How does it really work?

There is an Iraqi proverb that says my father is only strong at home and this is the way it is in Iraq. My colleague Hussein lost his father. The Americans raided his home and took him. He has heard nothing. This is the note he sent to the office.  It is his story and probably the story of so many others:

For those who care and love only...........

I send you this story as it happened without any comment.

I have to give you some more details about me for few recipients who may have forgotten me.

I am Hussein A.Khalifa 37 years old . A teacher of English and has the chance to work with media for a while.

Dear ……………..

Tuesday morning was a disaster for me , my family , relatives and friends.

At nine o'clock of Tuesday 22nd of May , the American forces had a raid on Amel neighborhood ( west Baghdad) ,the place where I live with my family which is few miles from Baghdad airport. At that time of the miserable day, I was at work as well as my three brothers so we left father and mother with two wives of my brothers with their children at home . Three armoured vehicles came to our alley ( street)carrying dozens of soldiers to search the houses looking for terrorists leaving at least 50 other vehicles in the area to do the same thing with other blocks  . Father ( Abdul Kadhim Khalifa Murad Al-Taee ,65 years and a father of four sons and three daughters) was the first to receive the unwanted guests. There were at least twenty soldiers who entered the house and forced my father to sit on his knees with his head towards the wall with no consideration to his age  ( 65 years old) and sickness( he has blood pressure with his left eye on recovery from a new operation ). They refused giving any kind of mercy or time to let the interpreter explain what my mother want to say to them about my father's condition . There were nine members at home during the raid (Father, mother, my two brothers' wives, four children (their ages; 14, 13, 9 , 7 and 2). After that , they kept the whole family in one room ( living room) except my father and one of the eldest nephew. My nephew( 14 years old) was sleeping at that time and he was shocked to be awaken up by American soldiers who were carrying guns and forced to join the group . Two of my nephews are pupils ( 7 and 9 years )and they were supposed to have their final examinations ( the primary schools started one day before the secondary ones)at 10 am ,but the Americans refused to let them go for their school. During the raid , the soldiers found some cables which are used for electric connections and they suspected that those cables might be used for bombing while no body in the world who has brain can doubt of having such kind of cables inside the Iraqi houses for one simple reason as we are in  need for power supplies  from different sources forgetting the main source which is not available nowadays . As you know we have two generators at home with one cable for them ( to swab them every 5 hours to have rest and fill with gasoline), one cable to the street's generator which supply the block with power ( about 30 houses paying 12 thousand dinars for every single ampere ) and we have 8 amperes from that generator . The last cable was to be connected with the neighbor's house to have power supply from them in case they have it , but as they have been displaced ,we kept it aside having no idea that the Americans would suspect of the cable  which will be used in bombing cars to get rid of it before discovering it. Meanwhile , they searched my mother's wardrobe finding a small tube having salt inside with some kinds of  solid perfumes suspecting that these things are chemical materials  which would be used in bombing giving no chance for my mother to explain to them or her trying to tell them that she can taste it to ensure them what materials they are and the reasons behind keeping these things in her wardrobe ( she has got these things as a gift from her relative as she went to the Imam Al-Ridha Shrine in Iran to have his blessing ) . Few seconds later , they brought my father taking his finger prints telling him that him that the test is positive and the marks on his hands referring that he is an expert of explosives .In fact , he has nothing to do with that , he was an electrician who worked hard for about forty years till he had got the pension in 1991, but he didn't stop working for his own business till the last four years ago.  I forgot to tell that they asked my father about any kind of weapons that we have , he told them that we have only one machine gun in the house and he gave it to them . They took the gun and my father saying that his hands carry TNT . Father has been taken to the unknown having no idea where he is , the condition he is in as he is ill and where to ask to have any kind of information about him or the charges behind this arrest.

  Today is Friday and we still have no news of my father nor the Americans. 

Comments

[Jack]

Excellent info, I liked it.

[Laura]

Omar: It's been a week since you posted this. Is there any news of your father? Holding you and your family in my heart.

[Steve]

Wow, this story doesn't sound at all like anything I'm experiencing here in Iraq.

Posted by: Matt Sanchez | May 27, 2007 at 12:02 PM

I'm not surprised, Matt. Yours is only one of 150,000 stories of Americans currently in Iraq. Not counting the 500,000 who have rotated back home, and sometimes back again. And again.

Not counting some 25 million stories of the people of Iraq, like that of my old friend Fuad from Basra, who lived here in Arizona in the mid-1990's after we failed to support his Shia peoples' attempt to overthrow Saddam after Desert Storm. He went back home in 2003, and I haven't heard from him since.

Keep telling us your story. Added together with all the other stories, it is valuable. Bing West gave us the story of MAJ Zembiec and how he managed to keep his balls in the Jolan graveyard. I can't tell you how sad I am to hear that he is home for good now.

Stay safe and do us proud, Matt.

Steve Jones
Scottsdale, Arizona

[Steve]

It occurs to me that if Hussein's father has high blood pressure, he might also have congestive heart disease, and may have been using nitroglycerin tablets to control it. If so, that could explain the positive test.

[frosty]

i hope my previous post has not offended the honor of anyone caught up in this horrible mess.

the culpables are far from the carnage, and those rendering it are just more victims.

thanks

[Matt Sanchez]

Wow, this story doesn't sound at all like anything I'm experiencing here in Iraq.

[jay downing]

Sounds as if the operation was at the behest of that great one Alberto Gonzales.

[jay downing]

Sounds like the operation was conducted by Alberto Gonzales. jd

[frosty]

what do you expect from a gang of hyper-armed ignorant hicks who think they will catch (cia prodigy) usama bin laden during one of these raids

end the occupation now

leave these people alone

i'd rather pay $10 for a gallon of gas than have to continue hearing such horror stories

god help us

[Laura]

I have emailed this link to the Chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee. This is an appalling story. U.S. readers: please do what you can by contacting your representatives and asking them to PAY ATTENTION.

We can all do something.

[Susan]

This is a horror.

I hope he is released safely and soon.

[janinsanfran]

Thank you for sharing this story. Are you willing, as a journalist and thus someone who hears a lot of stories, to share an estimate of how often such ignorant, arrogant U.S. raids happen on an average day in Baghdad? I suspect it is often, but we don't know.

No words can convey the sorrow I feel at the way my country has hurt yours.

[ljm]

Omar, this is a very disturbing story from your friend. I hope there are people reading this blog with the authority to find out where your father is and get this sorted out for this family. Since bombs go off every day in Iraq, you can understand how the American forces are totally focused on finding these bombs and bomb makers. In this case, the mistake made in arresting this older man needs to be corrected quickly. I hope this happens for them very soon.