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Iraq has fought battles. Wars have swept this large country. Many perished. People visit battlefields. We will embark on an adventure entering the twilight zone.
The Iranian-Iraq war was bitter and brutal. Al-Faw was a war frontier of this war which killed 500,000 soldiers and 100,000 civilians. People encouraged us to visit Al-Faw at the extreme southern tip of Iraq. It’s a peninsula containing a small fishing village and enters the Persian Gulf. It was the front line of this bloody conflict.
Our workshop was running in Basra. This would be a side adventure. We were trying to arrange through the Iraqi Red Crescent. Iraqi security and military intelligence said,
No way.
Our request was firmly denied.
We drove 529 kms. (328 miles) from Baghdad to Basra. The workshop opened. People suggested just run for it and see if you can get through the checkpoints. We quickly solicited local help with Landcruiser license plates which were not official but used the Red Crescent logo. Another helper gave us a slip from the local Red Crescent office signed saying we needed to visit Al-Faw Central Hospital for an inspection with the Director’s name.
We needed to divert our minder. Everyone was savoring a buffet lunch. So, I relayed to him that I was going to spend time in my room working and going for a walk.
I vaulted into the Landcruiser with my Iraqi driver, who wanted to go since the Iranian-Iraqi war lasted 8 years in Iraqi history. My young project officer jumped aboard.
We drove quickly. The southern journey covered 105 kms. (65 miles). We became nervous at the first checkpoint. The young soldier glanced a quick check and waved us past. The next checkpoints were more thorough but passed us.
At the checkpoint entering town, the military officer was tough. He was trying to prevent us from passing and told us to turn back. We emphasized delivery of humanitarian supplies. He was not pleased but let us pass after long negotiation.
We went right to the battle zone by the Shatt-al-Arab straits. The winds wiped coarse sands from the desert abrasing our eyeballs. Thousands of palm trees which were charred matchsticks stood out from the whirling sands. The smell of repugnant warm swampy waters mixed with rusted armor and charcoaled palm trees filled the air. Burned driftwood embedded in the sands. Seared armored vehicles and tanks 2/3rds buried in sand shadowed. Shreds from khaki military uniforms fluttered on the sand’s surface. The sands showed bomb craters. The desert held decomposed combat boots wearing inside fibula and tibia remains. Artillery pieces were rusting. The desert floor was littered below the surface with bullet shells buried in the sands of time.
I stepped out to get a closer look at eroding armaments stepping on threads of clothing. An Iraqi soldier ran quickly from the frontier post and asked us to leave. He was polite and friendly but didn’t want us to become a target of Iranian snipers which happens irregularly on this frontline. We were less than 300 m. away (900 feet) from Iran.
You drank water like hell. The sun parched you. The gusty sands smashed you. The swampy sewage aroma overwhelmed you. I gave the soldier a few bottles of cold water which he was grateful for. He spoke some English telling us to watch out walking as the whole battle zone was littered with landmines.
Another amusement which occurred in the Iran-Iraq war was the lobbing of nerve gas and poisonous gas or bombardments. Both sides especially the Iraqis used this sort of warfare. Who knows where it lingers after a few years?
We moved on through sandstorms and heat. Greenery did not exist. It was replaced by scorched brown or charcoaled black or baked dark green. A few stone houses reduced to rubble peered out from the burying sands. No civilians were around except military.
We reached the brand-new General Hospital. It was a refuge from our sad battle tour. The Director, a former military trauma surgeon, gave us a warm welcome and a briefing. Unusually, he told us that he didn’t need a thing. He had a challenge getting doctors, but government was working on incentives.
The hospital, government building, and mosque were practically the only three buildings standing in town-all new. President Saddam Hussein inaugurated the new hospital. It was well equipped and supplied.
Saddam in his early leadership built a good medical system in Iraq. People had universal care. Doctors and nurses were trained aboard. He built large referral hospitals in all the provinces; of course, named after him.
He showed us around including modern operating rooms and x-ray facilities. A small child was screaming in the empty emergency room held by his mother. He was being treated for stove burns. The local population numbered a few hundred.
The Director thanked us for our visit and interest in his remote medical outpost. He signed our permit slip. He invited us to return once they got more settled and established.
We crawled out of town. We returned to our Basra hotel. My minder was around and greeting me in the lobby. He asked me if we had gone to Al-Faw ? I looked at him and smiled said,
yes.
Leaving there, we gazed up and saw the over 50,000 soldiers who perished. They were wearing white shawls and barefoot with no faces. The young men were walking into the whirring white sands and disappearing into the distant haze.
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