Date: 2004-11-01 13:41 Subject: Hassan's story Security: Public Tags: bombing, death, hassan, marwan

This is the story of what happened the day of the explosion.  Marwan, one of my closest Iraqi friends and the Operations Manager for the company, emailed this to me.  I have edited it for readability and spelling/grammar where necessary.  See the lj-cut at the bottom of this message for the text of his original message, unedited.

Notes: Hiba is Hassan’s sister, and works at the company as well.  The rest of the people named here are all employees – engineers, technicians, drivers, and sales staff.


Hello Tyler,

First of all I am very sad to what happened to Hassan.  He is my friend from the days of college and here is the story about what happened there.

I was sitting on my desk when Hassan show up, so I welcome him because he was in Basra and he ask me later that he need this day off because he has (FATHA). It’s the ceremony to dead people, like some one friend or relative dies. Any was I told him to go and take another day with it and I will tell TheBoss about this. So he went to his sister and he told her that he got 2 days off and he is heading home.

Then in 3:15 PM we heard explosion, very big one even some of our windows broken (not so bad). And I thought it’s in the main road just like the other explosion. Then the news came and they said it’s in Al Arabia channel. At that moment Hind jump and said that she saw Hassan there when she was collecting money from them this afternoon. So we all panic and immediately Emad and Abu Gheith and Ammar and Ziad went there. And since the explosion I am trying to call Hassan’s mobile and its shut down so I kept calling Ammar and Emad.

Then Emad went to the Hospital to check there. They said that most of the people are there. Any way they did not let him in and then he talked to a doctor and he said to him that there is no Hassan. After, he went and talk to the people from the channel (wounded). So I don’t know why but I have some kind of feeling that he is dead.

And after two hours Emad came back so I went with him and Kareem, Samir and Omar came with us so we stops there at the American check point. We parked the car and then we meet Ammar and Ziad, so we split into two teams because there is two ways to Arabia. Ammar and Omar and Samir team and me, Kareem, Ziad in team. So I head to the check point and asked the solders very politely (begging) and he said to me that this man he is the responsible here so if you can convince him he will let you in. So I talked to him and he said ok just you and I said ok. So they search me and then let me in.

The first thing when I was walking I heard the people cleaning the broking glass from their homes, and then I reach the place. And it was a disaster. 31 cars are damaged some of them you can’t tell what is this car from the first look. So I stopped near the ambulance and start to ask the people there, then they found 4 bodies and they asked for help. So this my chance to check, so I went with them and carry 4 dead people. The first one I am 100% that this man is not Hassan. He is burn badly but you can tell from the big body that this man is not Hassan. So I called the people, saying that the first one is not Hassan. Then we went to the second one and he has his face, so it’s not Hassan too. Then the other one show up and he is burn so badly that you can’t know what is he or she. And then anther one but I did not recognize him he was in a bag so the ambulance carry on and I start checking the cars.

So I suspect only one. It looks like his car but I can’t tell, so one of the IP’s told me that this car was for two women. So that’s mean no car here for Hassan then one of the IP’s told me that there is car inside this house. The car thrown from the explosion inside the house (the garden). so I tried to check it but I could not find it. Then I notice that there is piece of metal inside the garden. it not look like car and it almost dark so I walked to that piece of metal. then it was a car but packed, like the height of the car was 40 cm and the length was 2 m, and I could not tell what is that thing just from the wells and it look like for small car.

I could not stay there for long time because the Americans and the IP’s and the ING was there and they might suspect any one. So the American army thought that I am some kind of man with normal wear working with the IP’s with good English language, and the IP’s thought that I am interpreter with the American. So I was moving with both and discuss the accident with the people there and through question about Hassan. So then so I asked every body, even the American solders, if they see this kind of car.

Any way I tired from jumping between the cars and carrying dead bodies and the smell was so stinky, so I lost all the hope of finding him. And I have one body (the burned badly one) and the one in the bag and the car inside the house. Then they confirm to me some how that this one the burned one is one of the guards, but I am not sure - it could be some one else. So I return back (by the way the phone did not stop ringing when I was inside, like every body knows that I am inside so I explain 100 times every thing I am doing and what I found and what the body look like).

Any way I reach the check point again and I saw the guys there waiting for me, so I explain everything with details to them and I told them about the suspect car and the suspect two bodies. Then Ammar want to check himself so he ask the solder and he said ok go with him. So we went again and the ambulance was left the site so he could not see anything, just small pieces of meat in the ground here and there. So we return back after he convinced that he will not find any thing useful.

