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India town buries U.S. Muslim soldier slain in Iraq
There is no spin like Reuters spin. The reporter alleges than Indians are joining up so they can become citizens. But only green card holders can join the military - and they can become citizens without joining it in 5 years instead of 3 if they do join. Why would the 2-year speed-up make any difference, when green card holders are permitted to work in any job they want to, stateside, and are eligible for all the college financial aid and other government benefits that citizens are entitled to? In terms of bennies, the only thing that differentiates green card holders from citizens is the ability to vote.Hundreds of grieving Indian Muslims on Sunday attended the funeral of an Indian-born U.S. soldier killed in a rocket attack in Iraq last month. The body of 23-year-old Hatim Kathiria was flown to Dahod in the western state of Gujarat on Sunday, accompanied by U.S. officials and his wife, Lissy Jean-Pierre. "He was my only son. His ambitions took him to the U.S. and then to Iraq. We lost him, but he died a martyr's death," said a grief-stricken Shirin, Kathiria's mother. More than 2,000 people thronged the streets of the Muslim-dominated town, some 90 km (56 miles) south of the state capital, Gandhinagar, shouting "long live the Indian martyr" and showering flower petals on the wooden coffin. Kathiria, who went to the United States in 2003, joined the U.S. Army the following year, with the hope that a stint in the armed forces would help fund a college scholarship. "His services have been recognised by the U.S. armed forces and the family will be provided support," said Michael Owen, the U.S. Consul General in Mumbai, who attended the funeral. Kathiria is the second Indian-born soldier killed in Iraq after Sergeant Uday Singh from the northern state of Punjab died last December when his patrol was attacked by insurgents in Baghdad. Kathiria, who had an Indian degree in computer engineering, ran a computer system that kept track of U.S. army supplies and parts in Baghdad. Nearly 1,900 U.S. troops have died in Iraq, many of them in attacks by Islamic insurgents opposed to U.S. policies. "He was a true Indian who fought against terrorism," said Rehman Faiz, a local Muslim priest in Dahod. Muslims make up around 13 percent of Hindu-majority India's one-billion-plus population and protests by them against the U.S. presence in Iraq have been more muted than in Muslim countries. India did not support the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, but there are an estimated 450 Indians in the U.S. armed forces. Their numbers are climbing as military service is seen as a short-cut to college scholarships as well as U.S. citizenship. Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-09-04 |
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