Photo By Staff Sgt. Jerome Bishop | Sobei Mashabani (left), the provincial rural services committee chairman, addresses an...... read more read more
Subscribe
By Sgt. Jerome Bishop
2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Members of the government of Iraq, along with members from the Multi-National Division – Baghdad Provincial Reconstruction Team, took the first steps in reuniting the people of Tarmiya with the government sworn to serve them, March 10, at a meeting hosted by a leading sheik at a meeting hall in Tarmiya.
Sobei Mashabani, the head of the rural services committee for the GoI, made the first visit by a government official to Tarmiya in more than eight months to attend a meeting of sheiks, hosted by Sheik Sa'id Jassem, to discuss issues such as security, reconciliation and essential services.
"Part of this was a reception hosted by Sa'id Jassem, the leading tribal leader here in the Tarmiya area," said Col. Richard Welch, a McConnelsville, Ohio, native who serves as chief of the reconciliation program for MND-B.
"They hosted a meeting here to talk about the needs and the issues in Tarmiya. Sheik Jassem invited all of the tribal leaders and various government officials to talk to the provincial council about what they need," he added.
Jassem and Mashabani took to the floor several times during the course of the meeting to address the audience, which consisted of more than 50 sheiks from the Tarmiyah area, to discuss issues of importance to local leaders.
"(Mr.) Mashabani was pleading to the people about how important it is to bring security," Welch said. "He said all this sectarian violence and personal hatred that ripped Iraq apart in 2006 has to stop, and it has to stop with us – the people in the community."
Mashabani's speech was one of hope. He said he hopes the Iraqi people can go back to their homes and be safe. He wants the neighborhoods back together.
While nothing was directly agreed on during the meeting, the foundation was laid to begin holding future meetings where concerns can be addressed more directly and yield results, said Welch.
The return of members of the GoI was in part due to the efforts of MND-B soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team "Warrior," 25th Infantry Division, and their predecessors.
"It's been attributed to the security. Tarmiya was not an area you could come to," said Lt. Col. Thomas Boccardi, a Colorado Springs, Colo., native who serves as the battalion commander for the 1-14 Inf. Regt. "It was an (al-Qaida in Iraq) stronghold. It was a known 'arms room,' as what it's been referred to, and it was an area where AQI was projecting attacks into Baghdad."
Since removing AQI forces from Tarmiya and the surrounding areas, the resulting increase in security not only led to the reopening of markets, schools and business, but the safe environment also allowed Mashabani and other key figures in the reconstruction effort to visit.
"Twenty years ago, Tarmiya was a thriving river-side town. It was a beautiful place where people went to go on vacation. It had great big markets and great new infrastructure. Since the war, it has completely deteriorated," Boccardi said.
While the meeting may not have resulted in anything clearly definitive, it fostered a promise of hope, in which every resident of the town and surrounding areas will be able to enjoy.
| Date Taken: | 03.10.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 03.12.2008 14:22 |
| Story ID: | 17302 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 411 |
| Downloads: | 393 |
This work, GoI representatives visit Tarmiya, by SSG Jerome Bishop, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT