Baghdad Report: Tomba kids
posted at 7:56 am on January 19, 2007 by Bryan
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Our second patrol from FOB Justice took us to see the after effects of war and economic ruin. Iraq’s economy is booming, but unemployment remains a major problem, and a major wedge for the various insurgencies that plague the country.
The displaced Shia we meet on this drivealong have ended up in makeshift slums that have popped up all over Baghdad where the loss of jobs has driven people from their homes. Across the highway from this city of cinder blocks, called Skut, there are homes and shops and schools like any normal neighborhood, but on this side, the homes are made of whatever the refugees could cobble together. The one vendor shop looks like a squared off pile of garbage.
Officially, these slums don’t exist. Unofficially, they’re a source of recruits for JAM and other militias. That’s one of several reasons they need to be cleaned up, and the best way to do that is for the Iraqi government to stop pretending that they don’t exist and for the adults here to find jobs. The first will help make the second possible. School for the kids can come once these places have security and aren’t breeding grounds for Moqtada al-Sadr to exploit. And once the rockpiles have been replaced by real homes.
Even though it could be argued that Iraqi’s economic collapse is an after effect of the ouster of Saddam and the subsequent collapse of basic law and order, the slum dwellers we talked to were pretty happy to see the Americans pull up. To many Iraqis, the Americans are the one group that actually picks up the phone and at least tries to do something about their problems. The government tends to turn a deaf ear. The militias want too much quid pro quo. Al Qaeda and the true insurgents are just remorseless killers.
The UN’s Oil-For-Food program was supposed to prevent Iraq’s weakest from just this sort of calamity. Instead OFF cash went to build palaces like Al Faw, near Baghdad Airport, and the unfinished Victory Over America palace. Iraq was a failed state before 2003; the world just didn’t know it yet. It took an invasion to find out.
Looming over the slum is a sort of monument to Benan Sevan and Kofi Annan: An Oil-For-Food warehouse. Captain Stacy Bare, civil affairs officer at Forward Operating Base Justice near here, describes Oil-For-Food as “the worst thing the UN could have done” for Iraq. I’d say it’s the second worst, the worst being the UN’s failure to enforce its own resolutions against Saddam. But I won’t argue with Bare’s assessment of OFF. It was a travesty that fueled a tragedy.
So we pull up on the edge of Skut and dismount from our Hummers. Kids approach us with ready grins while the adults hang back a little bit. When one of our officers pulls a stack of blankets out of the trunk of one of the convoy’s Hummers to give to a few families, smiles break out and widen. Soon everyone is greeting the Americans, and our interpreters (or “terps” in milspeak) are overworked with conversation. I bring out my video camera to document the interaction, and kids from 3 or 4 to early teens swarm me trying to get me to take their picture. A few times I flip the viewscreen around so the kids could see themselves in it. You’ve never seen more silly mugging for the camera in your life. When you have nothing and live in a house made from whatever, the least little novelty can keep you and your friends amused indefinitely.
Or maybe a little less than indefinitely. The kids kept coming up to me and yelling what to my untrained ear sounded like “tomba, tomba!” I had no idea what they were asking me until one of our interpreters explained that they were saying “ball.” Pretty soon I heard one kid say “fut bol” and then it clicked–they want soccer balls. These kids have nothing. No PS3. No Wii or Nintendo DS (though a few do have pirated satellite dishes, and televisions powered by illegally tapping into the power lines overhead. MacGyver would be proud of the ingenuity on display here). They just want a ball to kick around in the dirt and chase around with their friends. It just about broke my heart to explain that I didn’t have a soccer ball to give them. Not that they understood a word I was saying. They just kept mugging for the camera.
They’re beautiful kids. To look at them away from Skut if you could, you might not even think that they’re dirt poor. They look healthy, they’re perfectly groomed and they have that boundless energy that all kids have and all adults wish they had. When you see them you’ll want to adopt half of them and make sure the other half get a good home with a solid family. But the truth is, they have good families and they’re living with them. They are just the unfortunate and innocent victims of tyranny and war. Their parents need jobs and money and security from terrorists, insurgents and the militias and death squads. The kids need a chance to get educations and get on the path to better lives out of the slums. They’re free of Saddam’s hated rule now, but they’re trapped by centuries of culture and decades under a madman’s bloody boot.
