They serve as a connection between coalition forces and the local population. Linguists working on the front lines play a critical role for units and battlefield commanders. Yaseen would take a nearly-identical path, and began working with Marines in Diwaniya province. Passing an English proficiency exam, Salam began working with U.S. military contractor was looking for English-speaking Iraqis, and the job paid $1,200 per month. Salam was a second-year college student when a classmate said a U.S. Reading the "whole dictionary inside and out," he learned English well enough to be proficient in five months.įor both Soldiers, learning English would be the gateway to new possibilities as interpreters with coalition forces operating in Iraq in 2003-2004. Graduating four years later with a degree in materials, Yaseen found limited job opportunities, and began to study an English dictionary. When Yaseen's father pressured him to join the Iraqi army, he refused and instead said he was going to college. "God knows what the Iranians did to the Iraqi captures at that time." When I was raised without a dad, now I've got a dad in my home and I've never spent my childhood with him, so we got into fights, because I was the oldest and he just got back from jail," Yaseen said. "In 2000, my dad got back, so that's a huge impact.
Upon his release, the father and son had a hard time reconnecting and embracing all that was lost throughout a decade of separation. His father would be held captive for 12 years - a "virtual lifetime" for a young boy and teenager.
On the day my dad got captured, I was six years old, and my brother was an 11-month-old infant." "My mom was working for the power company, and she had to raise me and my younger brother. "When I was in first grade, my dad got captured and became a POW," Yaseen said. His father, who served in the Iraqi army, was captured by Iranian forces and served time as an Iraqi prisoner of war, or POW. Lasting eight years, the Iran-Iraq war would become the 20th Century's longest conventional war.įor Yaseen, the conflict became a life-altering experience for his family. Before both Soldiers were even born, the Iraqi dictator and his army invaded Iran in September 1980.
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With no cell phones or satellite television, Iraqis could watch two TV channels via antennas, but Saddam's face was usually plastered throughout the daily programming. "If I was talking to my mom or grandfather, and I mention any subject, they would say, 'Hey, sssh, maybe the walls have ears,'" Yaseen said. "He made people completely different people." " was a horrible leader, the destroyer of all life, the oppressor of all hope, any word you name it," Salam said. Oftentimes, the two said, conversations within one's home were guarded. Neighbors would vanish, never to be seen again. Personal conversations were hushed, inner feelings restrained, and overall anxiety was limited. Many people feared for their privacy, their well-being and their lives. Life under the late Saddam Hussein's regime took its toll, literally and figuratively, on citizens' daily lives. Salam, who is one of seven children in his family, had a father who was an older man and a well-regarded home builder, and made a decent living to support his sizeable family. "Then a high school friend used to be a carpenter, so he made me his assistant, and that took me all the way through college." "I helped my uncle as a butcher, then I fixed motorcycles and I had to do a couple things on my own, like sell groceries all the way up to high school, where I graduated in 2000," Yaseen said. "Kids play soccer, but I remember when I was in middle school, we used rocks or stones to play," Yaseen said.Įlementary and middle school-aged children often worked laborious jobs to support their families, and Yaseen worked early on a multitude of jobs that would help pay the bills.
A childhood in Iraq meant relying on whatever was nearby to entertain a young pack of children. Yaseen was raised about 80 miles south of Baghdad, and said he spent the majority of his life in his hometown.
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Yaseen also asked that his full name not be released due to security concerns.Īlthough the two were raised in different provinces of Iraq, they shared a common upbringing and early life of struggle. Yaseen, who works as a cryptologic linguist in the 163rd Military Intelligence Battalion, the prospect to transform their lives to U.S. The specialist asked that his full name not be released for security reasons.įor Salam and another native-born Iraqi, who served as a coalition forces' interpreter, Sgt. Salam, a Soldier in the 163rd Military Intelligence Battalion, 504th Military Intelligence Brigade, on Fort Hood, Texas, where he serves as a 35P - cryptologic linguist. Arriving in Seattle in October 2008, Salam began a journey to become a U.S.
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