Lt. Col. Amir Adolphe A. Edward, foreground left, a senior Air Force medical adviser, interpets a discussion of health needs between local Iraqi leaders and representatives of nongovernmental organizations at a conference Sunday in Tikrit, Iraq. Behind Edward are, from left, Army Col. Joan Sullivan, division surgeon for the 42nd Infantry Division; and Sgt. Cruz Delacruz and Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Mason of the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion, U.S. Army Reserve. (Charlie Coon / S&S)
TIKRIT, Iraq — After a country and its people have been battered left and right, it is often nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, that ride in to the rescue.
But Iraq is neither a safe place to ride nor an easy place to do business, as was reinforced at Sunday’s New Dawn NGO Conference.
One thing seemed certain: Connecting the groups with money to give and those who need help is going to be a long, hard slog.
“The biggest thing we have to do is moderate our expectations,” said Spc. Matthew Saarima with the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion. “We have to start small and work our way up.
“There is very little infrastructure, very little leadership and very little confidence and optimism. Those are all daily impediments to doing the job.”
About 125 representatives from 70 organizations as well as 16 Iraqi leaders came to the conference at Forward Operating Base Danger in Tikrit.
The military also helped transport attendees, flying some by helicopter from Baghdad, about 80 miles to the south.
There are a lot of needs in Iraq that charities would like to address, such as setting up schools and clinics, treating sick people and helping farmers grow crops.
“We are working in a country that is trying to get its democratic feet underneath it,” said Capt. Tammie Perreault, operations officer for the 411th CAB, who added that NGOs weren’t welcomed under Saddam Hussein’s regime. “Look at how many people who say, ‘I want to help the people of this country.’ ”
Iraqis, she said, aren’t used to working with outsiders to develop useful programs.
One man, for example, came to Sunday’s conference hoping to receive a new wheelchair. But the conference was to build contacts and generate ideas to work with charities to outfit people with new wheelchairs.
“There’s money out there, but we’re not just going to give it to you in a plastic bag; we’re hoping people will get mingling and start talking,” said Staff Sgt. Solita Padmore, also of the 411th CAB, an Army Reserve unit with Task Force Liberty, a Tikrit-based conglomerate of units under the 42nd Infantry Division.
In other countries, charity workers can come in and go right to work. But many are scared to come to Iraq.
“The problem is the NGOs did not coordinate their work with the administrative authorities,” said Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abdullah Hussein Mohammed, deputy governor of Salah Ad Din province, where Tikrit is located. “They must coordinate with us and permit us to support them with security forces.”
There is also the issue of appearances. Some Iraqis and outside charities are sensitive about working with the U.S. military, according to A. Heather Coyne, the Baghdad chief of the U.S. Institute for Peace, a U.S. government organization that funds peace-related projects.
“It’s a tough environment and the [U.S.] military is doing its best to provide bridges so people can have access [to charity],” Coyne said. “But the people who have the money to give are concerned about the ‘association’ with the military.”
At Sunday’s conference, some attendees sat off to the side and grumbled.
“This conference is very far from our needs, our goals,” Eman Jabar Kathem of the Women’s Rights Center for International Friendship said through an interpreter. She noted that she is from Hillah, far to the south, while the Iraqi leaders in attendance represented only areas to the north.
Brig. Gen. Essay Abed Mohammed, director of the Joint Coordination Center for Salah Al Din province, said the conference’s goals were too broad.
“It was a fantastic first step,” he said through an interpreter. “Everybody wants to make their point.
“The next step needs to have very detailed, very specific communication.”
Several groups broke off and had deep discussions.
“It’ll be a month or two down the road before we start seeing the fruits of this conference,” Perreault said. “The goal is to have people reconnect after the event.”
Soldiers such as Saarima sounded confident that progress was slow but steady.
“At the end of the day, I have to ask, ‘Did I get a little bit done?’ ” he said. “If you did, then you’re happy.”
