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American-Kurd Soldier 'Jotyar' Serves
Proudly
10.1.2007
By Maj. Juanita Chang, 25th Infantry Division TAC PAO
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A former Iraqi Kurd
refugee turned U.S. soldier returns to his native
land after eight years.
January 10, 2007
MOSUL, Iraq, -- Eight years and many small
miracles later, U.S. Army Spc. Jotyar Tile retuned
to his native land and will be serving both his
countries. Tile remembers the day his family fled
Kurdistan (northern Iraq) after years of bombing and
terror by Saddam Hussein’s government.
“If we had stayed one more day we would not have
made it out alive; they were using chemicals against
us and destroying our villages," Tile said.
“My father was a hard-headed and proud Kurd and did
not want to leave our home. We were the last family
to leave Qumri,” he said.
For years his family had endured the anti-Kurdish
campaign led by the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein.
“I remember every Friday we had to dress up and wear
army clothes to school and march around and raise
the flag and act like soldiers,” Tile said. “Saddam
demanded we do this from about age 5 and up.” |
U.S. Army Spc. Jotyar K. Tile an American Kurd , 35,
returns to his homeland in Kurdistan Region
(northern Iraq) to serve both his countries.
Courtesy Photo |
In August 1988, then-18-year-old Tile, his parents,
five sisters and seven brothers fled his home in the
Kurdistan region of northern Iraq to a refugee camp
in Turkey.
Tile explained the conditions in the refugee camp
were appalling with approximately 16,000 refugees in
tents in four to five square miles. Refugees were
not allowed to work and all had fled with no
belongings; not even bringing pots to boil water in.
Many became ill and died because of the poor health
and hygiene conditions and simple preventive medical
issues like frostbite were rampant, he said.
“Then, one day, the U.S. and U.N. visited us and
asked if we wanted to go to the U.S. or Europe,”
Tile beamed. “I said yes, I want to go to the U.S.,”
he said, but his parents declined and they returned
to their home in 1992 along with his siblings.
On Sept. 29, 1992 Tile, arrived in New York City as
a refugee and was given a green card. Within days he
moved in with a sponsor in Fargo, N.D.
“I did not know anything about U.S. except
California and New York,” he said. “And I didn’t
speak a word of English.”
Tile explained how “a very nice and beautiful lady
volunteer named Karen Harris” changed his life.
This lady, with whom he has not had contact with in
years, taught him how to speak English, drive a car,
and got him his first job for $4.25 an hour.
“I would love to contact her and thank her but don’t
know how,” he regretted. “When I received my first
paycheck, I went back to the social service and
thanked them and told them I didn’t want anymore of
their help,” he said with a smile.
He said they tried to tell him that he could
continue to receive support for months, but he said
he wanted it go to someone else who really needed
it.
“I wanted to join the U.S. Army ever since I came to
the U.S.,” he said, “to show my appreciation for
everything they did for my people.”
However, Tile did not have a high school diploma and
did not know how to obtain a general equivalency
diploma.
The next several years meant several moves for Tile.
He moved to Sioux Falls and worked in a meat-cutting
factory cutting pork “even though, as a Muslim, I do
not eat pork.” He also lived in Nashville, Tenn.,
and Georgia.
Eventually he learned through a friend of his that
there was a special program created for allowing
native language speakers to join the Army as
interpreters.
“I contacted this guy and they flew me out to
California and I joined the Army as an E-3 after
taking the ASVAB test, physical, language exam and
others.
“Since then I have also recruited two others,” Tile
said.
After completing basic training and advanced
individual training at Fort Jackson, S.C., Tile
found out he was assigned to a unit scheduled to
deploy to Afghanistan.
“I went to my commander and told him I would do my
duty as a soldier, and I would go anywhere they told
me to go. But I asked him not to rely on me as an
interpreter for Afghanistan because I do not speak
those dialects,” Tile explained.
Within a few weeks, and with some help from his
first sergeant, Tile was reassigned to a unit
deployed to Iraq. Upon arriving in Iraq, he joined
his new unit, the 352nd Corps Support Battalion from
the Army Reserves out of Macon, Ga. The unit
performs a wide variety of logistical support for
coalition forces serving in northern Iraq.
Tile said he has spoken with his family, and they
now know that he is back in Iraq and are proud of
him for serving both his countries. He will spend
his deployment in the Kurdish region serving as an
interpreter and will be only an hour or so from his
original home and family.
“My first goal is to make enough money to fix my
family’s roof and to help them.” he said.
When Tile’s family returned to their village in
1992, there was nothing left, and the family was
forced to start over and rebuild a house in a
different location.
Tile, now 35, said he loves his family and wants to
help them and still misses his mother’s cooking even
though has hasn’t seen them in more than 14 years.
“The U.S. did a lot for my people and this is only a
little bit that I can give back,” Tile said.
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