Then the American preparing for leaving the site, so now any one can go in. After half hour the American left the site, so we went again but this time all of us searching and now no one will tell you where are you going. So we saw Hassan’s brothers there, and I just direct them to the suspect car. Everybody try his best to see if this is Hassan’s car, then one of his brothers and Samir said to me that probably this is the one from the wells but still not convinced 100% or trying to convince my self that this not the car.

Then the ING kicked us out, so we went to the company because most of the guys are fasting so they eat I tried to eat but I could not (I just can’t - they are eating chicken and it just look like one of the burning parts of one body that I carry so I smoke instead of eating).

Then we decide to go to the police station hoping that they arrested him (when any explosion happen anyone in that area will be suspect so they take them to the police station for questioning). So we went there and Ali, Kareem entered the station to check. Then after 15 minutes Kareem return back and he was crying and he just collapse and we did not understand a word from him. Then he calm down and start talking. He describe what Hassan was wearing - blue shirt and jeans - so he told him that he saw his body and the IP mention to Kareem that there was ring in his left hand and you can find him in the hospital (the refrigerator).
So we went to the hospital and then after little tour inside the hospital we went to the fridge to check. Ali and Emad stay outside, me and Omar and Samir and Kareem went inside. Then they stay at the door and I went inside (this is the first time to me to enter fridge for dead people so I thought I will see one just like the one in the movies). Anyway, there were 7 bodies in the ground. I recognize 4 of them and I check them all again, then I went out saying to them that no one of them are Hassan. Then anther two families come and start screaming this is him, this is him, any way we just stand for 5 min to let them see, and then Omar and me went inside again but without finding any thing.

So we have only one that I told you about - the one in the bag - so I ask Samir and Kareem what is his clothes look like. They told me that he was wearing blue shirt so I open it and I found piece of shirt that look like Hassan shirt, so I scream on them to confirm that this is Hassan’s shirt. So they look at the shirt and they said yes this is it so I open it all and try looking again and I found a piece of his jeans and it was horrible view. You are seeing your friend with out leg and with one hand and no head, most of it gone and his leg just laying. Every bone was broken, you could not know him, just [know him] from his clothes. Anyway I try to find any ID or anything inside his clothes, and that mean that I have to carry some of his part to get his clothes and that was the hard part. Any I search his only left pocket and I found lighter and the mark of the jeans was Boss still there.

So we go out and try to see what they think, so we decided to go to the company but we need to be sure because TheBoss is waiting for answer and his sister Hiba was too. So this time Kareem and me went inside and he search him again and we did not find anything, so we decided to go to the company and inform TheBoss anyway. He called Hassan’s brothers to tell them that we found him. They come and they went to the hospital directly, and this is the last thing that I heard. I went to the house and my head is killing me and that’s it.

Marwan

( Click here to see the original text of Marwan's letter. )

Date: 2004-10-31 09:39 Subject: Waiting for Hassan, part 2 Security: Public Tags: bombing, death, hassan, iraq

I want to say thank you to everyone who responded to my first post about Hassan.

For those looking for more info about the bombing itself, the most complete report now available can be found here.  Thanks to jedipussytricks for the link.

We are now 99% sure that Hassan is dead.  The staff found a body at the hospital.  It was missing its head, arms, and a leg, but was not burned.  Someone described it as "a bunch of meat and bones".  And it was wearing Hassan's clothes, right down to his favorite brands.  Boss khaki-colored jeans, blue collared shirt - exactly what he was seen wearing earlier that day.  TheBoss says it looks he caught the brunt of the impact.  He was leaving the Al Arabia office when the bomb hit.  His body was dismembered by the blast and thrown as far as the neighbor's house.

It's not likely that we'll ever be sure.  What will happen now is we will wait.  And Hassan will not suddenly reappear, and we'll all give up hope that this isn't his body.

The staff is numb - the search for him gave everyone time to let the idea settle in.  They will grieve, and the family will probably hold a funeral soon, and it is possible they may ask for fassel from the company.  I am sure we will pay it.

I wish I was there, with my friends.  Sometimes I feel like as much of an honorary Iraqi as one can be.  And sometimes I feel like I'm standing on the sidelines, watching them live their lives.  It is at the worst of times that I want to be there the most.

There is always hope that we're wrong, but I'm going to do this anyway.

Hassan was 30 years old.  He had worked for the company for one year.  He was a Shia Muslim, light-skinned, wore glasses, and was very quiet.  He went to some of the most difficult and dangerous places in Iraq for us, and never complained.  He was originally from the south, and because of this often traveled there for us.  He was in Najaf in May, sneaking in to the CPA while US Army snipers traded rounds with Al-Mehdi snipers on top of the hospital.  When Jayme and I married, he decorated his car as the traditional Iraqi wedding carriage and drove us home from the church.  He was brave, intelligent, reliable, and kind.  He was married three weeks ago.

( R.I.P. Hassan Alwain Hussein Al Dehlegi, 1975-2004. )

Date: 2004-10-30 16:02 Subject: Waiting for Hassan Security: Public Tags: bombing, death, hassan, iraq

A massive explosion shook the company's Baghdad office 30 minutes ago.  Apparently there was a bomb at the Al Arabia TV office on the other side of Al- Rahman Mosque, on Hunting Club Road.  This is less than a kilometer from the office, on a major road that we travel frequently.

News reports on Al Arabiya say it was a carbomb, and that the car pulled up and then detonated immediately.  We're still trying to make sense of this, as that area is extremely secure and normally blocks all vehicular traffic from getting close enough to do a lot of damage.

No one at my office was hurt, although a window was blown out.  However, one my engineers, Hassan, was at the Arabiya office when it happened.  They are a customer.  We are awaiting word.  Ammar and Imad are there now, trying to get in or find out more.

And so again, we wait.

Update: reports say the bomb was small.  There are no deaths reported, and the wounded went to the hospital still able to walk.  That means mostly shrapnel and glass wounds, al hamdu lillah.

Update, 2004.10.30 14:35 GMT: There are now 7 reported dead. Two are positively identified as women, the other five are unknown. Still no word on Hassan.

Update, 2004.10.30 15:30 GMT: It seems my earlier report was dead wrong - this was a big bomb. 31 cars are now known to be destroyed in the immediate area, and the number of dead is expected to be very high. Marwan is there now, and says there are "bodies all over". He cannot get past the US soldiers, and no one is providing more information. The dead and wounded are being taken to Yarmuk hospital, and we'll most probably send someone there next.

Date: 2004-10-09 01:33 Subject: Giantlaser's mailbag: beheadings Security: Public Tags: death, iraq, kidnapping, mailbag

It's time once again to see what's in giantlaser's mailbag!

Today's question is from aloudallowed:

How do you feel about the beheadings?

It goes without saying that I find kidnapping and the filmed execution of hostages deplorable.  But there's more to the issue than might be apparent to Westerners.

First, kidnapping is a profit industry here.  When I first arrived, it was quite common to hear of prominent businessmen being kidnapped and ransomed.  While it was understood that the hostage might be killed for not paying the ransom, killings were rare.  Most of the time, the family would haggle for a good price, pay the money, and get him back.  It was more of a nuisance than anything else.  One could almost consider it a cost of doing business.  One you would eventually pay if you failed to pay for adequate security.

However, it has turned ugly with so many insurgent and terrorist groups here.  Criminal gangs routinely do the kidnapping, but have no dogmatic agenda - they're just in it for the money.  If they happen upon someone the mujahadeen want, they'll sell him to them directly.  And these groups pay good money.  Any Westerner in Iraq has a price on his head - anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 depending on the group that is paying.  And that's just for someone of no special political importance.

A friend of mine - a customer, in fact - is currently being held by one such gang.  He is Turkish Iraqi, educated and smart.  He runs a few internet cafes for American soldiers.  He was captured while carrying his American-issued base-access cards.  This makes him worth nearly as much as an American citizen - he is a collaborator and "traitor to Islam" in the eyes of Ansar Al-Islam, Al Qaeda, and other groups.  No word on his fate yet, or if his family has been approached about a ransom.

Finally, the issue of beheading itself.  While extremist Islamic groups use this as a tactic, please do not believe this is a Muslim act.  Any true Muslim abhors such violence.  Beheading a hostage and releasing a film has only one purpose - as a public relations move designed to terrify the public.  For some reason we see this as a particularly bad way to go, as if anyone really wants to die by gunshot, hanging, or any other means of execution.

Simply put, it makes a great headline, and that's why they do it.  Would a British citizen who was unceremoniously shot and dropped in a ditch, not filmed, even make the 11 o'clock world news segment?  I'm not sure it would anymore.  As soon as Al-Jazeera stops airing the videos and CNN stops following the story, beheading as a terror tactic will go away.

