May 10, 2003

Shiite BMOC

AL BASRAH, Iraq – The scene at the Shalamcheh border crossing was expected. A hoard of Iraqis, more than 2,000 strong, were bused to the narrow, but guarded crossing 30 kilometers east of Al Basrah. At least 200 of them packed in close, nearly pressing against the Iranian soldiers clad in camouflage uniforms. Only the assault rifles that the soldiers shouldered held back the Iraqis who continued to inch closer to the border.

With Saddam’s stranglehold on religious freedom broken, Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al Hakim returned to Iraq from his 23-year exile in Tehran. He had to know what awaited him at the border, but the 64-year-old ayatollah came through with no apparent planning for security on the Iraqi side. Only a train of six white Toyota Land Cruisers filled with close advisors and business-suited bodyguards, armed only with handguns, secured his safety. They followed a number of pick-up trucks filled with posters, placards and other paraphernalia to plaster al Hakim’s face all the way from Al Basrah to An Najaf.

I slithered my 220-pound frame to the front of the pack, facing the border. At first people didn’t want to give right of way, but when they saw my cameras they piped up “sahafi” and started making way for me through the mass of bodies. He’s a journalist, they told each other in Arabic. Let him through.

I made it there only to stand directly in front of one of the Iranian soldiers. After 20 minutes of madness we were exchanging smiles and rolling our eyes at how ridiculous it all seemed. Tense as I was he was just as calm.

But pushing through that mob and standing amidst the chaos felt more than a little annoying. We didn’t know when the motorcade would come through, and pushing and swaying in the Mardi Gras-like crowd didn’t sit well with me.

What I think did me in was the sheep. Of all things, one man, replete with machete strapped to his left hip, came through the crowd with a half dozen of the barnyard animals. Yes, he intended to slaughter them for al Hakim. Yes, right there on the border. No, I couldn’t believe it either.

With that exception, violence was not on anyone’s mind. Even the border guards were relaxed in their vigilance to protect the Islamic Republic. Their Kalashnikovs dangled over their shoulders like a schoolchild’s knapsack.

With the prospect of bloodshed – albeit sheep’s blood – the crowd swaying to and fro and photographers standing elbow to elbow with me, I wanted out. I knew I could do something different than everyone else, and there were more places for pictures than the melee on the border. I withdrew after having made a couple of frames.

The convoy finally came through the Iran-Iraq border and delicately inched through the mass of followers. The route through Al Basrah didn’t change. Followers ran along side the fourth Land Cruiser vying for a glimpse al Hakim, but were mostly denied. Bodyguards’ valiant attempt at shooing away the human obstacles in the least hostile way possible met only mild success as a gauntlet of supporters continued through the city.

When the convoy got to the parade ground they saw the rest of the truckload of people. A viewing area where “Chemical Ali” once reviewed troops stationed in Al Basrah served as a platform for the new Shiite poli-religious viewpoint in Iraq.

He spoke for 45 minutes after being squeezed onto a reviewing stand with more people on it than needed. Organization was definitely not the forte of the event coordinator in this instance. It was amazing that more people weren’t injured in the crush that pressed against the reviewing stand. There was barely any space for them to breathe.

An estimated 15,000 people listened to al Hakim give his first speech in Iraq in more than two decades. Women, he said during his speech, should play a bigger role in a modern Islamic government. Other than the women journalists covering the event, no women within earshot heard the comment.

He mentioned a tolerance of minorities, unity, democracy. He invoked the power of Mohammed. He did everything but announce that he was actually going to run for the executive political leadership of Iraq.

Just as he arrived, the mass of people surrounding him rolled through onlookers to where the motorcade had moved. And they were gone.

But that was simply the first round from Mohammed Baqr al Hakim. Even though he was preaching directly to 15,000 choir members, the message was broadcast worldwide thanks to global journalism.

- Rich