JimSpiri ”THE LAST LAP #8”

The latest journey called, "The Last Lap" - IRAQ, 2015

© Jim Spiri 2015

Made with Xara

July 18, 2015 It is Saturday morning around 8:15 am.  I have been seriously sick for the past 36-hours.  I believe I  contracted a form of dysentery and it has completely knocked me back a bit.  Not since my travels  to El Salvador have I had this problem.  Coupled with this, the temperature outside is well over 120  degrees and dehydration could become a problem if I am not careful.  Yesterday was the first day of  Eid.  There were all kinds of meals spread about in celebration of the event of which I attended one  with the Governor of the province I’m in.  There was no way I could even have one bite of the food.   I was just too sick.  I had managed to muster up enough energy in the morning to attend a 7:00 am  memorial and then go on to the home of the director of economic development for this province  who happens to live here in Dholoyia.  He was hosting the Eid morning meal for the Governor.  The  night before I had been an invited guest at his home which is beautiful.  It is something akin to a  modest palace with everything in excellent order.  We talked at length that evening about  investments in this province and who some of the major players are.  I learned a lot about things this  night and I was exercised greatly to listen and take in many things.  I had to wear my “economics”  hat this night.  What an education.  He invited me to his home for the event that was hosting the  meal for the Governor, Dr. Raeed Ibrahim, the following morning.  I accepted knowing full well I  was not feeling good.  Going back to the evening discussion at  the home of the director for economic  development, I want to say that it was  one of the most informative talks I’ve  had in my life.  The man knows his  stuff, speaks good English and has a  task ahead of him that is gigantic by any  standard.  He came into this position  about a year ago and was handed a plate  full of disaster and told, “here you go,  fix it”.  The matter of economic  development in Iraq, and for my  purposes, Salahuddin province, is  something that has many facets to it and  many obstacles as well.  Of course,  security is a problem for any business  adventure.  But then I ask myself,  “what is there to invest here in this  province that would draw global  entities to come”?  Of course, it’s oil.   This province contains a lot of oil that for  the most part has been untapped.  One of the big players showing great interest is Crown Energy.  I  was told that the folks speaking with them are from Canada but my brief research cannot pin down  which corporate office of Crown Energy we’re speaking about.  Here is what I found on the internet  about this contract and license for drilling operations Crown has for this province that I am in:  In November 2013 Crown Energy acquired Tigris Oil which holds the PSC for the area of Salah ad-  Din in northern Iraq. The license covers the entire area of the Salah Ad Din governorate in northern  Iraq, an area of approximately 24,000 square kilometers. The license contains a number of existing  discovered oil fields, with multi-billion barrel potential. Despite the apparent large and commercial  discoveries, only limited production has occurred from just one field. Activities over the last 20  years have naturally been limited due to the political instability.  As far as I can tell, they do have offices in the UK, Oklahoma, Sweden, some places in Africa and  other places.  The point about oil exploration here in Salah Ad Din province is that the reserve  potential is enormous and there are forces within the Central Government that just do not want this  province to become more or less, self sufficient economically.  As is always the case in global  economics, there are many sides to getting something done.  The easy and straight-forward way is  something that is completely elusive this day and age.   I asked the about other energy alternatives such as solar power.  I explained that the state I’m from  is a leader in solar energy and that Iraq surely has an incredible amount of potential in this arena.   So far, no one has shown great interest in this field but I was told that some were interested in wind  energy development.  I just could not get my head wrapped around the fact that no one on a global  scale was seriously interested in solar energy here, a place that has more sunny days per year than  anywhere I have ever been, except maybe the outback in Australia.  Oil is obviously king and the  big global players know that.  They also know how to play this game, and for sure, it is a game.   Problem is, so many lives end up suffering during this game.  I am now beginning to understand just  a little bit about the place I am in.    I have learned in multiple conversations with people here, from all walks of life that are highly  educated, that this particular province could carry its’ own weight if it were allowed to do so.  This  is a Sunni area and there are forces from multiple angles that do not want to see this happen.   