Reaching Out to the Marsh Arabs
The Government of Iraq, with a few Coalition forces, reached out to the Lahijia tribe, a sub tribe of the Abbu Muhammed tribe, of Iraq’s Marsh Arabs near Basra Nov. 2.
The humanitarian aid mission was led by the Iraqi Army, provincial councils, local veterinarians and community leaders. It was supported by a small group of British and American forces, and is part of a bigger GoI program to reach out to the marsh area’s population and include them in the Government of Iraq.
“The mission was to treat the people of the Rota village near Basra,” said Yousif Yousif, physician, Iraqi advisory task force, 44th Medical Command. “We saw about 450 men, women and children. Most of the cases were simple.”
The marsh area, drained by Saddam Hussein after the first Gulf War, is home to a majority of the Marsh Arab population that has not left.
“In the past, the marsh tribes were persecuted by the old regime. They were treated horribly,” said Maj. Scott Roberts, deputy, reconciliation cell, Multi-National Corps – Iraq. “There is no running water, or electricity. Most of them don’t even have shoes and they have not had a school for the children to attend in the Rota village since 1977.”
The Iraqi Army has advanced from supporting security operations to executing support missions and aiding the government in providing support to the people of Iraq in locations still in their infant stages.
“Iraq is a country gaining strength, and to solidify that strength it is developing its capacity to deliver essential services and reconcile with its population, not just in urban areas,” Roberts said. “They were able to bring medical support to and really reach out to the population with just a small Coalition force presence.”
“Two weeks ago, when a small Coalition force advisory team visited the village, there was only one elderly man present. The others were either in hiding or out working,” Roberts said. “Now, after being told that the Government of Iraq was coming to help by bringing them humanitarian assistance, all of the men showed up, to include some of the younger ones.”
The mission not only provided medicine, food and blankets, but it also renewed the relationship between the Marsh Arabs and the GoI.
“The Iraqi Army planned the operation very well. All the doctors and nursing staff were fantastic in treating people and running the combined medical engagement,” Yousif said. “I consider the mission a great success. A great deal of the patients were satisfied with the level of care we were able to provide.”
“The humanitarian assistance mission built a relationship between the population and its own government to gain control and dominance of its country with its own institutions and it was a great success,” Roberts said. “It was a great meeting. When the day began, there was a feeling of uncertainty, and in the end the Iraqi Army the tribe members were dancing with each other sharing tribal songs.”
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