Date: 2004-10-03 20:45 Subject: Mohammed is home safe Security: Public Tags: death, iraq, kidnapping, mohammed

Mohammed returned tonight, about 5 hours after we first got word of his capture.  He showed up at the office, dirty, tired and scratched up, but otherwise fine.  Everyone kissed his cheeks and said al ham du lilah salama, and then we sat down in the reception area for him to tell the tale ...

They took him in a separate car to a rural area and held him in a barn.  There the men said they were "mujahadeen, and we need money".  They told him he was a traitor for working with Americans, and they would torture him.  They asked him all kinds of questions, but he lied about the important details – company name, location, salary, everything that could be traced back to us.  Then they injected him with something which they apparently thought would make him sleep.

Mohammed pretended to sleep after a few minutes, and they moved him to a vehicle.  A voice said "I'm sorry my friend, but we're taking you somewhere else now".  They tied his hands with a head scarf and blindfolded him, and the car moved off.  After a few minutes, Mohammed worked his hands free and removed the blindfold.  He realized he was in the back seat of the car, with only the driver up front.  He jumped up and hit the driver in the back of the head, driving his face into the steering wheel.  Then he reached forward, took the Kalishnikov beside him, and hit the man in the back of the head with the butt of the rifle.  He beat him to death - until his head split, until his skull was crushed.  Then he dove from the car.

This is where Mohammed got the scratches, it seems.  Rolling in the road.  He flagged down a passing trucker, who helped him to a police checkpoint.  The police put him in a taxi back to Baghdad.

Mohammed is luckier than many, and braver than most.  He was lucky his captors were rank amateurs.  He was lucky he escaped before he could be transferred into the hands of more capable insurgents.  He was brave enough to make his move when he saw it, and willing to do what he had to do to ensure his escape.

I don't know if I have it in me to do what he did.  But I know I don't feel one bit sorry for the son of a bitch he killed.  And I don't think we'll need to worry about anyone come looking for fassel.

I'm shaking, just telling the story.  This isn't some adolescent fantasy about revenge or righteous comeuppance.  This really happened, to someone I know.  To someone I am responsible for.  To someone I truly care about, and like, and drink beer with (he's not a good Muslim).

The waiting is over.

Date: 2004-09-30 10:22 Subject: Mailbag day! Security: Public Tags: death, iraq, mailbag

It's time once again to see what's in giantlaser's mailbag!

Today, valiss asks:

I recently heard on the radio that buying vhs tapes showing the recent
beheadings is a hot item on the streets of Baghdad.  Have you heard
anything about this?

It's good you ask, valiss.  This statement is categorically not true.  VHS was once popular here.  About four years ago, DVD's became cheaply available and quickly surpassed sales of VHS.  The older tape format has now gone the way of the dodo.  Secondly, 16 years of constant fighting and hardship have taught Iraqis a sense of morbid humor.  Consequently, the viewing of snuff films with one's friends is quite common.  For instance, we often do it at the office.  So, to answer your question directly, buying DVD's and VCD's of the recent beheadings has ALWAYS been a hot item on the streets of Baghdad.

Sincerely,
giantlaser

Date: 2004-09-09 16:37 Subject: R.I.P. Byron L. Van Dyke Security: Public Mood: in mourning Tags: death

My grandfather was diagnosed with terminal cancer two months after I moved to Baghdad.  He was given 6 months to live, and I knew I wouldn't be back before that.  It was hard news to get.  I mostly ignored it, knowing deep down that I'd miss him when he was gone.

I wrote him a letter for Jayme to deliver when she visited the States for Christmas 2003.  I told him that I planned to marry her, and that I expected him to live long enough for me to see him one last time.  Amazing both his family and the specialists at Stanford, he did.

When I got back stateside, I was very busy doing all the things one has to do after a year overseas.  And I used this as an excuse to not make the time to go see him.  I procrastinated.  Finally I called my grandmother the day we were to leave for Burning Man, and she told me I had better make the time while I can.  So we did, visiting for an hour and half before departing for the playa.  And it was clear he wouldn't live much longer.

Grandpa died August 31, 2004, while I was on the playa.  I didn't get the news until a week later.  I am glad I made the time to see him while I could.  I would never have forgiven myself if he had held on so long for me and I was too afraid to see him.  I wish I had made more time, and it is too late now.

I visited with my grandmother, and went to his grave, and said my goodbyes.  But I think it will be a while before I let go.  Grandpa raised me for most of my life.  He taught me patience.  He gave me love, and taught me to drive, and kept peace between my grandmother and I through the difficult teenage years.  I will miss him.

