Safwan, Southern Iraq — The dusty main street of Safwan was jammed with cheering throngs of Iraqis Saturday as a U.S. military convoy rumbled through the newly captured town in southern Iraq.
But beneath the excitement of the crowds, there was the shadow of a darker response: the chaos of looting, grief for the war dead, and an uncertainty about the future.
Many of Safwan's people were still in shock from an American bombardment that had killed a dozen people in the town, just a few hours before the U.S. marines had rolled in to capture it. "Are you here to help us or to kill us?" they shouted at journalists in my vehicle when we entered the town today.
Some of the townsfolk were still not sure whether the defeat of Saddam Hussein was worth the cost of the sacrificed lives in Safwan. "Some people are shouting that it's good, but some are shouting that it's not good," said Fahad Kamel, a 14-year-old boy in Safwan.
"The American planes shot at our houses. Some of our farms and houses were damaged, and some people were killed. All of our shops are closed."
The latest U.S. military convoys pushed through Safwan Saturday without stopping. But when my car stopped so that I could talk to the Iraqis, we were immediately surrounded by a mob of people, asking for money and cigarettes.
They said they had stockpiled food before the war, so they had enough basic provisions, but they grabbed at anything they could find in the car, yanking open a back door and stealing a can of oil.
Since its fall to the Americans, the town has been ravaged by looting of government buildings. Reports said they had looted a farmers cooperative and even stole books from a school after the Americans captured the town.
The Iraqis said the American soldiers had given them small gifts — including juice cartons and chewing gum — when they advanced through the town.
Safwan appeared relatively peaceful Saturday as an endless stream of American military vehicles drove through the town, heading to forward bases. But at nightfall, soon after we left the town, the horizon was lit up by a massive explosion at an Iraqi oil field, perhaps 15 or 20 kilometres away, near the city of Basra. Hours later, the oil fire was still burning, and the blaze was still visible.
