Speaker: Most Iraqis appreciate help

By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR RELIGION EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Salvation Army officer who served in Iraq said its citizens appreciate the efforts to rebuild the war-torn country -- and saved her life.
The recent increase in fighting in Iraq and the beheading of Nick Berg, an American communications worker, are the work of a small minority, she believes.
"The Iraqi workers that we worked with would be just as horrified as we were that this happened," said Major Molly Shotzberger.
Set to speak
She was to speak today at the Salvation Army's annual luncheon in Youngstown.
Major Shotzberger, 61, is stationed at a Salvation Army territorial office in West Nyack, N.Y. She worked in Iraq in October and November 2003, helping to rebuild schools and roads.
The team was based in Alamarah, about 165 southeast of Baghdad in an area controlled by British soldiers in the coalition force.
The schools, she said, were, "just an absolute disaster, not only because of the destruction of the war but the looting afterward."
The U.S.-led Coalition Provision Authority provided funds to a small team of Salvation Army workers who then hired Iraqis to build new schools and new roads and sewers.
Major Shotzberger helped clean up a leper colony whose staff had fled.
She also helped build temporary homes for Iraqis who had fled the country during the 1991 war and were returning after the recent fighting.
"There was great gratitude for all that we were trying to do," the major said.
Always had a guard
"Every day there were bombs going off, and rocket-propelled grenade attacks. We always had the threat hanging over us, so we could never ever go out without a guard," Major Shotzberger said.
Alamarah's police chief was murdered during Ramadan, Islam's month of daylight fasting, which resulted in an outbreak of violence.
"That night we did not know literally if we were going to live to see the next day. It was that bad," the major said. "Our Iraqi guards literally put their life on the line for us. They literally stood in the way of gunfire for us and protected us."
Working for a Christian organization in an Islamic country did not create problems. The women in the Salvation Army team covered their arms, legs and heads when they went outside.
Team members did not try to make converts, but they did minister through their presence.
During Ramadan, the Muslims and team talked about their different beliefs.
Was there hostility toward the United States?
"Absolutely not," Major Shotzberger said.
The majority of Iraqis know the country will never be rebuilt without the coalition's help. The trouble comes from a minority of insurgents and loyalists to former president Saddam Hussein, she said.
"The Iraqi people, if they could catch them, they would take care of them," she said.
Grief counseling
Major Shotzberger was in Iraq in part because of her training in grief counseling. She was the pastoral counselor to the team.
She had taken more education in crisis management after serving at ground zero for nine months starting Sept. 11, 2001. She worked with firefighters who were searching for survivors. As firefighters had a bucket brigade moving debris out, she was part of a line bringing in ice water.
She would talk to firefighters whose boots had melted because of the heat. She said she mostly listened to those who wanted to talk. When they said things would not be the same, she told them that was right -- but things would get better.
As debris fell, "when they said 'run,' I ran," the major said.
In those times of danger and right after the police chief's shooting in Iraq, the major said she felt at peace, knowing that even if she died, she would be with God.
"The thing that helped me the most was my own personal faith in God and my personal relationship with him, and the prayers of people around the world," she said.
wilkinson@vindy.com