5 posts tagged “children”
Pfc. Brian Jones just returned from the city and brings us the State of Fallujah Address where city officials tell you about what has taken place over the past year to strengthen their home:
FALLUJAH, Iraq —City officials and leaders gathered at the newly developed Fallujah television station to deliver a live broadcast of the state of Fallujah address to the people recently.
Sheik Hamid Ahmed, the chairman of the Fallujah city council, and Col. Faisal Ismail Husayn, the chief of police, spoke on behalf of the city recounting their history and announcing the current state of affairs.
Both Ahmed and Husayn thanked the service members and commanding officers with Regimental Combat Team 6 and Multi National Force-West for their support in security, reconstruction efforts and taking interest in the future of the city.
“The real picture of Fallujah is what you see today,” said Ahmed, translated by an interpreter. “It is living in security and reconstruction because the leadership of the city was put in the hands of the good people.”
Currently, the local tribal sheik council and city muktars are diligently working in accordance with the mayor and city council elected by the citizens of Fallujah in guiding the city’s future as Coalition Forces remain in a supporting role as advisors and security.
“When we united the city council, the mayor and the muktars of the city, the situation of the city turned for the better,” said Husayn. “Everybody knows that the security situation in Fallujah before 2006 was killing in the streets, destruction and no one could say any righteous word anywhere. Today the situation is special, very secure and peaceful. That is not our own evaluation, but it is the citizens of Fallujah who have evaluated the situation and have told us the status of the city.”
Husayn said that as security improved within the city all other efforts in rebuilding the city became a success and due to the city’s new leadership the city is moving in the direction of progress and stability.
All this was not possible without the help of the Coalition Forces and their help with the reconstruction efforts that work side by side with the security efforts in the city, said Husayn.
As security drastically improved the people of Fallujah received nearly 1,000 government jobs granted by the central government of Iraq, opened new and old businesses and have managed public services. Special efforts have also been made in supporting the students and youth of Fallujah, from school supplies to recreational sports.
The Fallujah Business Development Center has opened to manage reconstruction efforts for the district and is also used as the central foundation to inviting Arab and other investment companies into the city.
“Fallujah is ready for major investment,” said Ahmed. “From this place, we call on all the investors from the Arab nations and international nations to come and invest in the district of Fallujah.”
Ahmed attributed the reason for investing in the city is because of the city’s location on the Euphrates River that is an intersection for all the international roads and also, the city contains all the main ingredients necessary for development, such as human and construction resources and the availability of the experience and expertise.
Husayn addressed government representatives and brothers from the Arab nations around Iraq in his speech asking that they come and visit the city that sacrificed more than many other cities in Iraq and deserves that the people stand by its side and provide the services that it needs for support.
“I want them to come and see the reality of Fallujah today,” said Husayn. “They will see that Fallujah is very secure and that the citizens of Fallujah are very generous and very brave and are here to welcome anybody that comes to Fallujah.”
“All want the peace and are looking forward to building good relations and friendships with all the peoples’ nations,” said Ahmed. “We will turn the page of the past and will open a new page with the grace of God. We swore to ourselves that we will keep our city as a star shining among the stars of the other cities of Iraq.”
We recently spent a few days with Marines with third platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Bn., 5th Marine Regiment, in the heart of Fallujah. It's one of the cruel tricks of history that those who are making it don't know they are at the time. The same holds true for these guys. To say that what they're doing is amazing would be to criminally understate the facts.
Anyone familiar with the Combined Action Platoons of the Vietnam War will understand what's going on here. These Marines live, work, sleep, eat and bathe in the same neighborhoods they are helping to stabilize. In doing so, they're no longer driving in from a forward operating base, or FOB, outside the city and conducting patrols. Instead, they wake up in the morning, plan a patrol, then walk out into the neighborhood and greet the men and women sweeping their sidewalks or tending their shops. They're literally swarmed with children wanting a high five or a piece of chocolate. They visit schools, markets and local infrastructure projects to see how things are going. There are no interrogations or mean faces, just a neighborly walk through their district to check on the locals who sometimes know them by name.
Unexpected results abound here. One is the wave of illness that recently spread through third platoon's home. Marked by violent nausea, cramps and fatigue, the whatever-it-was virus didn't slow the Marines down. They kept up their pace of patrols and never took a time out because of a sore tummy. The spread of the illness was contained by the attention of the platoon corpsmen to hygiene, and not a single Marine left the platoon's position to head back to company to get some rest. They all stayed to continue doing their jobs.
Another thing was kind of shocking to us on our visit. Every morning we awoke to two unusual things: the smell of eggs cooking and the sounds of babies crying. The smells came from the makeshift kitchen the Marines had assembled in their home out of a couple of hotplates, where they were cooking up eggs purchased from local markets. The crying came from homes where locals live not 10 feet from their doorstep. While this certainly wouldn't be unusual back in the States, it made our ears perk up to realize that we were living so closely with our neighbors we could hear them carrying out the routines of their daily lives.
