Chicken Projects

This is another shot from the poultry project that is underway. It's one of the many poultry programs that are quickly changing the poultry industry in Iraq. The first picture is the feed mill which is described in another blog entry, while the second shot shows an incubator. The eggs in the incubator were shipped in from Europe, the nearest source of the latest and greatest chicken genetics!! A total of 175,000 fertilized eggs arrived in this shipment. These eggs, and the resulting chickens, will form the foundation of the new poultry industry in Iraq.

In other locations, our agricultural advisors are rebuilding the poultry industry on a much smaller scale. They have purchased a few thousand baby chicks and distributed them, a few at a time, to rural Iraqi families. They are providing supplies to build a small chicken coop, and a few chickens. Just this small assistance will help to provide food to an Iraqi family. According to the latest statistics, Iraq is currently producing 15% of the poultry products (eggs and meat) that are consumed. There is a huge demand, these kinds of projects are helping to incrrease the supply.

Pictures

One day we were out on a "mission"....sounds so important, huh? Well, it was a visit to an Iraqi farmer's association headquarters.  We were there to visit their office and see some of the equipment which we had purchased on their behalf.  Soldiers take us on these missions, and guard us all the way.  

On this day, we had gotten out of the army vehicles and were walking into the building.  You can see the soldier in the upper left, one of the many who were guarding us.  As we approached the entry to the building, I saw this burro, and had to stop and get a picture.  As I stopped, one of the soldiers came over to me quickly and said, "Sir, you need to get into the office...those are propane tanks on that trailer, and, well, sir, you just never know what might happen."  Boy, did I feel pretty dumb!!  I was excited to see the burro, and completely overlooked the potential danger!  Those propane tanks could make one heck of an explosion!  "Thanks", I said to the soldier, as I turned quickly and got out of there!  

Here's a "garden of eden" shot!!  This irrigation water is coming off the Euphrates River and entering a palm grove.  Many of the palm groves are farmed in an intensive manner.  The date palm trees make up the top canopy.  The next canopy consists of citrus trees.  Beneath the citrus trees will typically be patches of vegetables or perhaps some type of forage.  Water is so precious, they use it as efficiently as possible.

Here's $50,000 in cold, hard, fresh-off-the-printing-press cash!!!  The Provincial Reconstruction Teams spend a lot of money on various projects, i.e. refurbishing a hospital, building chicken coops, buying generators for a chicken hatchery, installing air conditioning in the local government center, etc.  The Iraqi banking system doesn't work so well, so cash transactions are the norm.  This is a picture of an ag advisor counting the $50K to make sure it's all there.  I counted it, too, and it was all there....$50,000 smackers in a zip lock bag!!  The guy shown here carried that money around in a backpack for several days while out on a mission.  He said that he sure felt funny!!

Irrigated Agriculture

Water is the lifeblood of agriculture.  It's is a precious resource, especially in Iraq! The Tigris and Euphrates rivers run through Iraq, creating some beautiful alluvial valleys....where agriculture began!!!  As I fly over the country, I'm amazed at the amount of desert!!  Iraq is about the size of California, and a full 40% of it's land area is covered in desert!!  That is a lot of barren land.  

Recently I had the chance to visit a farmer's association outside of Baghdad that is trying to rehabilitate a pumping station.  Water from the river is lifted up, approximately 60 ft vertical, to feed into the irrigation system that provides water to 50,000 acres.  It's a large project, by Iraqi standards.  I think that I understood the irrigation system to be about 40 years old, and in a sad state of repair.  The picture in the middle shows the interior of the pump station.  The equipment on the right are the electric motors that turn the pumps, that lift the water up to the irrigation project canals, like the one shown in the lower photo.  The electric motors are powered by a couple of huge generators, because electrical power isn't reliable (like all of Iraq).  So, the farmers that rely on the water, have to pool their resources to buy fuel to power the generators, that then power the electric motors...that power the pumps....oh boy, there are a lot of moving parts!!!!

Check out the two Iraqis shown in that photo...they work at the pump station, and had evidently just come out of the water.  They have on their swimsuits and were still dripping wet.  Just after I took this picture, one of them opened an electrical panel and was flipping switches....still dripping wet and barefoot!!!  Evidently, OSHA has not found Iraq!!!!  

