Tuesday, December 30, 2003

Who?

A warm-hearted thanks goes out to an anonymous do-gooder who sent $100. to my family back in the states. What a surprise it was for my wife to open up the $100 envelope. Thanks so much for your kind gesture; the money will surely come in handy.

More Changes to mention:

It is cold at night now as the temperatures dip into the low 30's.

The other day I actually woke up to a cloud of fog or morning mist. For a moment I thought I was back in South Korea, "the land of the morning calm".

Vendors of blankets, rugs, and other such paraphernalia used to line the main street leading in from the North gate to the CPA Palace. All of them have now been grouped together on a side street, not quite as visible.

The PX has now been moved from a container to a real structure.

Walls of sand bags, two feet wide by 8 feet tall, now surround our trailers; to secure us against any possible mortar attacks (of course unless it is a direct hit). The flimsy construction of the trailers was always a concern.

We now have a brand new gym, actually had it for a couple of weeks, with all the latest and greatest equipment (too bad I never have time to use it).

We now have a Chinese restaurant in the green zone, owned and operated by an honest to goodness Chinese person. I will definitely have to give it a try.

I am really starting to like driving around through the streets of Baghdad without any traffic rules. Anything goes out here.

I am actually eating Korean noodles with Kim chi these days, due to the graciousness of Gary, my son Daniel, and my wife, who have each sent me a variety of Korean food. You guys' just rock. Thanks.

Toys on Christmas:

My alarm went off at 5am indicating it was time. As planned our "Sharing Joys with Toys" team woke early Christmas morning, before sunlight, in order to pack up a pickup truck for another toy excursion. We were trying to get an early start on a full day of activities taking us out to many untouched areas.

We had the truck about half full when the mortars started coming in from just outside the green zone. I didn't hear any of them hit near by, but felt it might be a good idea to take cover as all of us dashed into the basement of the adjoining building. With its tin roof and tin walls our warehouse, even though guarded by tanks, would be no match for any incoming projectiles.

We waited until the explosions stopped; which ended up being about an hour or so, before venturing back out. There was a lot of return fire from what sounded like Apache Helicopters, as automatic weapon bursts were heard around the area, indicating the bad guys were on the run.

With the truck packed high with toys and clothes we departed on our journey to bring a little piece of sunshine to children around this country. Our plans were to spend our two-day Christmas vacation dropping toys off to needy children in some very special locations.

With the pickup cab full of people and toys, we made a quick stop to meet up with another vehicle of volunteers (we always travel with at least two vehicles), anxious to participate in our toy drop. With automatic weapons in our laps, at least two per vehicle, we departed.

It is quite ironic that here we have a group of people going out to give toys to children; all equipped with AK-47's, MP-5's, and various other weapons. I was personally armed with a pistol and an MP-5 for my protection. If you didn't see the toys you would think we were going out on a raid or something.

Along the way we picked up an Iraqi Pediatrician who was anxious to show us the way. He is very involved in the area focusing his attention on the psyche of the children being raised in such difficult circumstances.

Leaving the paved highway we made our way up a dirt road, past a large open market, the ground covered with the vendor's merchandise. We pulled up to what appeared to be an old prison on top of a small hill. As if entering a large castle we drove through an opening into a large open courtyard in the center of the building.

The doctor referred to this as the compound and began to describe for me the circumstances of this structure. At one time this building had been used as a prison back in the early 1990's to torture and kill hundreds of people at the hands of Saddam's special military. As I glanced around I could see that the courtyard was totally surrounded by hundreds of small rooms, with no facilities or amenities just dark gray walls surrounded by dirt.

The story goes that the rooms were now being occupied by otherwise homeless people who for the most part had lost a loved one at this vary facility. Thus explaining why so many of the women seemed to be with out husbands. There were now over 200 families with some 800 children living at this site of torture and death.

At first glance I couldn't see many children, but no sooner had we entered the compound then children began to run out from every door and alley. Within minutes we were surrounded as they began to figure out the purpose of our visit (seeing the nature of our cargo it wasn't too difficult to figure out).

After meeting with the so-called compound mayor we decided to have all the children return to their homes, so that we might visit with them one by one. It sounded like a good idea but in all actuality the children were too excited to stay inside patiently awaiting our arrival at their doorstep. Even so, we continued to enforce the concept by telling them to all return to their homes.

With a small group of men caring our boxes we proceeded to the first house in one corner of the building. Over the next 5 hours we went from house to house, more like room-to-room, handing out toys to each and every family (almost every family). There were families in every nook and cranny, built up in every corridor and open area. There were families on the roof of the building in makeshift homes, built out of sheets of wood, paneling or metal.

There were shared bathrooms and kitchens in some areas, others that had built in a gas stove to have their own kitchen. Most without doors, the opening to each home was covered with a blanket or a tarp.  Old worn out blankets or pieces of carpeting covered the cold cement floors of each home.

Fortunately due to the "oil for food program" the people were not malnourished and for the most part looked somewhat healthy.

I was overcome at times with emotion, as I quickly visited with the mothers and in some cases the fathers of these beautiful children. I cannot begin to put into words how I felt as I witnessed such poverty on the one hand and such joy from the children on the other.

There were no toys to be seen in any of the homes, no dolls, no toy trucks, or stuffed animals. The rooms were bare, only a few homes with furniture and appliances like a TV. There were no closets or bedrooms, just one room for the entire family and in some cases there were as many as 10 people living in one room.

The mothers would line their children up in their humble homes as I handed a carefully selected toy to each one. On many occasions the children were so excited to receive such a precious gift they would jump up and down while holding it tight to their chest. Their eyes would light up with happiness, smiles of exceeding joy could be seen on their faces, and overall thankfulness for our little offering.

As we entered some homes the mother could be seen putting on her young daughters finest little dress as they prepared for my arrival. They really wanted to make a good impression on me, with pride not embarrassment for their meager existence.

Children crowded in behind us as we walked from one home to the next. Some kids, hoping to get another toy, would line up with the kids from another family, but I was too quick catching them in their act of deception. It was all done in good fun and laughter.

There were several little girls that would fight through the crowd of kids to hold my hand while I walked along, each time grabbing my hand again after exiting a home. They grabbed on to my clothes and my legs as I moved around the complex.

On many occasions the families would offer to have me stay for lunch or tea, hoping that I would linger. But with so many families and so many children we moved along as fast as we could, hoping to finish before it started to rain. But, the rain came halting our visits and forcing us to leave without finishing every home.

With the toys in the pickup truck getting wet, we drove off promising to be back again with more toys, heaters and blankets.

It was a marvelous day full of so many emotions of happiness and sorrow. Later, while contemplating what I had just witnessed, I couldn't help but cry for the children. Tired and wet we left.

The next day we also went out to visit a rehabilitation center for troubled boys and a girl's orphanage, all just beautiful, well-mannered, well-groomed children.

Thanks,
Goodnight from Chief Wiggles