Grandpa wrote the obituary himself.  In the first person, because he wanted to.  But the paper refused to publish it that way.  Someday I'll find the original and publish the correction.  For now, this will do.

Rest in peace, Byron L. "Van" Van Dyke, 1931-2004.

Edit 2006-02-09 09:35 UTC: Replaced obituary link with transcription in later journal entry. The online newspaper has removed the entry.

Date: 2004-06-29 16:57 Subject: Goodbye, Tiresias "Pink Eye" Jones Security: Public Tags: animals, death, iraq

Pink Eye died this morning.  She came to us a kitten 13 days ago.  Since that time, we've fed and cleaned and cared for her like parents over our own child.  And we fought, and she fought, but she was very sick and we could do no more.

I'm very angry at the veterinarians here.  We took her to two different ones looking for worm medication and advice on what to do to help her.  They gave us the wrong medications, or insisted she was fine, or that she didn't even need to be de-wormed.  If I see either of those vets again, I will kick him right in the jimmy.

Even more frustrating were the websites.  Every site on the web that tells you how to care for a feral kitten tells you what to do when things go right.  But not one will tell you how to help when they go wrong.  "Take your cat to a vet" is the refrain.  In this country, vets see to watchdogs and farm animals.  They are woefully incompetent.  So we were left fighting in the dark against whatever disease killed her.

Pink Eye's true name is Tiresias "Pink Eye" Jones.  Jayme has a funny sense of humor.  She likes small things (IE- small toast), and small plural things (small toasts), and long, creative names.  The only thing that would have made Pink Eye better to her would have been two Pink Eyes, or one Pink Eye that knew how to make small toasts.

Pink Eye came to us weak, starving, with her eyes sealed shut by infection.  We cleaned her and fed her by bottle, and little bits of food, and cleared her eyes and gave her medications to help.  Her corneas were scarred by the infection, but we hoped to clear it up with Lysine treatments (it was likely a Herpes infection).  After a few days, she grew strong.  She played.  She peed on us.  A lot.  We washed the sheets every day.

Being nearly blind meant Pink Eye wasn't afraid of heights.  So she rode many places on my shoulder, or across the back of my neck.  She gripped with her tiny claws and didn't complain.  She sometimes slept there while I worked.  Jayme and I couldn't leave her at home, so she brightened our lives at work too.

Friday morning, while I was in Sulimaniya, Jayme woke to find Pink Eye lethargic and "floppy".  Her body was limp, she wouldn't eat, and she could barely hold her head up.  We found her outside her bed at night, freezing cold, and we slept with her between us to keep her temperature up.  We force-fed her formula and electrolytes, we found worm pills (all the way from Kirkuk, thanks to Jayme's friends), we tried everything.

In the end, we only made her death more comfortable.  Which is the best thing we could do for her, and the hardest thing for us.

I wasn't able to cry for Alaa.  I wasn't that close to him.  And I was in a leadership position and had to keep an objective frame of mind until the crisis passed.  At least, that's my excuse.  But for Pink Eye, I cried like a baby.  We cried like babies, Jayme and I both.  We cried when we found her dead this morning, her body still warm between us.  We cried when we buried her in the yard, a floor tile for a cairn stone.  And I'm crying again right now.

I posted the last pictures we had of Pink Eye on our gallery.  See them here.

( Rest in Peace, Tiresias Pink Eye Jones, 2004 )

Date: 2004-06-26 15:45 Subject: Dukan Vacation Security: Public Tags: death, dukan, iraq

Author's note: if you have not read my last post, please take a moment to read it first.

We settled in to our cabins in Sulimaniya, and then drove to Dukan around 5pm to swim in the lake there.  Dukan is in the hills between Sulimaniya and Dahuk, in north-central Iraq.  It's a beautiful village with a booming summertime tourist industry.

About 40 of us rushed right for the water as soon as we got there.  The lake is warm in the summer, and fairly clean, and the rocky floor slopes at a steep 35 degrees into the water.  Six meters out, you cannot touch the bottom without diving.

We had a great raucous time for almost an hour, splashing and swimming far out and back.  I've never gotten over my old fear of deep/dark water, but I kept up with Kareem and Anas and Omar D. as they raced out and back.  We returned close to the shore and practiced treading water.  A dark brown fish, strangely heavy, passed close to me and smacked my arm.

