the army had learned that it is the best interest to at least have the troops exposed to the culture before being sent over. we had cultural sensitivity training, some rudimentary arabic, and had some iraqi's (living in the states now) come to speak to us about what to expect. even after this training, i wasn't sure what the actual iraqi people would be like. i must preface this by saying as a medical professional, once we were delivered by helicopter) to our FOB (Forward Operating Base) we were not allowed to leave except for when we went on leave and when we went on certain missions (air evacs, medical support missions, etc). when that happened we were taken by helicopter most of the time. all of this being said, my interaction with the iraqi's was limited to our interpreters. as i said before, these were locals who were vetted and hired. this was cost effective for the military as they were much cheaper than the ones hired from the US. we were taught to be very wary and afraid of even these people because they still could be working for the terrorists. the interpreters knew this and they were often treated with suspicion. this again surprised me because supposedly they had been vetted and there were a number of them who were killed because they were found to be working for us. after my initial wariness, i found them all to be wonderful people. they were people who were actually happy that we had removed saddam because they told us of horror under his rule. that being said, they were also able to express there unhappiness at some of the things that the US had done to their country. i took the opportunity to get to know them a little better than most. i worked out with them at the makeshift gym we had at the hospital (they were not allowed in the FOB gym), i played ping pong with them at the rec center on post and i sat and spoke with them during periods when we were not so busy. not surprisingly, they have the same dreams and aspirations as any normal person would. they had high hopes for their country and they desperately wanted the hostilities to cease. my only real opportunity to see people during their "daily lives" was when i went on a mission to the green zone (medical support for the trial of saddam) and took the opportunity to go out on a patrol with another unit as their medic. i did not tell my unit that i went and they would have been pissed! we passed markets and storfronts and had the chance to see what their lives were like at that time. we were hardly given a second look as we drove around baghdad. i was able to take many wonderful pictures. after the mission i was told that i could have dismounted the vehicle when we made our stops..............noton your life. i was there to help if needed, but the threat of danger was always in the air. riding around with a weapon with a round in the chamber can make you feel that way. i apologize for today...i have been especially incoherent as this was my 3rd night of 5. thank you again to all who have taken the time...i promise better in the future. next i will try and explain what it is like through the eyes of a soldier..good night. |