« True Heroes | Main | Patriots and patriotism »
July 16, 2004
True Heroes, part 2
Rebuilding a country demands sacrifice. Some sacrifices are more personal than others. Cpl. Veronika R. Tuskowski sends this report from the Al Anbar province of Iraq.
Sally's children were taken away from her more than six months ago. Her husband beat her. Her brother threatened her life while holding a gun to her head. Her own father contracted her death with a $5,000 reward.Sally, an Iraqi translator working with Coalition Forces, lost everything by working to help Americans rebuild Iraq. Still, she feels her service with Americans is the right thing for her country
"I lost everything I have, but I have gained so much," Sally said. "If I had to do it over again I would. I help the Americans, help my people."
Sally masks her real identity. She agreed to be interviewed on the condition her location and identity remained hidden. She is still a wanted woman with a price on her head.
Sally enjoyed a life of privilege under Saddam. But she wasn't free. Her father arranged her marriage, at age 13, to one of his friends. Her husband was 40 years old. Her first child was born a year later.
When the war began last year, her family fled to Turkey. Sally stayed behind.
"I love my home," she explained. "I told them I would never leave and they left without me."Early one morning when the war started, she heard yelling outside her home. Americans in a humvee were talking to one of her neighbors.
"They were speaking English and trying to talk to a man," she said. "They were going to arrest him. So I went outside to help him and talked to the Americans for the man. The Americans were very appreciative and asked me for a job. I told them they know where I live if they ever need my help."
She thought being a translator would be a great way to help out her country. She took an English test and was accepted to become a translator.
When her neighbors discovered that she was working for the Coalition, they threw rocks at her daughter and beat her son, breaking both his arms. Her family returned from turkey and threatened to kill her. Her husband betrayed her and then beat her with a rock. When she arranged his release from jail, he beat her again and locked her in a bathroom.
She escaped only because of her oldest son."My older son, who is 13, opened the bathroom door and said, 'Mom you need to run away,'" she recalled. "You cannot stay here. They will kill you. Mom, they will kill you!"
Sally said she did not want to leave her children behind.
"He pushed me out the door and I ran," she said. "I don't know where, but I ran."
She left with nothing but the clothes she was wearing, a picture of her kids and a stuffed tiger her son slept with at night. It was the last time she saw her children.
She returned to work with Coalition Forces.
"I love my job, I am helping out my people," she explained. "I am doing something for my country. This is the first time in my life I choose what I want in my life. My father would never let me choose. Now I am fighting for what I believe in."
It's an amazing story of courage and perseverence. Read the rest.
Posted by Deb at July 16, 2004 07:39 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.marinecorpsmoms.com/mt-tb.cgi/193
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference True Heroes, part 2:
» Western Liberal Values from fredschoeneman.com
Yes, it's true. It's now officially okay to make value judgements when speaking about the Iraq war. There will be no moral relativism here. Because stories like this prove we're better and that we're going to win: Sally's children were... [Read More]
Tracked on July 17, 2004 11:38 AM
Comments
An Iraqi artist made that moving bronze casting of the little girl & grieving soldier (out of melted-down Saddam statues). I wonder if he could be commissioned to make another to honor the translators. They certainly deserve it.
Posted by: Glenmore at July 17, 2004 09:06 AM