I couldn’t blog yesterday – no time. I had a mission to cover a mass release at Abu Ghraib.
We boarded a Rhino Runner early in the morning and departed down Route Irish headed for the "detainment facility." Officially, we are not allowed to call Abu Ghraib a prison. Personally, I think that is ill advised and possibly even stupid. Detainees are people who are imprisoned. Are they being brutalized? No. Are they being held in a confinement facility that most reasonable human beings would characterize as a prison? Absolutely. I’ll try to keep from getting distracted, however, since what we call the Abu Ghraib is only corollary to this tale.
The journey was singularly uneventful. We saw many Iraqis going about their business and we also saw many Iraqis waiting in long lines to be searched for explosives and so on. Thank you, Al-Qaeda. Thank you Sunni insurgents. That’s what I would be thinking if I were Iraqi. We saw quite a number of Iraqi patrols, as well as American patrols. They were going about their business, looking very professional. I was heartened to see American and Iraqi patrols waving to one another as they passed in opposite directions. I also saw many jointly manned checkpoints, with Iraqi and American warriors working side by side.
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The day’s event – the release of 450 men who had been deemed low-risk in regards the safety and security of Iraq. The men had all agreed to renounce terrorism and violence and none had been found guilty of any serious crimes. The overall atmosphere was fairly relaxed, considering the environment. A few of Iraqis inside the wire were playing soccer while they waited.
When we arrived the men were clustered in a large group behind metal mesh and concertina wire. I could feel their anticipation. I’m sure if I were in their shoes, I would be feeling a wide range of emotions. I could sense varied thoughts going on behind the eyes of individuals in the crowd. The Iraqi National Security Advisor, Muwafaq al-Rubai, was on hand to speak to the crowd. I have no idea what he said since the speech was in Arabic and I was busy taking photos. I do know there was spontaneous clapping as he talked.
When the gates opened and individuals started being released in small groups, I thought fights might break out and men argued loudly about who should be allowed out first (I assume that is what they were loudly debating.) Eventually, the men all made it out without anyone getting hurt, but I worried a little bit. Iraqis tend to have a different sense of personal space and public etiquette than we do.
Many of the men had personal items including suitcases and computers, which surprised me a little bit. I don’t know why it did. Obviously, it is important that personal belongings seized during an arrest be given back to their owners. As the men filed out to board waiting buses, some of them were so excited they ran. One man said "thank you" in English as I took his picture. He smiled genuinely at me. Others were more reserved. I’m sure some of them probably resent the uniform I wear. I cannot blame them, but if I spoke fluent Arabic, I would remind them that there are two ways to approach any problem – constructively and otherwise. Terrorism is not a constructive way to solve problems and I live in the same imperfect world they find themselves stuck in.
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I hope the newly freed men find themselves able to be productive and happy in their changing nation. Some of them will. Others will probably end up back at Abu Ghraib or a similar facility.
On the way home, a young boy herding a cow across the road stuck his tongue out at us. That was the highlight of my day yesterday.
The release I attended is part of a larger release this month of more than 2,500 Iraqis who have been detained for various reasons. You can read a mainstream media report on the releases here. It’s just full of hope and unbiased reporting, or not. You decide what’s what. I’m busy doing my job.