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Korean troops welcomed by Kurds in
Kurdistan-Iraq
19.3.2006
By Jin Dae-woong
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ERBIL, Kurdistan-Iraq - When Korean troops were
passing through the town of Erbil, Kurdistan
(northern Iraq) last week, a crowd of pedestrians
gathered to wave their hands and children gave their
thumbs up and shouted "Kuri, Kuri" meaning "Korea"
in their language.
The 3,200-strong Korean contingent have been
stationed in the Kurdish city since August 2004 as
part of U.S.-led coalition forces.
The unit named Zaytun, which means olive in Arabic,
has successfully conducted activities to support the
social and economic development of the war-torn
area.
"There is a saying that the
Kurdish have no friends except for mountains. Now,
we have another friend, Korean troops," Massoud
Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional
Government, told Korean reporters who visited the
city last week. "They are part of our society."
The presence of the Zaytun not only contributed to
the security but also gave new hope for the
rehabilitation of the region, he said.
The division paved roads, constructed schools and
health centers and repaired water supply facilities.
The unit also treated up to 29,000 local residents
in its hospital, offered industrial training and
provided necessities to people in need.
"Through our friendship building activities, the
Zaytun division has built an image of the unit as a
member and friend of the community, rather than a
foreign military force," said Maj. Gen. Jung
Seung-jo, the division's commander.
Under the regime of Saddam Hussein, the Kurdish
region was the target of policies aimed at keeping
the region underdeveloped to prevent it from
emerging as a powerful force in the country.
Located between the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers,
Erbil was originally a fertile land known as "The
Fertile Crescent." However, the land was not
properly managed and productivity was low.
The Erbil region remains underdeveloped with high
rates of illiteracy, joblessness, and lack of
infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water
supplies.
Schools are poorly equipped with many of them half
demolished. Students can't work after sunset due to
a lack of electricity.
The Korean troops have helped to develop the region
with "the Saemaul Spirit" a major driving force
behind the miraculous development Korea achieved
from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War.
The Saemaul Spirit is a self-developing campaign
based on three basic elements; diligence, self-help
and cooperation.
The Zaytun Division teaches the Saemaul Spirit at a
vocational training center which it built inside its
camp in February last year.
The center offers seven, eight-week certification
programs including computers, automobile and home
appliance maintenance and operating heavy trucks and
trailers. The female Kurds also learn how to bake
cookies and bread.
A total of 606 people have so far received training.
"What we are trying to do is to help these Kurdish
people become self-sufficient through educational
programs," said Brig. Gen. Park In-chul, vice
commander of the Zaytun Division.
The local government fully supports the programs by
providing better treatment to those with a "Zaytun
license."
Graduates from the training course have more
opportunities to get jobs and are sometimes paid
better than high-level officials in the regional
government.
The division has invited Korean experts to introduce
the Saemaul Spirit to the region. The experts have
lectured and educated trainees with the three
elements of the Saemaul Spirit to support the
region's independent development.
"We have been inspired by the Korea's Saemaul
movement. With the Saemaul Spirit we are restoring
confidence in ourselves," a regional trainee Shirwan
Khalid Ahmed said.
The unit has also given local people the chance to
visit Korea and learn the spirit through direct
experience.
The Zaytun has also constructed and repaired
half-collapsed schools to help improve education
standards. It has constructed 10 new schools and has
been operating a Kurdish-language education center.
"Reducing illiteracy is a prerequisite for their
self-development. We wish our efforts give them a
new hope that 'We also can do'," Jung said.
"The Zaytun Division has provided a precise
prescription to our society. We are learning how to
think and how to act as well as learn the skills. We
are learning Korean diligence," said Arahaz, a
trainee at the center. "Korean soldiers are the
biggest gift Allah has given us after the collapse
of Saddam's regime."
The Zaytun's accomplishments are attracting the
attention of other coalition forces, setting an
example for successful civil operations in Iraq.
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recently
directed his generals to seek ways to conduct a "Zaytun-like
operation" after he received a report on the Korean
success in Erbil from Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli,
the commander of the Multi National Corps in Iraq.
Impressed by the Zaytun's programs, Chiarelli also
told gatherings of coalition leaders that the
Zaytun's operations have provided a model for civil
operations to other coalition troops deployed in the
war-torn country.
Now the U.S. military is planning to establish
vocational training centers similar to the Zaytun's
in the northern Iraq cities of Mosul and Kirkuk and
expand the projects across Iraq on a gradual basis.
To that end, a U.S. two-star general commanding
American troops in Kirkuk is scheduled to visit the
Zaytun base to collect information on the
"sensational" program, Jung said.
Another particular aspect of interest to other
coalition forces is the fact that the Zaytun
Division has experienced "no civil protests" against
it since it was deployed.
Based on their success, the Zaytun troops are
expanding their mandate after receiving requests
from the international community. The United Nations
has asked the Korean troops to assume guard and
escort missions the operation of a U.N. mandate in
the region. The United Nations established a branch
office for the United Nations Assistance Mission for
Iraq last December to play a leading role in Iraq's
political normalization and reconstruction in the
northern region of the country.
The U.S. Agency for International Development is
also scheduled to be stationed inside the Zaytun
camp in April for security protection. USAID is a
U.S. government agency providing economic and
humanitarian assistance. The United States asked the
Korean troops to allow the USAID branch office to
move into the base in last November.
Coalition forces voluntarily seek to learn the way
Korean forces think and act in the region.
International society expects the Koreans to take a
wider role in the maintenance of peace and
reconstruction of the war-stricken country.
"We believe our activities are heightening the
profile of our national image and enhancing our
national interest," said Jung.
By Jin Dae-woong
www.koreaherald.co.kr
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