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Baghdad Story
One of the Iraqi translators working for the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) lucked out. The translator came in to work on Tuesday with a special gift for Dan Sudnick, a CPA senior adviser for communications.
The female translator was crying as she explained how grateful she was that Mr. Sudnick had encouraged her to take Sunday off from work (the normal Iraqi day off is Friday).
As a result, she stayed home and was not standing in line when a devastating car bomb exploded outside the entrance to CPA headquarters that day. The bomb killed 20 persons and injured 60, many of them friends. For the Iraqi workers, the jobs at CPA office, located in a former Saddam Hussein palace on the Tigris River, are the only sources of income for their families.
"Our translator explained that she too was very poor and was supporting her family, but she presented a beautiful hand-carved box to Mr. Sudnick and told him it was something from her home that she had selected to give to him, something beautiful and precious, in gratitude for the kindness he consistently showed to her, that ultimately saved her life," said Bonnie Carroll, a reserve Air Force major and Veterans Affairs employee on loan to the Pentagon.
"We all cried and hugged, and were one family mourning the losses and being thankful for those who were spared."
Maj. Carroll continued: "Each day here in Iraq is a triumph of heroes who are coming forward to rebuild their country. I am in a constant state of amazement at their courage and strength and commitment, even if it means their lives, for this powerful cause."
Posted by Owen at January 23, 2004 06:48 PM | TrackBack