Iraq could be prosperous, stable and free, and sooner than most people think. But to get there its people will have to get over their sectarian differences and see themselves as Iraqis first. Or better yet, as humans first. Can they? In time, maybe. But not tomorrow or next week. It’s going to take time to cool things down. It’s going to take the presence of a benevolent outside power to give them that time.
The Iraqis say they need 15 years of peace before they’ll be a normal nation again. Iraq hasn’t known 15 years of peace in forever, it has barely known 15 minutes of peace, and it’s in the wrong neighborhood to expect more than a year or two of peace in a run. Then again, for the past 35 years Iraq’s Saddam Hussein was the fountainhead for much of the region’s unrest, and he’s gone. So maybe a few years of peace aren’t too much to hope for. Eventually.
Iraq’s next generation just wants to play a little soccer. What might the next few decades look like if their soccer balls bore a stamp saying “Gift of the United States of America”?
Correction: I erroneously called the slum “Rasul.” It’s name is in fact Skut, so I’ve changed the text to reflect that.
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It really is a sign that these people can make it if given half a chance………
TwinkietheKid on January 19, 2007 at 8:38 AM
Are you telling me that with all the billions we are spending in Iraq, we can’t afford a few soccer balls as good will gestures? Good Lord!
What is spent in good will for these people? Who is fixing up homes, clearing streets, and developing athletic fields for these people?
How about the government building an sportsplex stadium in Baghdad for these kids? Anything at all?
IntheNet on January 19, 2007 at 8:47 AM
What can anyone say that hasn’t been said already?
If our ignorant elected officials get their way and we leave before Iraq is stable, those kids are just potential fodder for sectarian violence when they are old enough to pick up a weapon and kill someone of a different sect. And why? Because THAT is the only way to make money to feed your family.
Ignorant dems and their ilk! They stand on their soap boxes claiming our troops are victims of Bush’s policy and they totally ignore the children. Where is Pelosi? I thought this was “for the children”? Maybe she meant HER relations only? That is in line with the dems policy, because according to Boxer, elected officials should make decisions based on how those policies affect their families.
csdeven on January 19, 2007 at 8:52 AM
IntheNet,
I’ve seen many stories (here even) where the US military rolls up (or choppers down) and passes out the Fut Bols. I think Bryan was just lamenting that they (he) didn’t have any at the time to give to these particular children. You’ll notice they did pass out blankets on this particular trip.
y2church on January 19, 2007 at 8:53 AM
I love that logic.
We need the Iraqi’s to be self sufficient. Lets give them more money…
If you want things fixed, go volunteer. Michelle wanted people to know the scoop, so she went there.
Isn’t that what “Hot Air” really is? Questions, complaints, and banter with no results??
Ringmaster on January 19, 2007 at 8:53 AM
I went there too, Ringmaster.
What precisely is the point of your rant?
Bryan on January 19, 2007 at 8:55 AM
I believe what you see here is the true reason why we are there. The Iraqi people want what we are trying to give them. They will not see freedom without US, we are the only nation in the world that can make this happen. It is great to get support from other nations, but if you look back throughout history we are the one nation that makes the difference.
Sven on January 19, 2007 at 9:00 AM
Thanks for the report, Bryan. It is funny how the MSM spent lots of time showing us the suffering in Somalia and exerting pressure on Bush, Sr. to get involved. Now that we are doing the same thing in Iraq, the MSM is nowhere to be found. It is hard to find reports on the humanitarian side from this region.
Valiant on January 19, 2007 at 9:01 AM
There it was, before us all of the time and we overlooked it. Oil for Food was a bust, what they needed was Oil for Balls.
The point is, the UN (and I am no fan), and to the U.S. if they have a program, they must administer it all the way through the process. It must get to the right people. If we can not control it to the final point of distribution, then, no program. A poorly administered program is worse than no program.
right2bright on January 19, 2007 at 10:08 AM
Bryan,
You should really pass out tissues with this post. I have never sobbed over a child with a soccer ball…but what is more pure than a child’s spirit?
Wow. Thank you ALL…and as I have said, this should be called FRESHAIR. If I never watch cable again, it will be to soon.
