Here is one:
In Iraq I was in a small village trying to determine 3 things; why are the young girls not going to school, why do they not use the irrigation water for their crops, and why are they not using the new well for all their drinking water?
Now these are simple friendly people with very little in the way of worldly goods, We are all sitting in a house, on a rug on a dirt floor, there is a picture of water, a pot of tea and a small banquet of food in front of us. The water has so many particulates in it that it is cloudy, now their is a new fresh, clean, water well just a short distance away. Hepatitis C is rampant in Iraq. Why use this dirty water I thought to myself, while sipping tea, and eating as little of their precious food as I could without appearing rude.
Our guide explains that the food is a community collection just for us, no one family has that much food. The men of the village are sitting around the food with us and the women are trying to listen without making themselves known, and the kids are all excitedly peering in the openings in the walls, where we have windows at home...
I'm not new to this, since 1990 I have spent over 4 years in the Middle East and East Africa. However there is a nervousness in the air that is almost palatable, and it can be seen in each face in the crowd. I really like these people, they want/need very little to survive. It did not take long to start putting the puzzle together, and some interesting realities started oozing to the surface.
To shorten the story here is the key....Under the past regime, many things were used for intimidation, even as pseudo weapons; water, electricity, and even "who" was selected to go to school, and for how long, especially girls. If the girls had an area school to attend they mostly went to primary school, secondary schools, and college was reserved for a very select few. Water and electricity was withheld/provided to insure allegiance. In the past the even if the irrigation water was in the local canal, no one dared to take it without permission.
There was always some little local "wise guy" "mayor" who was the controller/informer for the village, community, Geopolitical area etc... In simple terms, it was a complex mafia system that was akin to feudalism. People who disobeyed, could/would be refused water, or some other need, carted off in the night, tortured, and/or killed. Just a bunch of sadistic criminal punks, who used whatever they could for their own personal aggrandizement.
Unlike what the World Media portrayed, it was not about Religion, it was all about greed and power. Religion was very cleverly used as a tool, the propaganda spread, and good propaganda always has a percentage of truth. We built many schools, medical clinics, vet clinics, and drilled many wells, all in an effort to equalize the opportunities.
In modern times Iraq should be a shining star in the region, Hell it should be a Super Nova! They have water, agriculture, oil etc. And compared to say Saudi Arabia they are very secular, but are still a shame based society, and we are guilt based, and "we" as a culture just don't and/or can't understand them.
These people in my story lived and survived under an extreme dictator, with a bunch of criminal minions dealing out misery...
Whatever one thinks of the war in Iraq, our military gave these people relief, hope, and freedom. I'm very proud to have helped the people in this story, it cost me more than you can imagine, but I would do it again.
God Bless our Country, it's Military/Veterans and their families.
P.S.
I realize it is a long rambling story, so I won't tell you about trading a Gerber multi-tool for my freedom at the border of some un-named countries in Africa
