Things to do in Iraq
Published 30 September, 2008, 10:02
Ukrainian military officer and journalist Dmitri Timchuk spent more then a year in Iraq with the Ukrainian troops stationed there. RT is the first to publish his observations of daily life in the Middle Eastern country in English.
Part 1: Iraq, Al-Kut, Delta base camp – Babylon (Hilla), Alfa base camp. September-October 2004
A flight from Nikolayev to the base camp of Ukraine’s contingent in Al Kut takes only three hours. Our camp is located on the site of a former Saddam-era air force unit. As the place saw very little fighting during the war with America, the runway is almost intact. When the 7th Motorised Brigade of Ukrainian military forces arrived in Iraq, chances were we would have to land at the Tallil airfield and then get escorted to the Delta camp, depending on the situation in the Iraqi province. However, the American authorities gave us clearance, sparing us the long travel under the merciless Iraqi sun.
The IL-76 ramp goes down, letting a gush of hot air inside. Somebody is quick to comment: “Some nice weather they got here!”
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Due to the dry climate, the heat is not as extreme as one might expect, yet 45 degrees centigrade in the shade is pretty impressive, considering that it’s just morning. It is common knowledge that a Ukrainian new to Iraq spends the first two days groggy from the heat. Five days on, although dripping wet under his armour vest (this accessory, along with a Kevlar helmet, is a must when going outside the camp), he feels as comfortable as in his native Zhmerinka. However, guys who have spent half a year here tell us that the autumn chill has already set in. In summer, 50+ degrees centigrade is the norm.
Disembarkation is carried out military-style, with no fuss. A huge cargo plane chock-full with gear and enormous field bags developed especially for peacekeepers is emptied in some 20 minutes and taxis away to another platform for loading. In one and a half hours, it will head back to Ukraine, taking home the guys from the 6th Special Motorised Brigade.
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We are picked up by guys from the brigade’s press centre. They take us to the officers’ dorm near the headquarters. The dorm and the headquarters buildings are protected with sandbags, machine-gun nests and sandbag fortifications on the roofs.
These structures used to house the service personnel of Saddam’s air force division. The living conditions seem to have been quite good there, with a separate bathroom in each four-bed room. Today, the rooms are used for storage. All the sewage system in the camp has been sealed with concrete, so the washing is done in a separate shower trailer.
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There are obligatory air conditioners in every room. Coming inside from the searing heat outside, you feel cold and can’t believe it’s 25 degrees in the room. The first advice right away is to set the AC on 18 degrees before leaving and putting back to the optimal 25 degrees when coming back. Experience shows that setting the temp below 25 degrees guarantees you a cold (by the way, doctors say that a cold is the most common disease here, exactly for the above reason). As for the 18 degree requirement, it’s necessary. This temperature prevents various local fauna like centipedes and, most importantly, disease-carrying mosquitoes from entering your room.
Story and photos courtesy of Dmitri Timchuk
Not the right desert (Part II)
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