Marines stopped and knocked at a courtyard gate in Fallujah's Andaloos district. A little
girl answered the door with an anxious look on her face.
“Is the man of the house in?” asked Sgt. Ysac M. Perez, a
squad leader with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine
Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6.
As if on cue, a little seven-year-old boy appeared and owned
up to the title. The Marines greeted him with smiles and laughter. This
scenario is not unusual, however, said Perez.
“This is actually pretty common while the father is gone,”
said Perez, a Whittier, Calif., native. “He was considered the man
of the house since his dad was gone, which trips me out because back in the States,
a seven year old wouldn’t even be allowed to answer the door, and here he is,
the one in charge.”
The days of kicking in doors and forcibly searching
buildings and homes are long over for the Marines in the city of Fallujah as it
transitions bac
k to a peaceful community. Instead, Marines knock at the doors
and greet the people with a professional and sociable demeanor with cultural courtesies
in mind. It is a job many of these Marines never imagined they would be tasked with
in a city known for its history as a violent epicenter of Anbar Province.
Perez and his Marines with 4th platoon, Co. K, patrolled
their neighborhood and gathered census information to develop a clearer insight
into the area, its people and their concerns.
Along the way, during the patrol, Perez chose the upscale
home to stop and visit. He wanted to speak with the
residents to check on how
things were going, as a friendly neighbor would do.
The boy said his father was away at prayer and the mother was
out tending to daily errands. For Perez this was a sign the family felt secure
enough to attend local mosques and shop in a now-bustling market place.
Perez asked the boy for permission for his Marines to go to
the rooftop to overlook the area from above. The boy took a look around at the Marines
and their weapons, and with a smile, decided to allow them in.
As the Marines slowly walked through, they subtly scanned
the rooms as an informal search while they made their way to the rooftop. Perez
ensured his Marines were careful not to encroach on the family’s privacy.
“My Marines know what rooms not to go into and stay out of,
like the prayer rooms with mats and the rooms the females are in,” Perez said.
Perez, having children of his own, wondered what the Iraqi
children hope for in the future.
“Personally, I like to try to see what their outlook is
toward us and what their dreams are compared to the children in America, who
dream of being crazy things like rock stars and all,” Perez said. “From what I
have got so far, they aim pretty high. A lot of them want to be doctors,
physicians and engineers. Some of them may get the chance.”
When Perez asked the child how big the family was, and all
the children’s ages, he came to the realization the family had been growing at
a rate of roughly one child every year.
As the Marines started to descend the three-story house to
leave, the father returned home from prayer.
When asked if he minded the Marines being there, he
responded by saying they were more than welcome to be in his house. He thanked
the Marines for being there and commented on how well the Iraqi Police are
coming along.
To the Marines’ cultural interest, the father kept up two
families. At the household the Marines were currently visiting, he had a wife
and seven children. In his other household in a neighborhood not far away, he
had his second wife, four children, mother and mother-in-law. He supported the
family by selling fish in the market.
“He seemed like a real upkept guy,” Perez said. “He was a
very family-oriented man. He didn’t care about what was going on in the outside
world. All he worried about was his own family.”
What was unique about this man to Perez was the man was
wealthy by Fallujah standards, yet remained more focused on the smaller issues
within his family than trying to have any influence on the developing world
around him.
“Fallujah is very good. I don’t worry about the poverty. I
don’t care about the war and insurgents. I care about providing food and
shelter for my family,” the man told Perez.
During the fighting for the city, the man said he had left
the city, but had not traveled far to live in a small town outside of Fallujah.
He returned home and found his property had been damaged. Two of his bedrooms
had been completely burned.
He didn’t know who was responsible, and did not seem
interested in finding out. Since his return, the highways had become safe
enough for commercial trucks to travel from Baghdad to deliver his fish to the market. The
man made enough money from his business to go on with his life and make the
necessary repairs to his homes with his own money.
For the man it was a normal visit. He said he speaks with
the Marines frequently and continually understands more about what is going on.
His only complaint was about the unreliable power sources in the city. He said
he rather see money be spent on correcting the power failure problems than
anything else. The Marines reassured him the problem was being worked on.
It
was a brief visit for the Marines with a family they will now know a little better.
The Marines will continue communicating with the locals, getting to know them
better and, ultimately, ensuring the people’s safety and their own through the
means of pleasant, everyday interactions.
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