Jane
seejanemom on January 19, 2007 at 10:30 AM
They wear out the soccer balls faster then they can be replaced. Literally millions of soccer balls have been handed out and continue to be handed out. Sometimes they come back to harm our soldiers in the form of an IED.
Michelle, I can’t say enough about the images and reporting you have brought us from your brief visit. It is eye opening and certainly presents a much clearer picture of what is going on down at the street level. I think our politicians and news people can best be compared to a group flying overhead in a 747 and passing their observations on to us.
Once again thanks for this glimpse into life in Iraq without so much posturing and politicizing commentary.
LakeRuins on January 19, 2007 at 10:53 AM
Bryan, your commentaries are jewels. You are conveying all the emotions and ideas possible. I wish you had a couple of “tombas” with you, too but paying attention to them and letting them “mug” for the cameras probably entertained them as well.
I liked your observation about the families. Good families dont have to be the most prosperous..they do have to love their children. Maybe if the new surge can buy some peace and we can kick Maliki out of his wishy-washy stupor, then perhaps some REAL nation-building can result. Let’s start with a roof and some walls and go from there.
Seems almost too simple, doesnt it? But these kids will grow up and remember the things that amused them and kept them safe. Nothing else will matter. We should be able to do BOTH of those things.
labwrs on January 19, 2007 at 11:06 AM
Nice work Bryan, keep ‘em comin’. We’re gonna see this anywhere else.
“unfinished Victory Over America palace” - How poetic.
We should remodel it into a condo complex and call it the “American Victory Towers”. Let these families move in - two birds, one stone.
Tony737 on January 19, 2007 at 11:09 AM
Sorry, that should say “We’re *NOT* gonna see this anywhere else.”
Tony737 on January 19, 2007 at 11:13 AM
Bryan you have what all the troops have….compassion. A noble testament to America and her heart. Then a ‘bug’ hits the windshield. Duck, cover, return fire. All clear….then you go looking for more soccer balls to pass out, or blankets, or fresh water. America is well represented by her military……and trashed by her own elected government.
Now there is a story for NBC/CBS/ABC…Couric/Georgy/Lauer will jump right on it……ya think?
Turn em off America. Turn em all off. Copperheads/Carpetbaggers all of em.
Limerick on January 19, 2007 at 11:33 AM
Actually those palaces should eventually be opened up as museums so the average Iraqi can see for themselves how Saddam lived in splendor while they lived in squalor. Let the Sunnis who love Saddam now especially see how he lived. Give them tours guided by Saddam’s victims.
Bryan on January 19, 2007 at 11:55 AM
Another great story from the front. I like the museum idea!
infidel on January 19, 2007 at 12:05 PM
When you used to walk into the Roy Rogers hotel, in the lobby was Trigger, taxidermied (word?). We could do the same with Saddam.
Bryan, they should serve as a museum or at least a monument to what evil can do, what one man and his village, can do to suck a society dry. He was not alone, it took a village of maniacs, and a series of museums dedicated to his miserable life would show what he and his henchman destroyed.
right2bright on January 19, 2007 at 12:15 PM
Great idea Bryan. Also, how about turning one into a Liberation Museum? Dedicated to the U.S., British, Australian, Polish and other allied Troops who fought and/or died to liberate them from the Stalin-wannabe who built this palace while you lived … no, survived, in fear and squalor.
Off topic, I had several people on my plane the other day from a group called “Soldier Ride”. Calm down ladies, it’s not like that! It’s a group that gets wounded soldiers out of the hospital and takes them cross country … across the WHOLE COUNTRY on bike rides. Coast to coast on a BICYCLE! Makes my donations and free beers to soldiers on the plane and pickin’ up tabs in bars look like chump change! What a great bunch of guys they were! They said it took 3 months to make the trip and it really boosted the spirits of the Soldiers who were down. What were they down about? Losing a leg? Nope. They were down because they wanted to get back to their units in Iraq and Afghanistan! God bless our Troops and the folks at soldierride.org!
Tony737 on January 19, 2007 at 12:36 PM
Super job Bryan, you are an asset to HA.
I first saw the pic of a young girl who was so dirty (she had a sweatshirt with english words printed on it) but she was filthy and yet smiling broadly. Another group of kids was right near her, all very dirty. Broke my heart.
But you wrote here:
SO- Which kids were perfectly groomed? Did I miss something?