I took a moment to myself, floating in the water.  50 people in the water, every one of them a friend or coworker or even confidant.  Every one of them Iraqi - Kurd and Arab, Sunni and Shia and Christian, good Muslims and the ones that join me for a beer after work.  And I felt completely at ease.  I was the only white man there, the only white man for 50 kilometers most probably, surrounded by people speaking a language not my own, a culture that once felt so alien to me and whose customs I am slowly adopting.  I realized that I've changed again, and I wondered if my old friends will recognize me when I visit in June.

And then Ali started asking where Alaa is.  Alaa is a technician, a little guy who started working for us last summer, before I arrived.  He is 18 years old and just finished high school.   And as we asked around, we realized no one had seen him since we arrived.

His clothes, sandals, and ID sat on the shore, proof that he should be in the water with us.  And so we searched, and borrowed boats to search the distant areas of the lake in the hope that he went exploring.  Marwan and Salim and I and many others searched under the water.  But it was deep and large, and we did not find him.

30 minutes after that, an hour and half after we arrived, the inevitable truth of it started to sink in.  We sent Noor Al Dien, the older Kurdish guard who grew up in this area, to the police station.  I ordered the women and children back the cabins while the rest of us waited.  I didn't want the children to be there when we found the body.

Noori returned with a truckload of police and a diver.  They told us that when people drown here, they always find the body in the same place.  He stripped off his clothes and dove in, crossing the small cove in two dives.  Then he pulled Alaa up.

His body was so blue.  Blue and brown at the same time.  Alaa had been under far too long, and if the police knew CPR they didn't bother.

We watched all this from the cliffs above.  The moment the diver surfaced with him, the men began making a terrible noise.  They screamed and wailed and cried in the way American men are raised not to.  Saeed threw himself down the cliff before we could stop him, running down the rocks and taking Alaa's body.  He carried him up alone, all the while screaming his name.  Kareem had to be pulled back from the edge, and others too, and some just sat there stunned.

The police pulled his body into their truck and left immediately.  They were there and gone in the span of five minutes.  We stood around, confused and grief-stricken.  Before you have seen a body there is still hope.  We no longer had that.

We began to piece together the truth.  Alaa was one of the very first in the water.  The last time anyone saw him was when he ran down to the shore and took off his clothes.  In all the excitement, no one noticed him missing.  He did not struggle.  He simply disappeared.  At first we thought he dove in and hit his head, but there was no wound there.  There was not enough air in his lungs to make him float, which means he inhaled water.  He died underwater and never came up.  No one remembers actually seeing him in the water; his first dive was probably his last.  The "dark brown fish" that bumped into my arm was not a fish.

We went to the police station to formally identify the body.  We learned the diver was in prison there, and they often released him to help with searches.  We don't know his crime.

They took the body to a hospital, and we contacted his family.  Maher drove them up the next day.  The men of the company met them in one room in the Iraqi "men meeting" style, and told the family how it happened.  His father spoke softly and otherwise sat silent in his grief.  His cousin was angry, and cried out and put his hand through a glass door.  He cut his wrist to the bone, spilling bright red arterial blood on the glass and floor.

Mohammed bandaged him, and they took them to Alaa's body.  His cousin wailed, and cried "Alaa!", and refused stitches for his wrist, and beat his chest in the way Shia do, and smashed his head into a wall over and over while they tried to restrain him.  They wrestled him down and sedated him.

The next day, Maher and Saeed took his body and family back to Baghdad.  Soon they will begin fathah, and then they will take him to Najaf to be buried with all the Shia that have died since Ali himself.

The family refused an autopsy, despite the mysterious circumstances of his death.  The doctor did a surface exam.  He did not spit up water when compressed, nor did he have foam in his mouth.  Both are usually present after a drowning.  He did not have a head wound, or anything to explain why he died.  He was a good swimmer, and the shore was close, and he could not have been exhausted.  We will never know why he died.  Only that it was his time.

TheBoss had legal matters to settle after the death, so we stayed in Sulimaniya as planned.  I played morale officer, keeping the engineers distracted while the shock passed.  We played Carcassonne and Guillotine, and football, and my laptop emulated Super Bomberman 2 all weekend.

We now begin negotiations for fassel for Alaa.  This is the hardest thing for me to accept, for this was an accident.  But his family is large and powerful and its young men are ignorant, and they will blame us.  If we do not pay, they will kill one of our people.  Ridiculous as it is, the best solution is to pay the blood money.

The Qu'ran says that God will not punish those who die by water or by fire.

( Rest in Peace, Alaa Hussein Jasim, 1985-2004. )