD monitors. The whole time we were pulling the stuff out we were murmuring to each other, "is this stuff even going to work?"
We decided to start with one. After clearing and cleaning the room we pieced the first PC together...we wiped down the filthy equipment and plugged in the monitor, mouse and keyboard. There was a breathless moment when I hit the power button. Sure enough, the computer lights came on and after a few seconds that familiar Windows XP logo lit up the screen. There were cheers and high-fives and the kids rushed to the keyboard. In the end, we were able to get 15 computers working. Suddenly the school had a genuine, fully-functional computer lab! The students were ecstatic and the teachers were amazed.
But they really don't know yet what they are doing or what they can accomplish with the computers. I told them I'd be willing to come back and do training classes for the teachers and the students. If they learn to use the computers they can offer so much more curriculum for the kids...music, art, writing, etc. The possibilities are endless.
If enough people are willing to help the Iraqis help themselves, the same can be true around the IZ and across the country...endless possibilities.
Please be sure to add my blog to your favorites and check back often for updates. Feel free to post comments. You can click on the photos for larger versions of my pictures.Still to come...Guess who won the cat & mouse game over my hooch?
TinmanAll Material Copyright 2007(c)
With more and more people coming in and fewer places to put them, it's a continuous turf battle. The situation was getting pretty sketchy on my cat & mouse game with the housing office and the existence of my "roommate". I held them off for about 2 weeks after the phone calls started and then finally I had to take drastic measures. I whined and got my boss involved. One of the Iraqis that works in our office likes to joke that he has a "Clint Eastwood style presence." He walked with me down to the housing office and calmly but assuredly told the manager that I should not have a roommate because my job demands difficult hours and to be on call 24/7. The short but very wide woman tried to protest. There was a few moments of uncomfortable silence and my boss finally cut through it like a hot slug from a .45. His eyes went sharp and he said "Look, it's just not an option."
The woman begrudgingly relented and said I needed to submit a letter of justification. Nothing happens in government without some kind of paperwork. So I got that in ASAP and was sure to mention the important people I work with (wink, wink) and 2 days later my single room request was approved! It's mine all mine! Every inch of the 7' x 18' just screams freedom! I had the 2nd bed removed and hoped to have it replaced with a computer desk and pleather executive chair like my neighbor has. Guess I was a little late to the game on that. Unfortunately all they had was a dusty green plastic patio table and a dinky, well-worn fabric office chair. I told them to bring it anyway. Here in the IZ, you have to take what you can get.
