INTERVIEW WITH TERESA AL-SARAJI
Teresa Al-Saraji is mother to Kristin Cruikshank, formerly a cook with the 1st Armored Division deployed to Baghdad.
Teresa: Kristin arrived in Iraq in April 2003, during the war. In August, when Saddam was no longer in control, my husband and I traveled to Iraq.
My husband, Lateef, is from Baghdad. He left his country at 17 years old when Saddam was forcing young men into the Army to fight during the first Gulf War.
Our trip to Iraq was the first time in thirteen years that Lateef had seen his family. We stayed three weeks.
Kristin arrived on base, Camp Ultimo �in Saddam� day it was known as Tourist Island as it is partially surrounded by water �and she telephoned Lateef� family to introduce herself. The family was so excited to hear from her that they showed up that same afternoon to meet her!
At that point the base was still getting settled and the family helped out by bringing blankets and whatever else the troops needed.
Lateef and I applied to the Syrian Consulate for visas and we traveled from Damascus, Syria. Lateef� brother and nephew came to Damascus to pick up us and drive us to Baghdad.
Some parts of the country are so dangerous �for example, around Fallujah -- we shielded our identity from outsiders by keeping the vehicles curtains drawn. I was a disappointed by that as I was very curious about the countryside; parts of the country are very beautiful.
Lateef� family lives in the northeast part of Baghdad that the US military refers to as Zone 50.
The family was very welcoming and loving toward me even though they� never met me before and I couldn� speak much Arabic.
By the time we arrived in Baghdad, the family had visited Kristin so many times that she felt completely at home with them. Officers and troops on Camp Ultimo accepted our family and our family helped the military with many small problems.
Once, the base commander told me he� needed a certain kind of plumbing joint for two sets of pipes. His officers showed Lateef� family what they required and pretty soon they had the part; the family simply went into Baghdad, bought the part and brought it to camp. That would have taken a lot longer through military channels.
Our family invited troops to their home for meals. One of the soldiers later told me that he� eaten �he closest thing in months to a home cooked meal that day.�nbsp;
While it� done infrequently, the base commander allowed the family to set up a little store on the base selling small items that soldiers needed. As it turns out this has been a lifesaver for the family since work is so scarce in Iraq now. The small income from this store supports Lateef� whole family. The down side of that is that one of Lateef� older brothers was assassinated recently because he was �elping the Americans.�That was a sadder reason for Lateef to return to Baghdad recently, to attend his brother� funeral.
When Kristin joined the military I was unhappy. She� 22 now and just signed up for her second tour of duty. She� been head cook until very recently and she loved that job and was very good at it. Even the base commander told me she was exceptional at her job, especially for her age. She� hired Iraqi cooks �they were paid $7 per day �and the food was great.
Since Kellog, Root, and Brown, the subsidiary of Halliburton, is running the kitchens, the cooking, the catering, etc, on all the military bases, Kristin has been assigned to a clerical position. The military is certainly paying a lot more for KBR to run things than they were when Kristin and people like her were cooking. She� disappointed at losing the work she loved and she� not really looking forward to another four years of clerical work.
While I was
in Iraq I stayed on or visited three military bases and the troops and
officers were always very friendly and welcoming.
The hospital and clinics are in terrible shape from the sanctions. Where is all the money going that the federal government has been giving to contractors to repair these places?
I traveled around the city with my Iraqi family and saw a lot of things off the beaten track. My husband remembers Baghdad as a very different place. He was sad to see how things had changed. �ow,�he says, �alking around in Baghdad is like walking around in a dumpster.�nbsp;
Lateef feels that the American military must stay in Iraq. Best if they let Iraqis administer the country and runs things while the military keeps order. If the military leaves he feels there will be chaos and all the old animosities and hatreds with re-surface.
When things get better over there we� like to go back.
Let me share something. Recently I was invited to speak to the Ann Arbor Committee for Peace about our trip to Iraq and what I saw there. I was happy and excited to do so. I spent a long time on my speech and I was prepared to stand up on March 20, the first anniversary of the war, and deliver it. I sent it off to the coordinator of the committee. In return I got an email today saying that they rescinded my invitation to speak. I have no idea what is going on. I� stunned. I belong to a group called the Blue Triangle Network that is concerned with the Patriot Act and special registration of aliens. I mentioned that but I can� imagine that� what they�e upset about. I� in shock. I was nervous about speaking but I� worked so hard on this and now I� told I can� speak? What is going on with Ann Arbor Committee for Peace? Is this democracy? Here is the content of my speech for March 20
I am Teresa Al-Saraji and I am an Army Mom. My daughter, Kristin, with the 1st Armor Division, has been in Baghdad almost 1 year. My son, Theodore just returned from Afghanistan; he is with the 101st Airborne. My father who is deceased retired from the Army. He served in WW2 and Korea. My husband, Lateef, has been in the US since 1991 as a refugee.
