By Timothy Williams AND Abeer Mohammed
BAGHDAD — In Iraq, war deaths don’t always come via gunfire or exploding bombs. Sometimes, people get run over.
Near Samarra, last November, two Iraqi brothers were struck and killed by a vehicle that was part of a passing American military convoy.
The deaths were an accident. And against the backdrop of tens of thousands of deaths in Iraq since the 2003 U.S. invasion, the incident received little attention.
But the small, halting gestures made by both the U.S. military and Iraqis in the weeks after the accident show how the U.S. has moved in a more serious way toward following certain Iraqi customs in order to avoid making new enemies.
Saad Ali Shehab, 41, died instantly after the accident. He had seven children. A former officer in the army of Saddam Hussein, he transformed himself into a car dealer after the U.S. invasion.
His brother, Atallah Ali Shehab, 38, who died at a hospital, had worked as his brother’s assistant. He had five children.
The following version of events is from Rasheed Ahmad Mohammed, a professor at Tikrit University, and a cousin of the men who died. The salient facts were confirmed by the U.S. military.
On November 5, the day after the accident, representatives from the American military requested permission to attend the men’s funeral. The family turned them down.
The following day, representatives from the local Army battalion asked to be permitted to attend the three day mourning ceremony in order to formally apologize.
They were given permission, albeit grudgingly. When the Americans arrived, they offered the families $2,500 for each victim – the standard amount given to Iraqi families in such circumstances.
The families said that sum was far too little. They demanded more, and in addition, sought money for a damaged car and $2,900 they said was missing from one of the men’s bodies.
“I explained to them our traditions as a tribal society that if a man was killed, then the killers have two choices: Either pay blood money or be killed,” said Professor Mohammed.
The Americans responded by saying they wanted to act according to local traditions, said the professor. They asked how much money would be required.
the professor said.
“We told them that it is 100 camels for each man killed, which is equal to 100 million Iraqi dinars or $80, 000,”
The tribe and the Americans agreed to settle the matter in tribal court, something the military does not often agree to and had never done so in Samarra, a former hotbed of the insurgency.
In Iraq culture, a tribal court involves a gathering of the leaders of the tribe of the killers and the tribe of the victim. Neutral tribes are also usually present to help arrive at a settlement.
Typically, sheep are slaughtered for a meal, and guests are served dulimiya - a dish of meat, bread and rice – on large communal platters.
On the date of the trial court this month, eight American soldiers arrived. Four entered the court tent, four stayed outside as guards.
The families said blood money requirements demanded they be paid more than $160,000. The Americans said they needed to get the approval of their superiors.
“They wanted to leave, but we refused, telling them that they have to eat lunch, according to our habits and traditions,”said the professor.
Soon, eight large platters of dulimiya were carried in. The four Americans shared a tray with four Iraqis.
said the professor.
“They seemed to like our food and they ate with their hands like us, without using either forks or spoons,”
The American soldiers outside were brought plates of their own.
“I saw them laying their weapons down, sitting on the ground and eating dulimiya with their hands too,”he said.
On Tuesday (January 20), the Americans returned with $20,000, saying they wanted to personally hand the money to the victims’ wives.
“I refused,” the professor said of the request,
“explaining it is forbidden in our traditions.”
The family told the soldiers the money was insufficient. But the Americans said it was the best they could do - and far more than the $2,500 per victim they usually pay.
The soldiers then asked for the family’s signatures. The documents were in English. The family, who spoke no English, signed anyway.
“I have been told that the paper states that they were handing us $10,000 for each of the brothers,” said Raad Ali Shehab, 39, the older brother of the victims. He has found himself responsible for supporting his siblings’ families.
The $20,000 was in addition to paying for the funerals and another $10,000 for the damaged vehicle, the professor said.
In a statement, Major Cathy Wilkinson, a U.S. military public affairs officer, confirmed the accident and the payment.
The surviving brother, said Major Wilkinson, is a farmer whose income has suffered due to a drought in Iraq. Aside from his wife and three children, he now has 14 additional dependents, she said.
“While money is no replacement for the loss of a loved one, it does represent the U.S. military’s understanding of hardship that the loss can cause for the surviving family members,” she said.
The family did not get everything they wanted, but the professor said they are pleased to have been taken seriously.
“So far,” he said of the Army, “they have visited us five times.”
An employee for The New York Times in Samarra, Iraq contributed to this report.
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