The picture at top shows some of the Iraqi farmers on the left, our BBA (bi-lingual, bi-cultural advisor) and one of our ag people.  They're walking along, holding a conversation with the help of the BBA who interprets.  Except for the clothing, it could be a scene from the States.

The photo at the bottom is of the irrigation canal.  Many of the canals are not lined in concrete.  I was glad to see this one with a concrete lining.  Notice the fields off in the distance on the right.  We walked to the field and learned that the corn was planted by hand.  It was at a much lower plant population than we'd see in a typical corn field in the States.  The field in the foreground was soybeans, also planted by hand.  

Mohammed's Story

In Iraq we are dependent on BBAs to do our work. BBA stands for "Bi-lingual, Bi-cultural Advisor". As the name implies, these people aren't just interpreters, we rely on them to bridge the language and cultural barriers that we encounter. Without them, our work would be impossible. Many of the BBAs were born in Iraq, and now live in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand or Europe. Since they were born in Iraq, they understand the language and the culture. Their work here makes our work possible.

Mohammed Al-Azadi is a friend that I met a few months ago. He works at a BBA for the agricultural team at the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Babil, Iraq. This is his story.

Mohammed was born in the southeastern province of Dhi Qar, in the town of Nassariya, in 1972. His father was in the Iraqi Army, and was captured during the Iran-Iraq War in 1987 and held as a prisoner in Iran until 1998. This meant that Mohammed was 15 years old when his father was captured. As the oldest child, Mohammed had to work in order to provide for his family, as well as attend school. He completed high school in 1985. He then attended Baghdad University where he received a B.S. degree in Agriculture in 1990.

After finishing college, Mohammed returned to Dhi Qar province. There was much discontent at that time in Iraq. The people felt that Saddam Hussein had led them into two needless and foolish wars...the Iran-Iraq War, and the Gulf War. People started to rise up, as they did in his home province, only to be attacked by the Iraqi Army under orders from Saddam Hussein. Since Mohammed was educated (and viewed as a threat by the Saddam Hussein regime), he felt forced to leave the country. In 1991 he left Iraq aboard a U.S. Air Force C-130 airplane as a refugee. He was transported to Saudi Arabia where he lived in a refugee camp for three years. Life in the camp was "hell"! The first 8 months were spent in crowded tents. The desert temperatures were hot during the day, and cold at night. The Saudis weren't hospitable. Many of the refugees were killed by the Saudis. However, he survived life in the refugee camp, and in fact met and married his wife there, and they also had 1 child born while in the refugee camp.

In 1994 he was interviewed by a UN office at the refugee camp, and processed for immigration to the U.S. A church in the Seattle area was his sponsor, and a private individual through the church assisted Mohammed and his young family get settled. For 18 months, he attended ESL (English as a Second Language) classes at night, while working during the day in a factory. In 1999 he became a U.S. citizen, along with his wife and their child that was born in the refugee camp. Mohammed stated that many of his friends from the refugee camp went to other countries, and he feels very fortunate to have ended up in the United States of America.

In 2005, Mohammed returned to his native Iraq as an English-speaking U.S. citizen, working as a BBA. This is a very important job, as his skills and background are necessary for anything to be accomplished!! I've seen him in action....quickly explaining to us how the political system works here, or how we can best work with the Ministry of Agriculture, then interpreting for us as we ask the Iraqi farmers about their needs. His work is invaluable to us, and the Iraqis!!

He still has family living in Iraq. I asked him about how his brothers and sisters feel about the direction in which their country is now headed. He said that they say life is better, they have hope for a better future, and now have better salaries than previously. They now have hope their children will inherit a better Iraq!

I asked Mohammed about being a Muslim in the U.S. He stated that this is not a problem, that the American citizens are so tolerant, especially about religion which makes him feel comfortable and safe to practice his religion, just as our Constitution promises. He said that cultural difficulties are more noticeable, particularly for his daughters when it comes to dress. They still wear the headscarf, the "hijab", and more loose-fitting clothes than their American-born classmates. He also stated that we Americans are such devoted workers....whereas the Iraqi culture emphasizes social interaction.

