By PAMELA GOULD
When she heard President Barack Obama's Oval Office speech this week on the withdrawal of U.S. troops, Iraqi native "Summa" said she was upset by his assessment of her countrymen.
"I was so angry when I heard President Obama say Iraq is not ready because of the insurgents," she said. "The insurgents and terrorists is not the Iraqi and civilian people."
"Summa" had to leave her country after assisting coalition forces in and around Baghdad, but she still cares about the Iraqi people and sees a need for continued assistance.
Though she likes Obama, she doesn't think he appreciates the complexity of the situation in her homeland.
"Summa" now lives in Fredericksburg. She relocated to the United States in July 2008 under a special immigration visa after working for two years as a translator and cultural advisor for American troops in Iraq.
Her real name is not being used to protect family members who remain in Iraq. Summa is a wanted woman in the city where she was born because she helped U.S. and coalition forces in their efforts to rebuild Iraq.
"I'm wanted by terrorists so I can't live in Baghdad anymore," she said.
In addition to coming under gunfire herself, Summa said her children were targeted because of her role.
In 2007, terrorists stopped a car her teenage daughter was riding in to school one morning. She wasn't kidnapped only because her friends concealed her identity.
A few weeks earlier, her young son was playing soccer in a neighborhood street when he was snatched by a two-car convoy that had lain in wait for him. But Summa said he was tossed from the car "like garbage" when a neighbor witnessed the kidnapping and started firing a gun at the fleeing vehicle.
Summa sent her children out of Iraq for their safety before they all eventually came to America.
KNOWING THE ENEMY
Summa said her homeland faces two key challenges now that brutal dictator Saddam Hussein has been removed.
First, she said, the average citizen lives in greater fear.
Before, they had one identifiable, persistent threat--Saddam--and they learned to survive by not speaking against him, even in social circles, she said.
Now, they feel threatened in multiple ways and never know when the next attack is coming.
She said terrorists arrived from Afghanistan and Iran to try to thwart U.S. efforts, plus Iraqi citizens who don't understand freedom have used it to act out in destructive ways.
Summa said that's the other challenge--learning to live in freedom.
"Everybody, they not familiar with the term freedom," she said, seeing it as permission to do anything they want.
She likened that to a household with strict parents. When the parents leave, the children respond by tearing up everything.
"We don't understand the freedom rules," she said.
"Your freedom ended when you hurt other people. They don't understand that.
"They need knowledge, education, explanation."
In letters of commendation, Army and Air Force officers praised Summa's skills as a linguist and her ability to help them navigate the nuances of life in the Arab world.
U.S. Army Maj. Jimmy A. McGrath recognized Summa's help to his unit, noting that she faced the same dangers as his soldiers. She "truly desires a free, democratic and stable Iraq," he wrote.
It is because of that desire that Summa reacted so strongly to Obama's remarks. She fears what's to come with the official end of combat and removal of most American troops.
Summa believes it could take 100 years for Iraqis to learn to live successfully under a new form of government.
During that transition, she would like the help of American forces as peacekeepers.
"Iraqi people would get there if American people would stay there and help," she said.
A FRESH START
Summa, her son and daughter are all now taking classes at Germanna Community College.
She's doing it to find a better job so she can pay for her children's education as her parents did for her.
Summa earned the equivalent of a bachelor's degree in sociology in Iraq and had taught Arabic, English and French to kindergartners for 13 years before working in an office.
After initially resisting the idea, she spent two years working with U.S. soldiers and airmen, frequently encountering roadside bombs and even an ambush.
After risking her life and that of her family, she's frustrated to be working in retail here. She's been unable to get a government job because she isn't yet a U.S. citizen and despite the security clearance she had in Iraq and the letters of commendation from military officers.
"It sort of doesn't make sense to me," she said. "I want to be working for the federal government to be a cultural advisor or interpreter."
She has lined up occasional work with the military as a role player in their efforts to educate troops about Middle Eastern life, she said. She's even willing to return to Iraq to continue helping.
In the meantime, Summa said her heart has led her to seek certification to teach special education.
Her daughter's goal is to become a dentist.
And her son wants to study political science and then become a U.S. soldier and fight terrorists.
In Iraq, Summa said she witnessed the positive efforts of the U.S. forces, especially after she began working with them.
She saw them helping injured children, rebuilding schools, supplying hospitals, helping build police stations and training officers.
All of that contradicted what she had initially heard from fellow Iraqis.
"After a few months, I learned all the rumors about soldiers was fake," she said.
"We had to learn what is truth and what is fake."
Pamela Gould: 540/735-1972
Email: pgould@freelancestar.com