Iraqi Americans: The War Generation

By Weam Namou

The War Generation, the first of the Iraqi Americans book series, is a collection of 36 articles that Weam Namou wrote over the years which paint a picture of Iraqi Americans’ political and social situation and their struggles. Namou writes, “The views that leaders, politicians and activists I interviewed had about Iraq and the United States fascinated me, especially since their views largely differed from, or were not found in, mainstream media. Given these people’s direct connection to both countries, I felt it was important that their stories and perspectives be heard.”

A full color book, The War Generation has a large focus on Christianity and the biblical city of Nineveh because, after the 2003 US-led invasion, Christians were heavily targeted by fundamentalists. Many leaders foresaw the genocide that began in June 2014 against this group of people and tried for over a decade to establish an autonomous region in Nineveh for Christians and other minorities in Iraq. Their efforts were in vain.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Weam Namou
• Release date: Feb 20, 2016
• ISBN: 9780977679089

Weam Namou

Born in Baghdad, Iraq as a minority Christian, Weam Namou came to American at age ten. She is an award-winning author of eight books - three novels, one poetry book, and the Iraqi Americans Book Series. Her recent memoir series about her experience with Lynn Andrews' 4-year shamanism school reveals how the school's ancient teachings helped her heal old wounds and manifest her dreams. Namou received her Bachelor's Degree in Communications from Wayne State University. She studied fiction and memoir through various correspondence courses, poetry in Prague and screenwriting at MPI (Motion Picture Institute of Michigan). Her essays, articles and poetry have appeared in national and international publications. As the co-founder and president of IAA (Iraqi Artists Association), Namou has given poetry readings, lectures and workshops at numerous cultural and educational institutions. In 2012, she won a lifetime achievement award from E'Rootha. Her rich Babylonian heritage, her educational background, her apprenticeships with spiritual masters, and her travels around the world have helped her make connections with people from different walks of life - Spanish, Italian, Greek, French, British, Portuguese, Czechs, Israeli, Mexican, Moroccan, Tunisian, Jordanian... the list goes on. Namou hopes to pass on her cultural and spiritual teachings to her readers.

Book preview

Iraqi Americans

The War Generation

Weam Namou

HERMiZ

PUBLiSHING

Copyright © 2015 by Weam Namou

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the author.

ISBN: 978-0-9776790-8-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

2 0 1 5 9 0 8 5 3 8

Namou, Weam

Iraqi Americans: The War Generation (nonfiction)

First Edition

Iraqi Americans Series: Book One

Published in the United States of America by:

Hermiz Publishing, Inc.

Sterling Heights, MI

With the support of the Iraqi Artists Association

a nonprofit organization

www.IraqiArtists.org

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Acknowledgements

Introduction

PART I

Building Bridges

The Word is Mightier than the Sword

Dis-trusting the Wrong People

The Iraqi Girl Who Worked for the US Army

How Some People Became Terrorists

The Woman That Keeps on Giving

Giving Back, Again and Again

Finding His Place in Iraq

PART II

Refugee Man and His Family

Roads Not Paved in Gold

Christian Iraqis Frustrated by US Government Policies

Corbin’s Second Visit—Waiting to Explode

PART III

Nineveh Plains Project

Beautiful Stones in the Middle East

The Right Christian Label

Restoring Iraq to a Place of Dignity

Attaining Autonomy in Nineveh Plains

The Governor of Nineveh Plains

Kurdish Regional Government

What to Do with the Christians

Pushing to Establish the Nineveh Plains

The Train Name

The Flag and the Rock

Are Iraqis to Blame?

PART IV

Iraqi Parliament Candidate

Iraqi Elections in America

Chaldeans and their Ancient Roots

Is Islam a Religion of Peace?

Protests in Detroit

Protests for Freedom and Democracy

The Trail of Tears

Rallying Against ISIS

PART V

From the Babylonian King Hammurabi to US’s Democracy

Genocide Exposed

Words from a Republican Statesman

If You Remain Silent, Your Turn Will Come

Afterword

Other Books

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to the publishers and editors I have worked with over the years who made it possible for me to explore the Iraqi American community in depth. My sincere thanks to the following publishers: Martin Manna, co-publisher of The Chaldean News, and Joyce Wiswell, editor-in-chief; the late Hawke Fracassa, publisher of the Macomb and the Oakland Observer; Riyadh Kathawa, publisher of Future News USA.

