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September 8, 2005
Iraqi Sunni Who Died Saving Shi'ites Unites Old Enemies And Provides A Step Toward Bringing A Country Together
Topics: Iraq
Dozens of posters of him are plastered on walls across his district. His image sits in front of two main mosques, one Shi'ite and one Sunni.
Yesterday we learned that in a rare show of national solidarity, thousands of Sunnis joined Iraqi Shias in donating money, jewelery and toys to the families of the 1,000 victims of last week's bridge stampede. In a story the previous day that was missed by many, including me, there's yet another story of hope in Iraq. It's the account of 19-year-old Sunni Uthman al-Ubaidi's amazing act of heroism, when he jumped into the Tigris river where dozens of pilgrims from the rival Muslim Shi'ite sect were drowning after being forced off the bridge by the stampede.
Uthman rescued six people from the brink of death. When he went back for a seventh, his strength failed him and he never returned.After the ensuing heavy media coverage, "the young man from Aadhamiya -- a Sunni district across the river from Kadhamiya, the site of a major Shi'ite mosque -- has become a household name, and a rallying call for Iraqi reconciliation."
Learning of his only son's act of heroism brought Uthman's father great pride and helped to ease the pain of his loss:
Ali al-Ubaidi, the boy's father who accepted condolences from a flurry of visitors, sobbed as he stood in Uthman's bedroom next to a bed now covered with flowers.As is offered by Tigerhawk, "Let's hope that Ali's optimism is well-founded." A subordination of the "ethnic divisions" that have been the root of so many lost and disrupted lives in recent Iraqi history have resulted in both unnecessary bloodshed and the delayed political and economic re-development of the country. The time for Iraqis to get serious about re-building their country and quashing their mutual animosities is long overdue."I am really proud of my only son," he told Reuters. "At first I was distraught but when I heard he drowned after rescuing so many people it eased the pain."
"The sectarian conspiracy has ended, Uthman was the one who put out the fire," he said in an optimistic tone.
As we say in the South, it's time for the Iraqis, all of them, to fish or cut bait!
Tags: Middle East, Iraq
Posted by Richard at September 8, 2005 9:39 PM
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