I support our troops! I love this country! I believe in the liberation of Iraq from Saddam. But I do not believe in the occupation of Iraq nor do I believe in the American and Iraqi being lost.
In August of 2003, my husband, Lateef, and I flew to Damascus, Syria. His brother Rosac and nephew Mohammed met us at the airport and drove us to Baghdad. It was a scary, long trip in 130-140 degree weather, and through the �ed zone�(Sunni Triangle).
Lateef� family, relatives, friends, and tribe greeted us. He hadn� seen his family in 13 years and around 2,000 Iraqis came to the house that first day.
I spent 3 weeks there in Baghdad living at his families�home there. I was able to go to my daughter� base everyday. I visited three Army bases in Baghdad and talked to many soldiers. They couldn� believe that Kristin� mother was there to see her in Baghdad. One commented, � wish I could see my mom�
The soldiers were hot, tired of being shot at, and said that they wanted to come home! They hand washed their clothes, used port-a-pottys set up on the base, wore heavy helmets, vests and long sleeve uniforms -- in 140 degree heat -- and carried rifles everywhere! To prevent dehydration we drank bottled water and bought Gatorade at the PX.
I also met many Iraqis; many came to the house to talk; everyone was friendly and helpful. I had no trouble. We drove to Karbala, saw the beautiful mosques, and met Iranian pilgrims.
It� sad to see the heavy damage to buildings and roads. Windows are busted out. The only children� parks are now Army bases; there� nowhere to take children just to play! The schools are torn up! People burn trash inside; (there has been no trash pickups in months). Sewage has backed up into most streets, and is mixed in the drinking water.
Everyone asked me why the Americans don� fix the electricity that comes on for two hours and goes off for from four to six hours. Imagine: 140-degree heat with no fans! The Army bases use huge generators.
One clinic I visited in Baghdad had no medicine and no equipment. That day, the Italian Red Cross was giving out bags of drinking water and Iraqis were scrambling to get some to take home.
Most people have no work unless they work at a military base or for the American administration. My brother-in-law, Adele, was a policeman in Baghdad for 17 years but recently quit due to the bombing of police stations. My husband lost a cousin who was killed at a police station bombing. My brother-in-law, Sadoon, worked for the Americans and was murdered for showing the whereabouts of one of the 51 most wanted Saddam gangs was.
Everywhere in Baghdad are banners and signs in Arabic and English asking the Americans to go home! Iraqis want to elect their own government and write their own constitution.
US soldiers are nervous anytime they go off base: anyone could be a sniper shooting at humvees.
I heard gunshots and RPG� day and night, whether on base or in our neighborhood. I� run from the shower after hearing fierce fighting, and ask, �hat� going on?�nbsp;
My brother-in-law Adele took us everywhere and carried his gun. Iraqis told me about carjackings and kidnappings. Old women shake their heads and say that this is the most lawlessness they�e ever seen. They agree that now that Saddam and his regime is out, the military needs to get out too. They say we should not be taking their oil.
Funny that crude oil is being pumped but most gas stations have no gas to sell. Those that do, have long, long lines.
I see how all this connects to what is happening in the US Arabs, Muslims, and South Asians. I was �elected�for the special search in Detroit before I got on the plane for Syria. Then I was questioned and searched in Amsterdam before I coming home. I believed because my last name is Arabic. Back home, my suitcases were missing for two days then returned to me sliced in places: photos were missing; pages ripped out of my photo albums.
Arabs and Muslims are harassed daily. With this war and occupation of Iraq comes the suspension of Arab and Muslim rights in this country. They�e detained without charges. They cannot call a lawyer or even let their family know where they are. Thousands are missing.
We should not be a foreign occupier. Many American soldiers are being killed and wounded everyday. Many will come home with mental issues. Why? Just so a few, powerful, American corporations can get rich from Iraqi oil? Our loved ones do not deserve this!
Join with me today to let the world know that because we love our troops we want them out of Iraq and Home! Let� work together to let President Bush know, �r. President, Bring the troops home now!