2008 PRT News
Helping Fallujah
Small-town America connects with war-torn Iraq
December 16, 2008
by Leslie Sabbagh
FALLUJAH, Iraq--The boy and girl enter quietly, shyly, into the large open space, drawn to the red, blue and yellow clothes spilling out of boxes. They tiptoe past the impossibly tall, combat-fitted Marines posting guard, then smile as members of the embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team (ePRT) based here in this once war-torn city, beckon.
The bustle draws other children and in minutes this makeshift courtyard in the center of a dank, roofless building swarms with women draped in black burqas, men in dishdashas, and adolescents in jeans and sweatshirts. They appear from corridors and darkened hallways, gathering quickly amid the trash, pigeon droppings, and gorgeous Persian rugs hung to dry. Children race tricycles and skip, women stroll arm in arm, and men smoke, appraising the situation.
This abandoned girls’ school in downtown Fallujah is home to dozens of Sunni Muslim families who fled the awful sectarian violence in Baghdad for temporary refuge here, in what was once the most violent of Iraqi cities. Known to the U.S. Department of State (DoS) and Government of Iraq (GOI) as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), these Baghdad natives eke out a gypsy life, balanced on the thin edge of survival. Dependent on the goodwill of US AID, Coalition Forces, and a few local Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) for food, shelter and clothing, they have little choice but to accept the uneasy charity of strangers.
“There was a real need here,” said ePRT Deputy Team Leader Dr. Kevin Rushing, “These people literally fled the Shia death squads with whatever possessions they could hand carry with them.”
Chased out of Baghdad, their homes burned to the ground or taken over by Shia families, “these men cannot work legally because they are registered as IDPs from Baghdad. Their food and non-food ration cards were issued in Baghdad and the Fallujah government will not honor their cards.”
One way to ease their plight, especially with winter approaching, would be through clothing donations. Enter Barstow Elementary, Mendon, Vt., and Union United Methodist Church, Belleville, Ill.
“We truly appreciate these gifts from America,” said the mother of four children whose husband was taken more than a year ago by Shia death squads.
Barstow Elementary School teacher Sue Boyer spearheaded the children’s clothing drive. The response from school children and their parents was remarkable—a deluge of clothes. Dr. Rushing’s mother-in-law Ann Singiser forwarded pictures of the IDP children to the school. One child said, "Wouldn't it be great to see one of the Iraqi children wearing some of my clothes."
The other major contributor, donated bundles of adult and teen clothing; infant blankets were donated by Edgemont Bible Church, Fairview Heights, Ill. “Just knowing the children received the clothes made my Christmas,” said Harold Rushing, Dr. Rushing’s father.
What the future holds for these families remains uncertain, however, “We are working closely with our colleagues in Baghdad to relocate these families to permanent homes, either in Fallujah or Baghdad to help them regain a normal life,” Dr. Rushing said.