Remember, where I am in this town, was the scene of ISIS having been defeated.  The banner from  which the defenders of Dholoyia fought under was none other than the Iraqi flag.  Iraqis stood their  ground under their flag.  This is something us in the west failed to hear about.    After the evening discussion with the economic development director, we came home as I tried to  digest all I had been told.  I hit the sack early because we had to leave the house at 6:30 am the  following morning and it was already midnight.  I knew I was not feeling well and thought that a  good night's’ sleep would help.  I fell asleep immediately after having coordinated all my things, got  batteries charged up and did some uploading and downloading of material.  I knew I had to be on  top of my game the next morning. The morning started by driving to the  cemetery where the governor was  participating in a memorial.  I’ve now  been to this place several times.  In a  way, it is like Dholoyia’s version of  Arlington.  It is hallowed ground.  There  were some media folks from Iraq  attending this as well.  The Governor  showing up was not out of the ordinary.   He is well known here and comes from  the Joubury tribe.  He’s a young man,  37, and a former director of health for  this province.  He had quite a few  security folks surrounding him as well  as a few other folks that also had coat  and ties on.  He was introduced to me  for a moment and I asked him a brief  question.  He answered appropriately  and I told him we could later after the  event was finished.  He agreed and shook  my hand.  Now, I must say, I have taken a liking to this governor just as I have my own governor back home.   Both treated me with a great deal of respect; both allowed me to come up close and personal; and  both answer questions I pose to them straightforwardly.  I now feel I have a little input with two  governors on the planet.  After the memorial, my host drove me to the home of Amar  Jabar, the director of economic development for Salah al din  province.  This was the place I was at the night before.   During the day, it is even nicer to see.  The lawn area had  been set up for a large gathering of people with long tables  taking up a large portion of the area.  We were taken inside  and given a seat.  The room was beautiful and the event  brought out the best in traditional clothing among the host,  local officials and others in attendance.  I was wearing a  clean white shirt and clean khaki pants with sandals.  It was  obvious I was the “new guy” in town.  I was invited to sit  right up front close to the Governor and accepted with all  modesty.  This is typical for everywhere I’ve been.  After some chi and water, some local folks mentioned a few  things here and there akin to what would be discussed at any  town hall meeting in America.  I watched and listened and  peered the crowd for some familiar faces. At one point a  discussion got interesting and some who have seen me  around looked at me and smiled.  There was that sense that  the price for being in position of authority is that one has to  go through this type of thing.  I’ve seen it a million times  back home as I returned the smile.  Then, the crowd was ushered back outside where the  morning Eid breakfast meal was prepared and spread across several long tables.  I had been  encouraged to eat with the Governor but I just could not touch a thing.  I did my best to not offend  anyone but finally got the point across  that I was not feeling well and that I had  severe intestinal problems this day, they  understood.  However, in all my life this  was for sure the one time I wanted to  partake in such an elegant buffet but I  just could not for fear of embarrassing  myself by getting sick.  Wasn’t gonna  happen this time.  But the food was  exquisite looking.    After about 30-minutes the meal was  consumed and we re-entered the room  we had left earlier.  A few questions  were asked and then I was brought right  next to the Governor and proceeded  with a 15-minute interview.  My host  held the small video camera I have and I  used my small audio recorder.  I asked  the Governor several questions foremost of which is “what is the current stability situation in his  province at this moment”?  He proceeded to answer me in English  that for the most part his province is  stable save for some areas near Beji,  where ISIS has about 10% of the place,  according to him.  He also assured me  that they will be removed in the near  future.  I also asked about the refugee  camp here in the Dholoyia area and what  will the status for the IDP’s (internally  displaced persons) be in the near future  and will they be allowed to go home.   He explained to me that they will not be  allowed to return home at this point in  time as their names are being examined  with a list on a database somewhere.  What this means to me is the central  government and the civilian defense forces  (commonly known as militias) aren’t  backing down at the moment and that the refugees, or IDP’s as  

The Governor leaving to attend a gathering at the camp for the IDP's, the internally displaced persons, in Dholoyia.