Shrine, cemetery cleanup strengthens U.S., Iraqi Airmen relations

Photo By Staff Sgt. Daniel Martinez | Tech. Sgt. Daniel Landi, 506th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, walks around the Sultan Saqi cemetery here picking up trash and weeds Sept. 18. Sixteen volunteer Airmen from the 506th ESFS took part in the cleanup in preparation for the end of the month of Ramadan. Landi is deployed here from the 442nd SFS, Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo.  

IRAQ

09.18.2009

Story by Staff Sgt. Daniel Martinez 

506th Air Expeditionary Group

American and Iraqi Airmen worked together to clean up the Sultan Saqi shrine and cemetery here Sept. 18 as the month of Ramadan neared an end.

Sixteen volunteer Airmen from the 506th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron filled garbage bags with trash and weeds that littered the cemetery grounds while Iraqi airmen washed the shrine with scrub brushes and a fire hose.

Lt. Col. Francis Lowe chaplain, 506th Air Expeditionary Group, deployed here from the 81st Training Wing, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., coordinated the joint venture to beautify the Islamic holy site.

"There's an old saying: It's one thing to be nice to somebody, but if you're nice to their children or their relatives, you honor them even more," Lowe said. "It means a lot to the Iraqis that we were out there in the hot sun cleaning up and doing this for their dead. It doesn't just honor their relatives, it honors their religion and their culture."

Lowe said this sort of gesture has a ripple effect that aids in nation building.

"It does a lot to build relations and tear down the illusion that we're bad guys," he said. "This is something they can take back to people downtown, to their relatives and say 'look what the Americans did, they cleaned our sacred shrine.'"

The chaplain said the cleanup was in preparation for Eid al-Fitr, a three day Islamic holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan. During Eid al-Fitr, Muslims strengthen bonds with family and friends and visit gravesites. The history of the shrine and cemetery here is relatively unknown, but an American of Iraqi descent provided some insight to the chaplain about the significance of the holy site.

"I was told by an interpreter that the mosque was built over the graves of the Sultan Saqi and 90 of his followers who were martyred more than 1,000 years ago, which makes the site sacred to the Iraqis," explained Lowe. "Since that time, many others have been buried in the cemetery that expanded around the shrine, some as recently as the 1980s."

After the Iraqis washed the shrine, the chaplain was invited to step inside and view the green tiled floors, colorful holy Muslim sigils written in Arabic on the walls and the inside of the dome.

Respectful of the significance the shrine is to the Iraqis, the volunteer Airmen moved cautiously between the mounds, tombstones and the brick-encased and concreted graves. Many carried bags filled to capacity while others carried items that couldn't fit in the bags. Some Airmen said it was a chance to positively reach out to the Iraqis.

"This was definitely an amazing experience for me. I was grateful to be part of the cemetery cleanup and I enjoyed establishing a good rapport with the Iraqis," said Tech. Sgt. Charles Simpson, 506th ESFS, deployed here from 116th SFS, Robins Air Force Base, Ga. "It just takes the small things that we do to change the mindsets of many Iraqis."

Many Airmen shared Simpson's enthusiasm and purpose for volunteering to clean up the sacred site.

"I felt it was important, for one to help build bridges between the Iraqi people and us regarding religious and cultural barriers," said Tech. Sgt. Daniel Landi, 506th ESFS, deployed here from the 442nd SFS, Whiteman AFB, Mo. "Also I felt this was a good opportunity to help the nation builders."

Landi said coming together to volunteer for this cause shows compassion and closes gaps between U.S. Airmen and Iraqis.

The sergeant added, "I felt a lot of pride from this particular experience because primarily it shows the compassionate side of U.S. forces ... Also it makes you feel good to do something nice for somebody."

• Date Taken: 09.18.2009
• Date Posted: 09.29.2009 06:38
• Story ID: 39410
• Location: IQ