It is said that familiarity in a combat zone breeds complacency, and this is certainly true here. But according to Lance
"It's hard to hit the right level of alertness. When I first got here I was looking at every trashpile, every danger area, every place where, if the locals weren't on our side, they could kill us. But I had to tone it down before I shot someone. On the other side of that you don't want to get too complacent," he said.
Parra is on his second tour here.
To our eyes during our very brief visit, they still maintained a high level of alertness and an adherence to security protocols drilled into them during pre-deployment training. But they displayed a high level of maturity in that they continued to maintain their own safety while keeping a low profile amongst the people who had lived here their whole lives.
It's simply amazing what these young men are doing. They're living on military rations and fatty, junky muffins but still try to maintain a basic level of fitness. They're showering with city water, which is essentially coming straight out of the Euphrates. Bathroom breaks are conducted in tents and tubes, and laundry is done in a bucket with a scrub brush with whatever soap they can find. It is a very, very spartan existence, but these warriors are holding themselves to the standard the American people hold them to. They are honorable; they are respectful but firm; cautious but friendly; young but filled with a worldly maturity that indicates they know exactly what the stakes are here.
We have been receiving a few requests about children in the area. Recently, while at a meeting in the city, we ran across this little boy. He was curious, as many kids are, but when they want to sit and play with a Marine, you know that things are going well here.
Here is the same young boy as his curiosity brings him closer to the camera:
March 18, 2007
Iraqi Army troops with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, patrol the streets of Fallujah March 18 in this multimedia slideshow.
Story by Lance Cpl. Randall Little
March 18, 2007
FALLUJAH, Iraq -- Iraqi soldiers and police delivered pens, paper, art supplies and other assorted school supplies to approximately 600 students enrolled at the Al Anbar School here March 18.
The Iraqi soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division and Fallujah police, known to the locals as the “Sons of Fallujah,” loaded a trailer with the school supplies, as well as toys, soccer balls and candy to pass out to the children.
“The mission was entirely Iraqi-run. The (soldiers) and Fallujah police worked together to bring the supplies to the students,” said 1st Lt. Mark Peckham, a 28-year-old native. “We wanted to get the Iraqi Army and Police working together to show the populace the IA and IPs run the city, not the insurgents.”
Military Transition Team Marines advising the 2nd Iraqi Army Brigade took a backseat role, posting security around the school to allow the Iraqi soldiers, or “jundi” in Arabic, and Sons of Fallujah to show their faces to the public and children in the school in a positive way without having to worry about insurgent reprisals. Iraqis serving in the army and police force are high-profile targets for anti-Iraqi forces more concerned with building their own power base than seeing a stable Iraq.
“We posted several security positions around the school to watch for any insurgent activity,” explained Peckham. “If things got crazy we would be there to help them, but we wanted them to operate on their own. That’s one of the only ways they are going to have a positive impact on the people.”
Although the Marines were present, they showed little to no force in the mission. One of the main reasons for having Marines go out with the jundi and police is to boost the morale of the Iraqi forces, Peckham said.
The jundi see Marines and know if anything goes wrong the Marines are there to support them. It is a confidence booster for the Iraqis, knowing their American counterparts are nearby.
“It’s important to get the IA and IPs in the city to show they are doing good things for the people,” Peckham explained. “If the people notice the IA and IPs making life easier for them, they will realize as long as the insurgents are in the city it makes it difficult for the good guys to do good things.”
The jundi and Sons of Fallujah worked hand-in-hand to deliver the school supplies to the children of the school, who greeted them with smiles and laughs.
Although the mission was to deliver school supplies and candies, the Iraqi soldiers and police were also showing they could work together to the people. While the Sons of Fallujah are a familiar sight on the city streets, the residents of the city are still adjusting to having Iraqi soldiers operating in their hometown.
“The IA and IPs want to show the people they are cooperating with each other,” Peckham explained. “This will hopefully make the populace of Fallujah, which is mostly Sunni, more comfortable with the Iraqi Army, which is mostly Shia,” he continued.
The mission was successful all around. The children were very pleased with the supplies given to them by the Iraqi Army and Fallujah police. It was positive feedback for both groups of Iraqis, letting them know their efforts do make a difference.
The Iraqi Army, Police and Marines were pleased with how the mission was carried out. The Iraqi forces not only showed a positive presence in the area but they accomplished the mission in a timely manner, Peckham explained.
The more the jundi and Fallujah police show their presence throughout Fallujah, the more cooperative the people will become. The Iraqi forces want the people feel comfortable enough to approach them and provide vital information about insurgent activity. By taking school supplies to the children attending Al Anbar School, and passing out candy and soccer balls in the city, the Iraqi forces create an essential positive image required to build the trust of the Fallujans.
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