Hey Cheney, Send Some Money This Way.

Third Country Nationals had it the worse over there. The guys that worked in the DFAC (Dining Facility) were mostly from India. They were so hard working, sweet, and took so much pride in their job. They could carve things out of an apple I didn’t even think was possible. When they signed a contract to work in Iraq, they signed up for three years…no if ands or buts. Three years and you can’t go home to visit your family…and if you leave don’t think about coming back. They made on average 300 dollars a month…possibly less. I asked one guy why he’d sign up for three years…he told me there were no jobs in India and by working here he can send money to his wife and when he gets home they can start a family. They lived in trailers….about eight people to a trailer, no windows, no heat, no air conditioners. The other Third Country Nationals, like the Filipinos worked various jobs around the camp. They also lived in trailers and were forced to eat at this certain DFAC. One of my Captains found out that the DFAC they were forced to eat at was; infested with mice, their food was spoiled, there was no air conditioning in the kitchen, there was animal shit on the floors, the cooks didn’t wear footwear or gloves, their food had cockroaches in it, and some of the cooks slept in the containers where their food was being stored. The Captain told SPC G, SPC S, and me about this one day. I was ready to go over there with my camera, interview some of the workers…but I was told I wasn’t allowed. Rumor has it, that one of our Lieutenant Colonel knew about their living conditions but didn’t do anything to fix the situation. Now lets look at good ‘ol Cheney’s company; Halliburton, Kellogg Brown and Root. These civilians contract workers made at least 100,000 plus a year, went on four vacations, lived in nice trailers that came with a bed and sheets, a refrigerator, a desk, a dresser , and had a bathroom built in the trailer. They ate at the same DFACs as us…shit, they had it better than us.

Third County Nationals also worked as truck drivers. I did a story on a Soldier in my unit that was a NYC Firefighter and he worked at the truck lanes. Basically, he regulated all the trucks coming in and off the post. When I went to interview him and take a few pictures, I saw what these guys were driving around in. The majority of their trucks were missing windows, had bullets holes through the windshield, doors were barely hanging on, the metal cages that were around some of their windows weren’t on properly…everything was just fucked up. Not to mention these guys went out with just the clothes on their backs. No armor on their trucks, no bulletproof glass windows, no flack vests, no helmets…literally, they just wore their holey, smelly shirts and jeans. Things must be really tough for someone to take up a job like that. So maybe when Cheney is handing out hundreds of thousands of dollars to American contract workers, he could show a little respect to the other civilians risking their lives. (Let me make it clear, I’m not saying the Third Country Nationals are contracted under Cheney’s company…but I’m pretty positive our government could help their situation).