Everything Changes

June 18, 2008

Time changes everything. Someone wrote that, or at least said it I’m sure. Or maybe it’s just one of those common knowledge things. Regardless, it’s true and time has had its effects on me. It’s been several months since my last writing and so much has happened I hardly know where to start. Maybe the obvious is as good a place as any. It’s long overdue though.

I went home for R&R and had a…well, fine time. It was good to see my loved ones, and we had a great time in Reno and San Francisco. But there was a part of me that didn’t feel ready to be “home”. It’s hard to explain really so I won’t try too hard to do that. I’ll just say that I felt out of place in my own home. I have to say now, with the benefit of hindsight, that I made a big mistake by not taking my entire heart and soul home with me when I left Iraq. It’s ended up costing me dearly.

Upon my return to work I was moved into a new position here in Baghdad. I am now the advisor for Rusafa 13, which is the prison’s segregation unit. I also have my old interpreter back, Fadhil, (Kevin). So far it’s been quite an experience. I admit that I don’t have as much segregation time under my belt as most guys here, but this isn’t the typical seg unit that you’d expect to find in a regular prison. So I have been able to manage with the correctional experience I have. Like all things Iraqi, this unit is just another part of what I’ve come to know as “Bizzaro World”.

We have 13 units in R13. Each one is broken into 4 individual cells. They are basically just metal conex boxes with a built-in toilet and shower. And the whole place is outside, (I’m still out in the tent complex). They have lighting and AC too so it’s not completely primitive. Right now we house 35 inmates. It’s a segregation unit for the prison, but only two of the 35 are housed there for disciplinary reasons. (Fighting) The rest are guys brought in by outside entities and are in R13 for “safekeeping”. It’s certainly the securest spot this side of the Green Zone, where the “Deck of Cards” guys are being held. I can’t say too much about who is here for security reasons, but I’ll just say that I have seen the face of the enemy…up close. My work day now is very fulfilling. I have my own office and stay working in my unit all day. As opposed to before when I was working R11 and had to roll around in my truck all day long covering two units and sharing my partner’s duties. I work directly with my warden, who is the one who got injured in the mortar attack I wrote about back around Easter time. He is a very good man and treats me with the utmost respect. His staff is a mix of regular ICO’s and some ERT who are there for security. The militia still has a grip on a large percentage of the prison’s staff, (I couldn’t say how much for certain. But if I had to guess I’d say 40% is close), so I still have to be leery of who to trust. The ERT in my unit carry AK-47’s, so a guy has got to be sure who has got his back. But for the most part they are all warming to me. I had my camera out today and was taking some photos of the unit and I snapped a few quick pics of some ICO’s. Before I knew it these guys were all gathering up and wanting me to take group photos, individuals, goofy poses, and the works! At one point I had every single ICO and ERT on duty, (accept the tower guys), standing around me taking pictures and mooching free prints from the dumb American who was “kind” enough to whip his camera out and play “Smile for the birdie.” My warden finally came out of his office to see what all the commotion was about and he made everyone laugh by telling his staff that the next time he needed to find them all in one place he was just going to have me get my camera out. He is a good boss.

Another change that’s occurred is the weather. Dare I say it is…HOT! HAF takes on a whole new meaning during the summer here. (Usually HAF is a slang term reserved for members of the fairer sex. You figure it out…) Since coming back from R&R we’ve probably not had a day under 100 degrees. And at its height the thermometer on the wall below my room, (which is in the shade), has read 120! Yes, I said 120 degrees. Even after the sun goes down it never usually falls under 80 or so. And the wind now is a real bummer. It has blown in some horrific dirt storms, that when combined with the heat makes for a real boss treat! Imagine a foggy day where you can’t see 20 feet in front of you. Now substitute dirt for moisture and you’ve got an Iraqi dirt storm. Now, imagine putting your face right next to a pizza oven door, then opening it and the blast of air that hits you isn’t just HAF, but leaves dirt in your teeth, eyes, and hair too! And instead of the smell of pepperoni wafting into your nostrils you get a nice whiff of hot butt. Yeah…that about sums that up nicely. The real spooky thing about the heat is that the Iraqi’s say it’s not even really hot yet. 120 is not hot to these people? I can’t wait to see what July and August bring.

I said before that I am back working with my original interpreter, Fadhil. He is, hands down, the best LA we have. I am lucky to have him. But while I was gone another LA, his name was Ahmed, (we called him A.M.), was dragged from his home by the militia and killed. (This was the LA I wrote about a few months ago that lied his way through several militia checkpoints just to get to work when the streets were havoc around Easter time.) Word is that they came and dragged him away and a few hours later the police came and told his family they found his dead body in the street. These guys all know what they are getting into when they take this job and work with us. Most of them do a good job hiding it from the street, but sometimes loose lips sink even the securest ships. But…and this is a big “But”, the word from the other LA’s is that Ahmed’s wife is the one who gave him up to the local militia. It seems Ahmed was in the process of leaving her and may have already been with another woman. But a few days after his death she was at the prison trying to collect his last pay check. This may not seem odd to Americans but to Arabs it is completely disrespectful. According to tradition a woman must mourn her dead husband for 90something days, (or something like that), before she can even show her face in public. She should have gone away and not have been seen again until this mourning period was over. But she came for the money and gave herself away. Anyway, he was a nice man and is missed by all of us. It’s certainly a bleak reminder that anything can happen here in Bizzaro World.

My old warden in R11, Bassam, ran into some trouble while I was gone too. 10 militia members stormed his home in the middle of the night. They terrorized him and his whole family, shot up the inside of his house, and threatened to come back and kill him if they found out he was working for the Americans. They even had photos of him at work with an “American”, (it had to be me because I was his advisor for 4 months). He had to talk his way out of it by saying he simply worked for the ICS, (and has for many years), and Americans are simply there too. I guess it worked because they didn’t kill him. But we think the militia in our prison set out to get him. Not just because there was a picture of him at the prison, but because he had been making a lot of enemies in his own unit too. He is a strict supervisor and never puts up with BS. If they miss work, he docks their pay. If they abandon their post, he docks their pay. If they are out of uniform, he docks their pay. We noticed for a few weeks leading up to my R&R that a larger than normal amount of R11 ICO’s were coming to the office and asking for transfers to other units. He, of course, would tell them no. He isn’t an unfair man, he would explain why most of the time. But the average Iraq ICO is lazy and doesn’t like it when the boss tells them to work and then docks their pay when they don’t. Hmm, imagine that…a supervisor who makes his people work? Only in Bizzaro World! So Bassam had to take an extended leave of absence from work. I have only seen him once since coming back from R&R. He is no longer the warden of R11 either. He got assigned a desk job in the central office for his own safety. When I did see him, and we had a moment alone, he shared his frustration with me. He was really upset that doing a good job and a good thing for his family and country not only cost him his position, but it nearly got him killed. I miss Bassam and hope he and his family stays safe. He has 3 daughters and 1 young son. Time surely does change everything…hopefully, in time, things will not just be better for Bassam, but for this broken country too.

-Jim Franks