thedrifter
10-06-07, 06:43 AM
Marines appeal for Iraqi children
By Jutta Biggerstaff / Hi-Desert Star Friday, October 5, 2007 11:13 PM PDT
Hardly a day goes by without mention on the news of the war in Iraq. It’s a war that hits fairly close to home, considering many of our local Marines are deployed there, and have been deployed there time and time again since the war began four and a half years ago.
But the rhetoric we’re getting from politicians about whether to pull the troops or “stay the course” has little to do with what is actually going on in Iraq. Many U.S. troops, whether they believe we should be there or not, are attempting to do the best job they can, while at the same time making life a little easier for the Iraqi people they come in contact with.
One such service member, Capt. Martin Lewis of Twentynine Palms, has been busy working with his Iraqi Army counterparts and participating in a charity drive to collect needed items for the children of their area.
In an e-mail to Father Ian Hanley, vicar of St. Joseph of Arimathea Episcopal Church in Yucca Valley, Lewis described conditions in the Diyala Province, an area that he calls relatively stable, in Iraqi terms.
“We still get improvised explosive devices — IEDs — targeting both coalition forces and local civilians, and there is frequent gunfire,” he wrote.
Despite these hostile conditions, the shops are open and the town still functions, Lewis said.
“Both the locals and the Iraqi army have made wonderful progress in the time we have been here, and we are seeing some real improvements in both security and quality of life for the Iraqi people,” he wrote.
Lewis contacted Hanley about his project, and the minister is putting the word out to parishioners and the community for help in securing donations for the Iraqi children under Lewis’s care.
Lewis is on his second seven-month deployment to Iraq, and his team lives with its Iraqi army counterparts, an infantry battalion, in an old Baath Party headquarters building. The team generates its own electricity and draws water from a nearby canal.
“Don’t ask how clean it is,” he warned.
The Marine is asking for donations of children’s clothing and shoes in all sizes, including winter clothes and blankets. He also needs school supplies like notebooks, pencils, crayons and coloring books. Soccer balls would be welcomed, as the game appears to be the children’s favorite pastime. Toiletries would be a great benefit to the people, as well.
“The donations of clothing and school supplies mean the world to the local people,” Lewis wrote. “Many survive on less than $200 a month, and that may include feeding five children. While some of the villages have functioning schools, many are lacking supplies and have difficulty sourcing them.”
Lewis, himself a father of four, said Iraqi children appear to be happy, playing soccer and swimming in the canal. But the conditions they live under are a culture shock to American troops, who witness their daily struggle for survival as they collect large jugs of water every day or drive donkey carts to pick up relief food.
The donations sent by Americans will have a lasting effect on the Iraqi people, in both tangible and intangible ways, Lewis said.
“We are talking about clothing that will be passed among siblings for years and facilitating educations that will affect the entire region,” he wrote. “Behind the scenes, this becomes a display of support for Iraq as a country that is clearly visible to the Iraqi army and indirectly to the Iraqi people.”
Ellie
By Jutta Biggerstaff / Hi-Desert Star Friday, October 5, 2007 11:13 PM PDT
Hardly a day goes by without mention on the news of the war in Iraq. It’s a war that hits fairly close to home, considering many of our local Marines are deployed there, and have been deployed there time and time again since the war began four and a half years ago.
But the rhetoric we’re getting from politicians about whether to pull the troops or “stay the course” has little to do with what is actually going on in Iraq. Many U.S. troops, whether they believe we should be there or not, are attempting to do the best job they can, while at the same time making life a little easier for the Iraqi people they come in contact with.
One such service member, Capt. Martin Lewis of Twentynine Palms, has been busy working with his Iraqi Army counterparts and participating in a charity drive to collect needed items for the children of their area.
In an e-mail to Father Ian Hanley, vicar of St. Joseph of Arimathea Episcopal Church in Yucca Valley, Lewis described conditions in the Diyala Province, an area that he calls relatively stable, in Iraqi terms.
“We still get improvised explosive devices — IEDs — targeting both coalition forces and local civilians, and there is frequent gunfire,” he wrote.
Despite these hostile conditions, the shops are open and the town still functions, Lewis said.
“Both the locals and the Iraqi army have made wonderful progress in the time we have been here, and we are seeing some real improvements in both security and quality of life for the Iraqi people,” he wrote.
Lewis contacted Hanley about his project, and the minister is putting the word out to parishioners and the community for help in securing donations for the Iraqi children under Lewis’s care.
Lewis is on his second seven-month deployment to Iraq, and his team lives with its Iraqi army counterparts, an infantry battalion, in an old Baath Party headquarters building. The team generates its own electricity and draws water from a nearby canal.
“Don’t ask how clean it is,” he warned.
The Marine is asking for donations of children’s clothing and shoes in all sizes, including winter clothes and blankets. He also needs school supplies like notebooks, pencils, crayons and coloring books. Soccer balls would be welcomed, as the game appears to be the children’s favorite pastime. Toiletries would be a great benefit to the people, as well.
“The donations of clothing and school supplies mean the world to the local people,” Lewis wrote. “Many survive on less than $200 a month, and that may include feeding five children. While some of the villages have functioning schools, many are lacking supplies and have difficulty sourcing them.”
Lewis, himself a father of four, said Iraqi children appear to be happy, playing soccer and swimming in the canal. But the conditions they live under are a culture shock to American troops, who witness their daily struggle for survival as they collect large jugs of water every day or drive donkey carts to pick up relief food.
The donations sent by Americans will have a lasting effect on the Iraqi people, in both tangible and intangible ways, Lewis said.
“We are talking about clothing that will be passed among siblings for years and facilitating educations that will affect the entire region,” he wrote. “Behind the scenes, this becomes a display of support for Iraq as a country that is clearly visible to the Iraqi army and indirectly to the Iraqi people.”
Ellie