|
Iraq: Forbidden love between GI and Iraqi woman
Edited for brevity.When her fiance left Iraq for Germany, Nayzak al Jassm gave him a Koran for luck. Rafael Velez asked her to remember him with a tiny cross that dangles on a gold chain around her neck. Faith, they said, is the only force strong enough to protect them from the disapproving whispers of people who do not believe in love between a Muslim Iraqi woman and a Roman Catholic U.S. Army sergeant. Their relationship - they plan to wed in December - is forbidden by local custom and military orders. They met at a checkpoint outside a Baghdad bank in May, a month after U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein. Jassm, 26, was hired as an Arabic translator for soldiers at the site and brought them home-cooked breakfasts of flat bread stuffed with meat and cheese. On long shifts, Velez, 38, comforted Jassm when passing residents threatened her life for working with the Americans. By June, they realized that their relationship was raising suspicions. They were careful not to stand too close together or laugh too loudly. A tug on the ear substituted for "I love you" when other soldiers or Iraqis were around. Velez gave Jassm a sealed letter to take to her parents, who opened it to read his apologies that security concerns prevented him from asking for their daughterâs hand in person. The engagement was sealed when Velez sneaked a visit to Jassmâs parents, who served him and another uniformed soldier Turkish coffee in a sitting room decorated with Islamic art. Although Jassmâs father still has reservations, her mother said, they agreed to the marriage as an opportunity for their daughter to live outside a place ravaged by decades of conflict. "I donât ask for assurances - itâs her life," said Samira Amees, Jassmâs mother. "There is only one God, one judge. You can see good people from the Muslims, from the Christians, from the Jews. And you can see bad people from all of those groups. My daughter doesnât have a future here. These are the best years of her life and she has seen nothing but war. I am happy for her." If only more Muslims (and other religions) were as tolerant and open-minded! Posted by: Dar 2003-09-05 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=18362 |