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Tuesday, April 3, 2007
‘Excuse me. I’m from Atlanta’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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| Louie Favorite / AJC |
| Jaime Martinez, an Air Force captain who works for the Health Facilities Division in Baghdad. He lives near Emory University. |
Tal Afar, Iraq — In the war zone, it’s comforting to meet people from home.
In my travels through Iraq, I have run across Atlantans from all walks of life. We sit and wait for a plane together or share a meal at the dining hall.
We chat about things that are dear to our hearts. Perhaps a memorable Braves game. Or a concert we saw. A favorite restaurant. Things that help ease the anxiety.
While waiting in Baghdad for a C-130 ride to Tal Afar, I met Jaime Martinez, an Air Force captain who works for the Health Facilities Division. He overheard my conversation with someone else and introduced himself to me and photographer Louie Favorite.
“Excuse me,” he said. “Are you from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution? I’m from Atlanta.”
We discussed his job in Iraq. He was supervising construction of medical facilities for Iraqi military personnel.
His perception was that a lack of medical facilities was holding back the readiness of the Iraqi armed forces.
“If you can’t treat people, you can’t send them back to fight,” he said. He viewed his role in building better clinics and hospitals as a way of improving the security situation in Iraq.
And, like others I’ve met here, Martinez lamented the fact that so many Iraqi doctors have fled the country because of threats against them and their families.
“If I were them, heck, yes, I would leave, too,” he said, hoping that the new facilities would help lure them back to Iraq.
Martinez, 36, was born in Guanajuato, Mexico, but has lived in the United States for 23 years. He and his wife, Sandra, have three children: Lance, 15; Eduardo, 12; and Yashua, 11.
He lives near Emory University, not far from my house. I sometimes buy groceries at the same Publix he frequents.
Martinez spoke with great pride about Lance, who is going to be a White House intern.
“That means the world to me,” he said.
In Atlanta, Martinez works on the eighth floor of the federal center. From his office window, he can see the AJC building on Marietta Street. Every Friday, he walks by the building on his way to lunch at CNN Center.
In Atlanta, our paths may not have ever crossed.
But in Baghdad, we talked over Styrofoam cups of tasteless instant coffee at 5 in the morning, bonded by the city we call home.
He said his tour in Iraq was almost over. He was happy to be going back to Georgia, though he would miss the Iraqi people.
Then we parted ways. I knew then that even though we are just blocks apart in Atlanta, I may not ever see him again. But on that weary morning, a heartfelt conversation helped pass the time.
