Iraqi Shiites reclaim a village razed by Sunnis

Iraqi Shiites reclaim a village razed by Sunnis
By Alissa J. Rubin Published: July 12, 2008

AL ETHA, Iraq: Haunted by ghosts, the middle-aged farmer walked slowly through his home village, a place so devastated he had difficulty recognizing his own house among the ruins.

Once a well-tended Shiite farming community in a part of Diyala Province with many Sunnis, it is now little more than piles of shattered concrete. Half-fallen roofs slant earthward at odd angles; the skeletons of rooms are filled with debris.

Almost every house here was bombed by Sunni militants in a campaign to drive Shiites from this rural area during the explosion of sectarian killings that engulfed Iraq in 2006. The village's 80 Shiite families fled.

Now, after nearly two years, 60 of the families have returned, offering a glimpse both of the tentative new peace that is becoming visible in many places throughout Iraq and of the tremendous difficulties ahead. The displaced return not only to destroyed houses, but also destroyed lives.

If, in a place where such atrocities have occurred, people can truly forgive those who perpetrated them, then there is hope for the many similarly traumatized Iraqi communities. But such places need help: support from security forces and good will by both sects, money to rebuild and jobs or income until they can get their farms going again.
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