Friends

 

On arrival at the school where the Fallujah refugee families were staying, I was ushered into a front room not really knowing what to expect.

 

But the answer came quickly in the response of one of the dozen or so men in the room, who, sitting at the big desk near the window, appeared to be the leader of the group.

 

As soon as he saw me he stood up and smiled widely as he stretched out his arms. Then he announced to the other men; “I know this lady; she stayed at my house in Fallujah!”

 

I was just as surprised as they were to hear this. But sure enough, I soon recognised the big-moustached, distinguished looking man as the Fallujah community leader who offered our group hospitality when we went there to deliver aid during the previous US attack on the city back in April.

 

Of all the 150,000-odd Fallujah men currently displaced and scattered around Iraq, to meet this one, this day, was a handy stroke of serendipity.

 

The tone of the meeting was set: friends meeting again. It was a good start!

 

To be welcomed as ‘friend’ rather than ‘stranger from Australia whose intentions we don’t know’ made all the difference. The men seemed to relax when they felt the familiarity the leader showed towards me.

 

Dressed in a long brown traditional ‘dishdasher’ dress, with a leather vest over the top and a red and white checkered scarf on his head, the leader invited me to sit and the men took their seats around the room on school benches.

 

The heater boxes and blanket bags Ra’id had stacked up at the back of the room reminded us why we were there.

 

We didn’t waste time with small talk. For the next hour, I barely had to ask a question as the men poured out their stories and shared their opinions on the situation with hands waving in the air to accentuate points.      

 

“It’s such a difficult time for us,” the leader said to begin. “You can’t imagine…”

 

“Most of our people now live in tents – no food, no power, no water or medicines.

 

“The Iraqi Government doesn’t give any help to the Fallujah people. They say it on the news but it’s not true, just the ordinary people give us help.

 

“This place here, where we stay now, it came from the people, not the government.

 

“Many people from Fallujah don’t have a house now. They don’t have anything and the media doesn’t know about it because they don’t let the media inside to talk to the people and to see.”

 

With the horrific images of the bodies being eaten by dogs still in my mind from the night before, I asked if they had any idea of the impact the attack had on civilian lives.

 

“Yes, before you came we talked about this and all the bodies lying on the streets,” the leader said.

 

“And yesterday a boy came to us direct from Fallujah. He is a disabled boy. The soldiers shot him and people somehow got him out to Baghdad. The hospital could not accept him because it was full of other people with injuries, so they left him outside. Today we took him to another hospital.

 

“Perhaps Australians don’t hear all the stories. We hope you can tell the stories.”

 

All the men nodded and added their agreement.

 

“The American soldiers attacked Fallujah because they say terrorists are there - Arab terrorists from outside Iraq,’ the leader continued.

 

“Then the Americans said on the television they found 27 fighters from outside Iraq. Do you think this is a reason to attack all the people and destroy a big city?”

 

The leader started to raise his voice, getting angrier the more he spoke.

 

“And about Zarqawi? We don’t know this man! The Americans tell us there is someone named Zarqawi in Fallujah. We don’t know him! After three days attacking Fallujah they said that Zarqawi has left Fallujah and they just need 72 hours to finish the mission. But now it’s been more than one month since we could go to Fallujah.”

 

The leader said that as people manage to escape, they deliver reports of the appalling situation for families still inside the city.

 

“They took many old men and put them in Abu Graib prison, these are 65 to70 years old,” he said.

 

“And a woman needed milk for her eight-month-old baby. But she was trapped and couldn’t get any milk. For three days the baby wouldn’t stop crying with hunger.

 

“The baby died and they had to bury her in the back yard.”

 

I asked the men to describe how the people feel surrounded by all this suffering?

 

“We feel so sad about what has happened to us and we are even more sad because no one says anything about it, especially the Arab countries. All the people are silent, this makes us more upset.

 

“We feel alone in the world. Even in Iraq we feel alone.”

 

At this point I thought it was appropriate to share the sentiments that so many Australian people have expressed to me.

 

“I want you all to know,” I said looking around the room. “That the Australian people are worried about you, they care and they want to help.

.

“You’re not alone and not forgotten because you have friends in Australia who have sent you a message.”

 

I took from my bag a large laminated photograph of a group of about 15 people of different ages, colours, shapes and sizes lined up holding a banner saying: “We Australians are opposed to the war in Iraq and are shamed by it,” written clearly in English and Arabic.

 

The picture was arranged by a peace group from Toowoomba in Queensland. They are a wonderful group of caring people who present a compassionate voice in a conservative community. I’d shown the picture to many Iraqis and it always received a very warm and grateful response, but I had saved it especially to give to the people of Fallujah. 

 

The leader put on his glasses and held the picture away a little to focus better.

 

He fell silent and for a few moments didn’t look up. He stayed focused on the picture overcome with emotion.

 

Eventually he spoke aloud: “I will show all the people from Falluja this picture! I will take it back and hang it up!”

 

I told them I have many other messages to give to the people.

 

“This is a good thing,” he said, his anger softening.

 

“It makes my heart feel good right now.”

 

“I hope you understand,” I said “the Australian Government is different to the people.”

 

“Sure we feel this,” said another man. “If we feel you are like the Government we would not accept you to come here!” he said with a laugh.

 

“So we can forget about the Governments” I suggested, “and just be human beings to each other.”

 

All the human beings in the room agreed with one heart as they passed the picture around and marvelled at it.

 

Your pilgrim

Donna

 

PS: More conversations from the Fallujah meeting to come. It went for an hour, so I’ll present it in instalments!

PPS: Thank you beautiful Toowoomba people: your effort to make this picture was truly worth it. 

PPPS: Sorry I have been quiet for a few days. I’ve had to cope with personal tragedies occurring in the lives of a couple of my close friends here. It has been difficult to focus on anything else.

PPPPS: "I am he as you are she as you are me and we are all together!" Beatles, I Am The Walrus