Mohammed plans on returning to the States by the end of the year. His family now includes a total of 4 children, the youngest three born in the States. He's been a valuable part of the rebuilding of Iraq, and I'm proud to know him!!

Lunch in Al-Amariah

The Iraqis are amazingly hospitable. Recently I traveled to a location with some of our agricultural advisors to discuss the formation of a farmer's cooperative. We had about 11 sheihks attend. I was told that each of them represented from 100 - 500 people in their respective villages. Each of these were the "patriarch" of their respective villages, and very much responsible for making decisions on their behalf.

The meeting was held at the home of one sheikh, in a large room that was probably 40 ft x 15 ft. There was no air conditioning and it was around 120 degrees outside. But, he had gone out ahead of our arrival and purchased a swamp cooler. We could see that it was brand new, purchased just for the occasion of our visit. As the meeting started, a couple of young boys came around with bottled water for each of us.

We met with them and explained the idea for forming an agricultural cooperative. After some heated discussion, they decided that it was worth the risk. We then asked them to elect officers. This is a totally new concept for them....democracy in action!! It was interesting to watch them nominate and elect officers. Actually they didn't actually vote, they more or less reached consensus. It was obvious that they were enjoying the idea of having some degree of self-determination, some control over their own futures.

After the meeting, lunch was served! We never saw the women, but it was pretty obvious that some talented ladies had cooked a fantastic spread for us!! A few young guys brought in some tables, and spread plastic lace tablecloths over them. Then....the food was brought in!!! First, they came in carrying stacks of the traditional flat bread. The young guy, probably a teenager, just had these big circles of flat bread laid over his arm. He walked down both sides of the table and more or less just "flopped" a piece of bread at each place, right on top of the tablecloth. Then, someone followed him and placed a tablespoon at each place. Then they brought in trays of meat, rice and vegetables; chicken with vegetables, and bowls of tomato-okra soup.

There were no individual plates, and no chairs. We stood to eat. Each person had their own spoon, piece of bread and bowl of soup. The meat and vegetables were served "family style", you might say....only with no utensils for common serving! The tradition is to just reach in and grab with your right hand...never your left as that is the "unclean" hand. It was sure a little awkward, but one of my friends at the table brought some hand sanitizer with him and we passed it around (as inconspicuously as possible) just before eating.

So, you reach in with your right hand and grab some meat off the dish. The meat isn't cut up, it's still connected, so you just reach in and pull it off. If it resists, you have to sort of maneuver with your hand (only your right) to pull it off. We Americans decided that the best way to eat the rice was to use our spoon and dip some of the tomato-okra soup up and onto the rice (it was still in the "common" bowl)....then quickly use the spoon to spoon some of the rice onto a piece of bread, then eat it quickly before the soup ran down your arm!! I guess the Iraqis thought we were crazy!!! It must have taken all their self-control to keep from falling in the floor laughing as they watched us attempt to eat "Iraqi style"!

The meat: The meat we had was lamb, from their favorite breed of sheep, known as Awassi, also known as "fat tail" sheep. Their body conformation is a little different from the varieties that we see in the States. The fat tail sheep are so named for a reason....they develop a fairly large fat deposit at the base of their spine, just above the tail. This deposit of fat serves as an energy reserve in case they have to go without food for a few days. It's an adaptation that is very valuable in this desert country. The goats of Iraq don't possess that unique feature. So, when the Iraqis put on a big spread, and want to show you that you're getting the best they have, they cook up a "fat tail" sheep, as it's preferred over goat. And, for display, they leave this fat deposit attached to the sheep, just so you can see for yourself that you're getting the best they have!! Look closely at the picture here and you'll see this fat deposit.

After we "men" finished eating, the teenage guys came in again and picked up all the dishes. There was no way we could finish all the food that was on the table, so there was plenty of food left. They picked up the dishes, and our interpreter told us that the women and children would finish if off. That meant that the soup I left in my bowl wasn't thrown out, someone else finished it.

Well, it was quite a meal, and a real cultural experience. I hope these farmers will be able to work together, improve their production methods (more on that later) and continue to control their own destiny.

