Iraqi transplants eager for Thursday's vote
At Fort Dix, they help troops train. They called the elections a step toward democracy and less violence in their homeland.
By Edward Colimore
Philadelphia Inquirer
Mon, Dec. 12, 2005
In one of the barracks at Fort Dix, the television news is in Arabic - beamed in by satellite - to an audience hungry for developments in Iraq.
The viewers aren't soldiers.
They are Iraqis here to help Americans, and this week their attention is drawn to Thursday's parliamentary election in their homeland.
At a McDonald's in Wrightstown, a block from the Burlington County fort's main gate, some of the Iraqis - from different backgrounds but of a like mind on the American role in Iraq - talked enthusiastically about the election, Saddam Hussein's trial, and prospects of peace.
Hazim Mansoor, a Catholic who owns property in northern Iraq, predicted that violence will drop off when all factions in the country are represented in the newly elected parliament.
Goran Mirza, a Sunni Kurd, said freedom and democracy were taking hold in the nation and hoped that Hussein, who is accused of mass murder, would be executed.
And Mustafa Jafar, a Shiite, described the election as a crucial step toward more security and employment in a sovereign Iraq that will need U.S. support for the foreseeable future.
Mansoor, Mirza and Jafar are among 70 Iraqis - about 60 men and 10 women - hired as role-players to help provide realistic training for American troops headed to Iraq.
Among other things, they pop up from foxholes and fire blanks from semiautomatic weapons at convoys of troops or assume the roles of civilians in demonstrations.
But when not working, they chat about the future of their homeland and watch Arabic newscasts.
Many of them voted in the last election, in January, when Iraqis selected a 275-member National Assembly and their index fingers were marked with purple ink to show who had cast ballots.
Most plan to vote again Thursday at polling stations across the United States, this time for the first full-term parliament since the fall of Hussein.
"The election is a very good step," said Mansoor, 49, of Hazel Park, Mich. "We're trying to be more independent, run our own government.
"I voted the last time and had a purple finger for almost a month. On Thursday, I will vote in Detroit."
Mirza, 31, of Fairfax, Va., also plans to vote and feels strongly invested in the country's electoral process. The news about Hussein's trial - and courtroom tirades - reminded him of Iraq's dark days.
"Let him be in jail for a while so he knows what it's like," he said.
Mirza, who has traveled between the United States and Iraq several times since 1997, said "democracy can work" in his homeland.
"It's just we never saw it, really," he said, adding that he would vote in Washington for the Kurdish candidates. "Now we feel we will have a country. We feel freedom and liberty."
Jafar, 22, who lived in Nasiriya in southern Iraq before moving to Detroit, said some Iraqis believed the election "doesn't get us anywhere, that there is still fighting."
"But if you want a democracy, you have to fight for it. As Iraqis, we should work for this election. The Sunnis are not supporting it. You have Baathists, Wahabis, and others from Yemen and Syria fighting it," he said, referring to members of Hussein's old party and fundamentalists from Saudi Arabia.
"But I think the attacks will go down after the election. Right now, the U.S. is giving us more security and training the Iraqi national guard."
Jafar said American troops should remain for now. "When we build a strong government, we will need less help, but we still need them now," he said.
Anna Oshana, 38, an Orthodox Christian who lived in Mosul before moving to Chicago in 1994, said she was grateful to America for the election, which will be for four-year parliamentary terms, and the spread of democracy.
"I feel reborn," she said. "It was amazing when I came to this country and saw the freedom. I think the election is great. People are excited. They can vote for someone - and choose for themselves."
Oshana said she believed she was helping her country by training American troops.
"I'm proud of my work here," she said. "It saves lives. I tell them, 'Be careful and do your job.' "
The Iraqis speak Arabic and wear Arab garb in their role-playing. Their knowledge of the culture, customs and local dialects helps make the training as authentic as it can be.
Harith Sulaiman, an Iraqi and field manager for Goldbelt Eagle, a Newport News, Va., contractor employing most of the role-players, said that the election would be "definitely positive" but that the fledgling democracy needed nurturing. Other role players are employed by Bionetics, also of Newport News.
"Americans fought for their freedom; Iraqis will have to fight, too," said Sulaiman, 37, of Houston. "But the U.S. can't pull out its troops now or there will be civil war."
Sulaiman, a Catholic, said the election "means a lot for Iraqis" but he doesn't plan to vote. "I don't feel comfortable" with any of the candidates, he said. "It's just my personal opinion. We will make mistakes but that's how we will learn."
