A Good Man
On Sept. 6, 2003, halfway through his 13-month deployment, Southworth and his military police unit paid a visit to the orphanage. They played and chatted with the children; Southworth was talking with one little girl when Ala’a dragged his body to the soldier’s side.
Black haired and brown eyed, Ala’a spoke to the 31-year-old American in the limited English he had learned from the sisters. He recalled the bombs that struck government buildings across the Tigris River.
“Bomb-Bing! Bomb-Bing!” Ala’a said, raising and lowering his fist.
“I’m here now. You’re fine,” the captain said.
Over the next 10 months, the unit returned to the orphanage again and again. The soldiers would race kids in their wheelchairs, sit them in Humvees and help the sisters feed them.
To Southworth, Ala’a was like a little brother. But Ala’a — who had longed for a soldier to rescue him — secretly began referring to Southworth as “Baba,” Arabic for “Daddy.” CARRIE ANTLFINGER AP
So the single American Captain, against big time bureaucratic odds, adopted the boy. Go read it.
Written by jay on December 24th, 2007 with
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