And is you story here, and your trip with Michelle and all you brought back being published or shown anywhere else…other than HA & MM.com?
Thx for this, everyone should digg this and link it and whatever else you can do.
shooter on January 19, 2007 at 12:53 PM
Bryan, thank you for another excellent post. Got a suggestion for you: Now would be a great time to plug Spirit of America. I don’t have a lot of personal knowledge of their operation but I first learned about them from one of the “senior” milblogs, probably Mudville, well over two years ago and their sites still active, including a list of 2006 accomplishments. Soccer balls, school supplies, winter clothing … They get it.
bdfaith on January 19, 2007 at 1:03 PM
What a wonderful report. Thank you, Bryan.
gatewaypundit on January 19, 2007 at 1:09 PM
So next time she’s on television, MM can just say “liberals don’t have the tombas…” She won’t get bleeped, and we’ll all know what she’s saying.
Seriously though, its great to get a very human, first-person account of life in Iraq.
taznar on January 19, 2007 at 2:35 PM
Buck Turgidson on January 19, 2007 at 2:40 PM
Excellent stuff Bryan.
I’m not one to get all gushy and mushy about kids; I’m usually in agreement with W.C. Fields on that subject.
But looking at a couple of the photos, and a lot of the words you posted gives me a little hope for the future of Iraq (and the rest of the world by extension)after all.
Too bad that they have so many people trying to turn them into just the opposite of what they are and what they could and should be when they grow up.
LegendHasIt on January 19, 2007 at 4:37 PM
Here’s hoping for a more glorious and free future for Iraq too.
Entelechy on January 19, 2007 at 4:45 PM
Excellent job
Thanks!!
Chuck on January 19, 2007 at 6:27 PM
Thanks for that bit of history Entel. How cool is that? The commie bastard buids himself a huge palace, they starving people hang his stupid ass and turn the palace into a representative body. As Cartman would say: Sweeeeeeeet.
Tony737 on January 19, 2007 at 6:45 PM
Thank you Bryan for this report and photos; your words are full of “life” and greatly appreciated.
Very Human indeed. Well done. Very well done!
Zorro on January 19, 2007 at 7:55 PM
Excellent report, Bryan.
Phil Byler on January 19, 2007 at 9:31 PM
Another fine, fine report Bryan. This report and pictures should be rubbed in Pelosi’s nose, then asked, “what are you doing for the kids”. But she’d probably too busy doing puff pieces on MSM & posing with her new hammer.
oakpack on January 19, 2007 at 10:40 PM
Again, digg won’t let me digg, or comment, on this well though out and well written story. I’m beginning to think we should bury digg and say, “To hell with them!”
Troy Rasmussen on January 19, 2007 at 11:07 PM
Thank you and Michelle very much. I just wish more people could hear reports like these. I get the imression there are a lot of similar stories that the MSN simply ignore.
You went way above and beyond - thanks again and I am glad you are back safe.
roydee43 on January 19, 2007 at 11:31 PM
It seems that the Americans’ patching things up for muslims at the Americans’ own expense does demographic damage twice over: It takes away men and wealth that the Americans could otherwise direct toward the increase and betterment of their own families, and it builds nurseries for people whose prophet, scriptures, and priests teach them to revile Americans as infidels, and American ways as damnable in the eyes of their god. American pity is beautiful until one sees that it’s cruel pity.
Kralizec on January 19, 2007 at 11:46 PM
Great stuff, Bryan. This needs to be spread far and wide.
Pablo on January 20, 2007 at 11:51 PM
Really nice piece. I would just be repeating other commentors, so i’ll just add my thanks to the list and i hope there are more posts to come.
Scot on January 21, 2007 at 3:24 AM
Shooter, I understand what he meant by groomed. My 2 year old’s hair isn’t combed all the time and she can sure get messy/dirty when I least expect it. I was always dirty as a kid because of where I played..lots of dirt and sometimes letting me go during the day was better than having my mom chase me around licking her fingers and cleaning my face off. BUT I was groomed. My clothes were not in tatters, my hair was not matted and look unwashed.
I think that is what was meant by that comment.
Thanks to all that took the time to go over there and report. I appreciate it.
Highrise on January 21, 2007 at 6:43 PM