|
BAGHDAD, Iraq (April 30, 2008) - Multinational Division Baghdad
soldiers are helping Iraqi civilians in the northeastern part of
the Iraqi capital who have lost family members or suffered injuries
or property losses in clashes between coalition forces and enemy
fighters.
The newly opened Iraqi Assistance Center on Joint Security
Station Sadr City provides local residents with an opportunity to
file claims due to the losses they suffer when militants use
law-abiding citizens as a cover for their activities, officials
said.
Members of 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion and soldiers from the
4th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team established the
claims center, along with a nearby civil-military operations
center, to better assist the residents of this impoverished
district in northeastern Baghdad, Army Sgt. Brendan Piper, a civil
affairs specialist from Milwaukee, said. Piper is spearheading the
claims process.
Hickmat Fadel, an Iraqi civilian who came to the center to file
a claim, said he was forced from his home when fighting broke out,
and that he recently returned to find his vehicle damaged.
"I feel that [security has] become much better," he said. "I
couldn't come home for a few weeks; now we can return home." Fadel
works as a dentist in northeastern Baghdad and brought his
3-year-old daughter, Nuna, with him to file his claim.
Once he has verified the claimant's identity and ensured the
claim includes proper documentation, Piper said, he sends it
forward for review by coalition officials to ensure the incident
involved coalition forces. Once the claim is deemed accurate, it is
then forwarded to the legal officer, who reviews the file and makes
a determination on whether a claim should be paid, Piper
explained.
In the center's first two days of operation this week, more than
50 people came in to either file a claim or find out more about the
process, Piper said. Four claims have been paid so far to assist
those residents, he added.
The claim center's secondary function is to help citizens find
family members who are detained, Piper said. He has access to a
database that lists each person who is detained and where they are
being held. The list is updated daily.
"They've got to prove that it is a family member, then we can
show them where their loved one is being detained," Piper said.
As more ground is made safe in the southern portion of the Sadr
City district of Baghdad, Piper said, the claims center will move
and continue to be close to the people.
|
