Interaction with Iraqi Citizens

How much are you able to get to know the Iraqi people? Are you able to interact with them and if not, is it due to language barriers?

Susannah

GiGotti78- I have had the chance to interact with some local Iraqi people and sometimes language/culture is a huge barrier. Their are a few Iraqi people who work on the US bases and these citizens know at least a little English. These people seem thankful for what we have done, although they are working on a US base so their view could be biased. As for the local populace who do not have the privilege to work on a US base, seem to welcome us for the most part. Any time their is a mission of any sort, the military tries to have an interpretor to help bridge the language barrier so that we can communicate with the populace and create an understanding.


Mr.Matt- I'm not a very social person. I would prefer to sit in the vehicle, say hello, and wave. Though there is a language barrier but, you can notice that both people in conversation atempt to understand eachother as best as possiable when there isn't an interpretor around. Though alot of the Iraqi citizens that I've encountered speak various forms of english. From Basic to complex, but most of them speak basic english.