By Edward Colimore
Philadelphia Inquirer
Mon, Dec. 12, 2005
In one of the barracks at Fort Dix, the television news is in Arabic - beamed in by satellite - to an audience hungry for developments in Iraq.
The viewers aren't soldiers.
They are Iraqis here to help Americans, and this week their attention is drawn to Thursday's parliamentary election in their homeland.
At a McDonald's in Wrightstown, a block from the Burlington County fort's main gate, some of the Iraqis - from different backgrounds but of a like mind on the American role in Iraq - talked enthusiastically about the election, Saddam Hussein's trial, and prospects of peace.
Hazim Mansoor, a Catholic who owns property in northern Iraq, predicted that violence will drop off when all factions in the country are represented in the newly elected parliament.
Goran Mirza, a Sunni Kurd, said freedom and democracy were taking hold in the nation and hoped that Hussein, who is accused of mass murder, would be executed.
And Mustafa Jafar, a Shiite, described the election as a crucial step toward more security and employment in a sovereign Iraq that will need U.S. support for the foreseeable future.
Mansoor, Mirza and Jafar are among 70 Iraqis - about 60 men and 10 women - hired as role-players to help provide realistic training for American troops headed to Iraq.
Among other things, they pop up from foxholes and fire blanks from semiautomatic weapons at convoys of troops or assume the roles of civilians in demonstrations.
But when not working, they chat about the future of their homeland and watch Arabic newscasts.
Many of them voted in the last election, in January, when Iraqis selected a 275-member National Assembly and their index fingers were marked with purple ink to show who had cast ballots.
Most plan to vote again Thursday at polling stations across the United States, this time for the first full-term parliament since the fall of Hussein.
"The election is a very good step," said Mansoor, 49, of Hazel Park, Mich. "We're trying to be more independent, run our own government.
"I voted the last time and had a purple finger for almost a month. On Thursday, I will vote in Detroit."
Mirza, 31, of Fairfax, Va., also plans to vote and feels strongly invested in the country's electoral process. The news about Hussein's trial - and courtroom tirades - reminded him of Iraq's dark days.
"Let him be in jail for a while so he knows what it's like," he said.
Mirza, who has traveled between the United States and Iraq several times since 1997, said "democracy can work" in his homeland.
"It's just we never saw it, really," he said, adding that he would vote in Washington for the Kurdish candidates. "Now we feel we will have a country. We feel freedom and liberty."
Jafar, 22, who lived in Nasiriya in southern Iraq before moving to Detroit, said some Iraqis believed the election "doesn't get us anywhere, that there is still fighting."
"But if you want a democracy, you have to fight for it. As Iraqis, we should work for this election. The Sunnis are not supporting it. You have Baathists, Wahabis, and others from Yemen and Syria fighting it," he said, referring to members of Hussein's old party and fundamentalists from Saudi Arabia.
"But I think the attacks will go down after the election. Right now, the U.S. is giving us more security and training the Iraqi national guard."
Jafar said American troops should remain for now. "When we build a strong government, we will need less help, but we still need them now," he said.
Anna Oshana, 38, an Orthodox Christian who lived in Mosul before moving to Chicago in 1994, said she was grateful to America for the election, which will be for four-year parliamentary terms, and the spread of democracy.
"I feel reborn," she said. "It was amazing when I came to this country and saw the freedom. I think the election is great. People are excited. They can vote for someone - and choose for themselves."
Oshana said she believed she was helping her country by training American troops.
"I'm proud of my work here," she said. "It saves lives. I tell them, 'Be careful and do your job.' "
The Iraqis speak Arabic and wear Arab garb in their role-playing. Their knowledge of the culture, customs and local dialects helps make the training as authentic as it can be.
Harith Sulaiman, an Iraqi and field manager for Goldbelt Eagle, a Newport News, Va., contractor employing most of the role-players, said that the election would be "definitely positive" but that the fledgling democracy needed nurturing. Other role players are employed by Bionetics, also of Newport News.
"Americans fought for their freedom; Iraqis will have to fight, too," said Sulaiman, 37, of Houston. "But the U.S. can't pull out its troops now or there will be civil war."
Sulaiman, a Catholic, said the election "means a lot for Iraqis" but he doesn't plan to vote. "I don't feel comfortable" with any of the candidates, he said. "It's just my personal opinion. We will make mistakes but that's how we will learn."
posted by Hanan Elbadry at 1:27 PM
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