Photon Courier tells the story of a courageous woman who, at tremendous physical danger to herself, refused to back down in Iraq (scroll to "A Genuine Heroine")

Humalia Akrawy is a 22-year-old Iraqi Kurdish woman. Her father was tortured by Saddam's regime, and lost the full use of his hands. Her brother was killed: one of his legs and part of an arm were sent back to the family. She tells of what happened in Iraq following the 9/11 attacks on the United States: "When 9/11 happened, Saddam ordered a 3 day celebration with feasts and parades. Some people did not want to celebrate those attacks. He had those who did not participate brutally executed in public."

Following the invasion by Coalition forces, she volunteered to become a translator for the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army. In revenge, the enemy ambushed what they thought was her car, killing her sister instead. She then received a letter: "We know we missed killing you, but we will be back," and her home was blown up.

Humalia Akrawy helped her remaining family members move to a relatively safe area, in the far north of the country and then returned to her job. In fact, she accepted a new position as the translator for Lieutenant General Petraeus himself--a position carrying even more risk because of its high profile.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

These are individuals who would face a gruesome death in the event of a precipitous American withdrawal from Iraq.

Read the whole thing, and definitely browse around while you're there: it's an eclectic blog, and he does a lot of think pieces on a broad number of subjects. Often these essays have to do with how various segments of the economy function, or the way management can best go about developing a business. All discussed in "lay language," and made quite readable/entertaining.

It's sometimes like a private-sector buffet, but he certainly doesn't shy away from politics.

Scoot. I mean it.

Posted by: Attila at 12:06 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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