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Short stay in Halabja

(Halabja, Iraq.)
This trip to Halabja, I elected to use a private driver hoping to have more mobility. Last time in October of 2006 I took a mini-bus which left me bound at the hip to the bus. This trip, my Kurdish driver keeps a stiff upper lip, but he too does not seem comfortable being here. We stopped for tea in Halabja at his suggestion, and the people were nice. I kept watching my driver's facial expressions and I could tell he was preoccupied. After all, he had brought in the intruder.

The soldiers here have different berets, different arm bands, and different uniforms. The AK-47 machine guns are the same. The Kurdish flag is more prevalent than last time and this is reassuring.

I do not know what is planned for the 20th anniversary of the gassing of the city coming up in a couple weeks. All my blue-collar experience, my combat military training, my ambulance people-interaction training, my college cultural studies, and just plain instinct, tell me I and my driver should not stay here too long. My checkpoint fatigue caps my decision to leave.

I get the feeling this is one city it would be better if I had an in-country sponsor or trusted guide to help me. None-the-less, I have done the best I can. This will probably be my last posting about Halabja while in-country. Perhaps I can elaborate more when I get back home.

Bob Keith
Halabja, Iraq

View more pictures from Bob's travels.