The Boy of Tal’Afar
Amidst the ruins of the city, the poverty, the fear, and the despair of war; there was one boy unique among them all. His name was Anum, a small 12-year old child who did not stand out among the rest of the thousands of boy and girls caught up in the clash of arms and ideas between the radicals of Islam and those who opposed them.
Interactions with the boys and girls of Tal’Afar were one of joy and annoyance: joy for being able to help, but annoyance for the lack of appreciation by many. Anum was different. Anum was more interested in making and maintain friends, for he knew the inevitability of losing his friends. My first encounter with him was unique, for Anum did not ask or beg for anything. He simply wanted to know my name and shake my hand. He also spoke good English for a young Iraq. In some cases, he spoke English better than many of my translators.
I had told Anum to come see me at the Castle one day in order to give him some school supplies and a soccer ball. He arrived at the noted time, but was temporarily detained. Anum being excited to meet American friends had a list with our names and ranks. The Soldiers were suspicious of the little boy and held him under custody until I could be found. I found Anum scared and crying fearing he was going to be detained in an Iraqi prison as a terrorist. I eased his fears and provided him the supplies I had promised him. This helped solidified our bond.
Every since that fateful day at the castle: Anum and I became friends. He was my sidekick. In the crazy world of war, I was Don Quixote and he was Sancho Panza. Anum became my apprentice at the business center-serving as my aid during meetings and learning the trade of management. I joked with Anum whether he was preparing himself to become the lead city engineer or even more important, the future mayor of the city. Anum was eager to work hard for me. He was proud to have his American friend and asked me to visit his school. He was even proud to show me his school work.
Not everything was happy regarding Anum, but his personality hid that pain. April 21, 2006 was a day of darkness. I was with the mayor watching boxing matches when I heard the news. A massive car bomb near the castle had caused unknown casualties. The mayor and I rushed back to the scene. The area was devastated. The next day I saw Anum and asked him how he was. He replied that he was fine, but sadly lost 6 friends near the bombing where they were playing. 2 of his friends were recovered; the other 4 were never accurately identified. Anum had grown accustomed to losing friends during the war.
The pace of the war changed my mission. The focus of the war had transferred to the south to Anbar Province. As a result, I was ordered to move with my battalion to move south. Due to operational security and the infrequently of entering the city, I was unable to say my goodbyes to Anum.
Not being able to say goodbye to Anum was heartbreaking. I had bonded with him and now felt like I was abandoning him to his fate. I knew the potential of the terrorists making an example of him to the other Iraqi kids. They had done far worse to other children such as rigging their bodies with explosives in order to kill their families as they retrieved the body. I could only imagine what they would do to him. I felt helpless. I couldn’t save him. He had no one to turn to for help. Anum was essentially an orphan. His father had abandoned him and his mother could not provide for him.
I miss my little friend Anum. He was like a little brother to me or more likely, a son to me. I cared and still do care for his welfare, but now I feel like dead-beat father that left his family. I wish I could go back to help him, but fate will never allow me to.
Of all the people I met in Tal’Afar, Anum was my kind little friend. I wish him the best during these hard times and more importantly, I wish for his country’s prosperous future that Anum would grow up to and become one of its future leaders.
Years later, Anum reached out to me. He is doing well as could be despite the constant strike and struggle of life in Iraq.