Prayer Beads

I have limited interactions with the people of Iraq. I do get out and meet them occasionally, but not often. And, usually, at any meeting, there are no women present, we always meet with the men. And the one thing that is consistent about those meetings is that they have their prayer beads with them, and they're usually "working" them!! I find this really fascinating. So what's with prayer beads? Wikipedia has this to say,

"Prayer beads are traditionally used to keep count of the repetitions of prayers, chants or devotions by adherents of religion. Since the beads can be fingered in an automatic manner, they allow one to keep track of how many prayers have been said with a minimal amount of conscious effort, which in turn allows greater attention to be paid to the prayers themselves.
There are three widely accepted uses for prayer beads:
Repetition of the same devotion a set (usually large) number of times. This is the earliest form of prayer beads (the Japa Mala) and the earliest Christian form (the prayer rope). This is also the type in use by the Bahá'í Faith
Repetition of several different prayers in some pattern, possibly interspersed with or accompanied by meditations.
Meditation on a series of spiritual themes, e.g. Islam."

"In Islam, prayer beads are referred to as Misbaha or Tasbih, and contain 99 beads, corresponding to the 99 Names of Allah. Sometimes only 33 beads are used, in which case one would cycle through them 3 times to equal 99. Use of the misbaha to count prayers and recitations is an evolution of Muhammad's practice of using the fingers of his right hand to keep track. While in pretty wide use today, some adherents of Wahhabism shun them as an intolerable innovation, preferring to stick to the exact method believed to have been used by Muhammad. Their use as a religious item has somewhat diminished over the years, and many use them nowadays strictly as worry beads and as status symbols. They are most commonly made of wooden beads, but also of olive seeds, ivory, amber, pearls or plastic."

I was at one of the local shops today and looked at their selection of prayer beads.....and yep they all had 33 beads, no more, no less!! And, they come in a variety of colors, including green as is shown in the photo. But, I'm still not sure what the Iraqi men that I meet are doing with their prayer beads. They might be for worry, for a show of status, or for prayer. I'll probably never know, but it is certainly interesting!!

The practice of using prayer beads is found in many different religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and Bahai.

SSG Jeremy Dale Vrooman

This week I traveled out to FOB (Forward Operating Base) Warhorse, northeast of Baghdad. It's actually only 35 miles as the crow flies, but from appearances, it could be 300 miles away. It's really a desolate location, as are many of our FOBs.

We arrived around 3 pm that afternoon, and learned that at 5 pm there would be a memorial service for a soldier that had died last week. He was SSG. Jeremy D. Vrooman, originally from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I didn't know SSG. Vrooman, but felt compelled to attend the memorial service. You see, most of my days are spent in the relative luxury and solid security of the International Zone.....thanks to the many soldiers like SSG. Vrooman. Anytime I travel outside the International Zone, or off one of the FOBs, I'm guarded by young men just like SSG. Vrooman....young guys wearing 50 lbs of body armour, carrying backpacks of gear and their weapons. Guys sweating so much that they drink a few gallons of water every day. Young men hoping they complete today's mission without any "incidents". Young men and women just hoping to finish their tour and return home to their family.

A week earlier, SSG. Vrooman was on a patrol outside of FOB Warhorse, "clearing" some houses that were suspected of being Al Qaeda hold-outs. He was leading his patrol and was about 45 seconds ahead of the rest of his men. He walked into a house, and triggered a booby trap bomb that claimed his life. That was one of eleven homes in that area with booby traps!! By entering the house first, his actions cost him his life, but saved the lives of his men. He could have stayed back near the vehicles, after all, he was the patrol leader, the senior among his men. But, he was, as the military says "leading from the front"...not asking his men to do anything that he wouldn't do.

SSG. Jeremy D. Vrooman leaves a wife and two small children. Was his death worth the loss? Will this war leave Iraq a better place? How many more young men and women from our armed forces will die? Will we defeat terrorism? When will Iraq be able to govern and protect itself? I don't know the answers to these questions. I do know that SSG. Jeremy Vrooman deserves my honor and respect. May God bless him, his family, and all the other soldiers and civilians who have given the ultimate sacrifice to this war. Jeremy Vrooman is one of the 4,124 soldiers who have died in Iraq.