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Airport…still
June 9, 2009 by Jeremy
We were on the bus headed to the airplane when a Turkish flight attended came inside the bus and called for Faraydoon Hama - Shad’s father.
We both disembarked and began one of the most painful, maddening, frustrating discussions of our lives with the Turkish airline, the Turkish customs agents, the hired logistics company, and the hospital staff. We had all of 5 minutes to sort out the situation or be left behind.
The situation: Customs was requiring an obscure document from the Iraqi Consulate even though the Iraqi Consulate had assured us that everything we procured yesterday would suffice.
In the end, we were pulled off the plane and Shad’s body was held up in Customs another 5 hours. We’ve been rerouted to a different city in Iraq and are currently set to arrive at 1 a.m. this evening.
After all of that, we were informed that Shad’s body would not be on the flight with us. The logistics company ended up contracting a cargo company to transport the body.
All of this to say, Shad’s father and his family have seen insult upon insult added to great injury. I’m not sure there is much “fault” or “blame” to be cast here, but for a grieving father everything is seen in terms of fault and blame.
If all goes well they will meet their family outside the “gates” of their city at about 4 a.m. to begin the grieving process in earnest.
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Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. |
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