Photo By 1st Sgt. Brent Williams | Sheik Talib Kwali, head chairman of the Jihad Reconciliation Council, welcomes 250...... read more read more
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By Staff Sgt. Brent Williams
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers joined representatives from the Government of Iraq, the Hayy Jihad Neighborhood Advisory Council and Iraqi security forces leaders to welcome approximately 250 families back to their communities and neighborhoods in the Rashid District of southern Baghdad.
Soldiers and leaders of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, joined the Jihad Reconciliation Council and Iraqi army soldiers, Aug. 23, 2008, to mark the relocation of Iraqi citizens of the Shishaan neighborhood.
The event was a special opportunity to highlight the many accomplishments made by ISF in establishing security in the Jihad community, said Tom Lynch, Provincial Reconstruction Team leader embedded with the 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div.
The resettlement of Iraqis into their homes in Baghdad's Rashid District is also a testament to the Iraqi people, who are working to rebuild their lives, said Lynch.
"This is your achievement – the achievement of the people of Jihad," said Lynch, who hails from Fairfax, Va.
Resettlements in Rashid happen every day, but a ceremony celebrating the return of more than 250 families is a unique event, said Capt. Michael Garling, commander of Company E, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st BCT.
"This is all Iraqi-led, Iraqi-driven; and Iraqis put this together under the reconciliation council," he said, adding that he thinks the ceremony is a good news story that illustrates the people working with their local leadership and the government of Iraq to take ownership of their communities and rebuild their neighborhoods.
Garling said his engineer company works with the soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 53rd Brigade, 14th Iraqi Army Division, to provide security and stability to the area, which enables the Iraqi citizens to return to a sense of normalcy after years of violence and strife.
"[These families] have been scattered far and wide across Iraq, and now they can finally move back in their houses because the security is strong enough ... in the Shishaan area, for them to feel safe," said Garling, a native of Albany, N.Y.
Speaking at the ceremony, Staff Col. Ali Abood, the commander of the 1st Bn., 53rd Bde., 14th IA Div., asked the Iraqi citizens returning to their homes and neighborhoods to call if there is a lack of security in their communities.
Ali said his soldiers are working under the Iraqi government's instructions and reminded those in attendance that "there will be no safety without the return of displaced families."
"We made the preparation for you to return safe and secure to your area and your homes," Ali said. "Our hearts are open for you as well as our eyes securing you."
Sheik Talib Kwali, head of the Jihad Reconciliation Council, welcomed the displaced families to return to the Hayy Jihad community and said he hopes that security will be maintained in Rashid.
Kwali also addressed the lack of essential services in some of the neighborhoods in the Jihad community and asked the Government of Iraq to assist the Iraqi people to fix the problems.
"People of Shishaan are still concerned that in the area there are no services, such as sewer, water and electricity, but Coalition, ISF and the people [in the muhallahs] are working together to help bring back those services," Garling said. "There are a couple of projects in the works right now that should help them out."
| Date Taken: | 08.23.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 08.24.2008 13:09 |
| Story ID: | 22823 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 336 |
| Downloads: | 322 |
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