Introduction

During Saddam’s era, those who were interested in politics or simply wanted to express their opinion had to either join the Baath Party or be neutral. If they wanted to start a new party or movement or speak their mind, they risked imprisonment or death. Today, the situation is ten times worse. No matter what they do or believe in, people risk losing their lives in a most brutal manner. In America, it’s quite the opposite. Most US politicians, city officials, influential leaders, journalists, and educational board members seek and support relationships with diverse communities. Furthermore, they encourage and advise ethnic groups to tell their own stories in order to build bridges, educate the general public, and establish a more peaceful atmosphere within communities.

What I did in this book is take their advice. I decided to start a series called Iraqi Americans.

I have been covering Iraqi American people, stories and events for over eight years. By freelancing for various newspapers, particularly The Chaldean News, which caters to the Iraqi Catholic community, I had the opportunity to meet Iraqis from all walks of life. The views that leaders, politicians and activists I interviewed had about Iraq and the United States fascinated me, especially since their views largely differed from, or were not found in, mainstream media. These people included the former Iraqi President’s son, the President of the Iraqi Parliament, the Chaldean Cardinal and other prominent members of the community. Given these people's direct connection to both countries, I felt it was important that their stories and perspectives be heard.

Today, there are some thirty thousand books about Iraq, but only about a dozen of these books are written by Iraqi American authors. This is despite the fact that the US has been involved with Iraq for over a hundred years. Since 2003, lifelong contracts have been signed between the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and US companies. Over one hundred twenty thousand Iraqis have fled to the US and are still entering the country with a rate of twenty thousand a year.

The Strategic Framework Agreement, signed in 2007 by President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, is designed to establish a long term bilateral US-Iraqi relationship with strong economic, diplomatic, cultural and security ties. Now, with the emergence of ISIS, a new political relationship has been formed.

It is, therefore, becoming more crucial for Iraqis to tell their stories through books and media in order to have a voice in their new homeland. They need to describe who they are, what they know and what they need and want, not have others do so for them. I gathered the articles I have written over the years, like the one about the man who saved himself from terrorists through poetry, and compiled them into this book, mostly unchanged, to give a snapshot of Iraqi Americans’ political and social situation and their struggles. I want to give people unfamiliar with Iraqi culture a better understanding about the Iraqi community as well as show Iraqi Americans their stories in books.

The War Generation has a large focus on Christianity and the biblical city of Nineveh because, after the 2003 US-led invasion, Christians were heavily targeted by fundamentalists. Many leaders foresaw the genocide that began in June 2014 against this group of people and tried for over a decade to establish an autonomous region in Nineveh Plains for Christians and other minorities in Iraq. Their efforts were in vain.

The War Generation is a term that renowned poet Dunya Mikhail brought to my attention when I was writing an article about her. She said that Iraqi critics called Iraq’s group of literary artists the war generation because they were published in the 1980s, when Iraq was at war with Iran.

I don’t think this name is legitimate because the war never ended since then, she said.

PART I

Working in Iraq

Building Bridges

(March 2009)

Fort Jackson Army Training Center in South Carolina, built in 1759. This fort was actively used during the Revolutionary War. Soldiers here later fired the first shot of the Civil War.

When I was six months pregnant, I was invited to South Carolina for a three-day tour of the Fort Jackson Army base. I and about two hundred other leaders, journalists and media professionals from the Middle Eastern and Arab communities were brought together as COIs (Center of Influence) to increase army awareness and improve COI relationships in support of the United States Army Recruiting Command (SAREC) recruiting mission.

A conference for Center of Influence visitors from the Middle Eastern and the Arab communities

I was very impressed with the tour in Fort Jackson and the politeness and mannerisms of everyone around me as well as their hospitality, good humor, and dignified attitude towards their work. Feeling the heaviness of my pregnant body, I also envied the young men and women who climbed walls and nets and ran around the military base. I had always appreciated the disciplinary ways of the military, but I appreciated it more so as a wife and mother pregnant with my second child. During my college days, I often considered joining. I loved the intense training, the uniforms, the benefits, the transformation I saw in those who had gone into the military and the remarkable difference between soldiers and civilians. I felt I could be a good soldier and serve my country that way until I realized that the military was not my calling. Writing is. So here I am, serving my country through storytelling.

Center of Influence visitors observe a recent graduation ceremony

* * *

Storytelling is a very old human skill that gives us an evolutionary advantage. If you can tell young people how you kill an emu, acted out in song or dance, or that Uncle George was eaten by a croc over there, don’t go there to swim, then those young people don’t have to find out by trial and error.

MARGARET ATWOOD

Canadian Poet, Novelist, Literary Critic, Essayist, and Environmental Activist

Many people, especially those of Middle Eastern background, associate the US Army with fighting and neglect to recognize its other dimensions, one of which is the 09L (pronounced 09 Lima) Interpreter/Translator program.

That’s why the tour for Center of Influence visitors was set up. Each year, Middle Eastern community leaders from all over the US gather at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, to be educated about the program. The March 2009 tour included Michigan attendees and army recruiters Maysoun J. Sweis and Muntadar Al Mousawi as well as Nabby Yono, vice president of community relations for the Arab American and Chaldean Council, and Fouad A. Ashkar, chairman of the Arab American Chamber of Commerce.

This program saves lives, said Jean AbiNader, a founding board member of the Arab American Institute. We need to bring together community leaders to understand why it’s important to have people of Arab background be involved in the army.

We’ve been served by this country and this is a way to pay back, said Joumana Chahine-Sleiman, the army’s lead Arab Interpreter/Translator recruiter.

The 09L program was launched in February 2003 when the army was tasked by the Office of the Secretary of Defense to establish a pilot program to recruit native and heritage speakers of Arabic, Dari, and Pushtu. In February 2006, 09L became an official Military Occupational Specialty to support commanders as interpreters and translators in the field. 09L soldiers differ from contractors in that they are soldiers first, linguists second.

Two things we do here, said Major General Thomas P. Bostick. We train soldiers and we grow leaders.

I was an interpreter in Iraq with the US Army, said one Iraqi girl currently training to be a 09L soldier who asked not to be identified. What I like are the benefits, the education, and the respect associated with the military.

Aside from expediting citizenship for Green Card holders (Congress mandates that soldier cases be completed within six months), the army also started bringing interpreters from Iraq to Fort Jackson and providing them with a Green Card within a month or so.

Many Middle Easterners have been in this country for decades, but they continue to look at the US as an enemy, said Tony Barakat, a US Army recruiter from Illinois. They come here for one reason—to make a lot of money and to make it in a very short time. They don’t consider becoming leaders, which requires education and dealing with the US government.

As part of the program, the Center of Influence visitors observed a recent graduation ceremony that included a young Iraqi girl who received honorary recognition for her achievements. She had been in the US for one year and was eager to serve in Iraq.

I noticed the mistranslations in Iraq, she said, so I promised to go back to do it right.

The girl introduced people to her mother, a white-haired, blue-eyed lady who would never pass for an Iraqi.

She is not my real mother, she explained, but I call her that because, after my husband and father were killed, she helped me a great deal. The US Army has been very kind and nice to me.

A number of 09L soldiers who served in Iraq feel that some of their greatest achievements were building bridges. One soldier was happy to have been able to change the manner in which women were searched and the way families visited prisoners.

When a prisoner’s wife and children visited him they couldn’t touch him or her, he said. We advised the military to allow the family to greet each other warmly and, afterwards, let them communicate through a window. The military listened to us.

What’s the future of 09L after US troops pull out?

There will always be a need within Iraq, said Lieutenant Colonel Frank DeMith, 09L program manager. Eventually we will have military-to-military partnerships, so we’ll need liaisons to pass messages between the two forces.

As one sergeant put it, The army will never close.

It’s our duty to tell our children that the government is a great career in this country, said AbiNader. If we don’t tell our stories, others will tell our stories for us.

It’s clear that building bridges is strong as well as difficult work. In the conference room alone, Center of Influence visitors identified how the usage of the phrase building bridges could cause some confusion. One recruiter recalled that an Arabic speaker once told him, "I’m an expert at building bridges. Is