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Story and photos by Sgt. Kevin Stabinsky, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Office
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – Money may not buy happiness, but it is putting a smile on the face of Hussen Jowd. Although Jowd is spending more money than ever, he considers it money well spent as he increases the size of his business.
Things were not always so good for Jowd. Before Coalition Forces moved into the area, the community was plagued with violence. Terrorists roamed the area, making it a safe haven for insurgents and a staging ground to launch attacks into Baghdad.
Despite living in conflict, Jowd held onto his dream of one day expanding his small butcher shop into a larger enterprise.
"I've been very busy," he said, noting that the return to peace has done wonders for his shop. While the main customers are still residents of Arab Jabour, his market size has increased.
In recent weeks, Jowd said he has received orders for his products from Baghdad. While residents of the rural community typically look for higher-quality goods from Baghdad, the situation is reversed for Jowd.
"I get calls from Baghdad for my meat. They love the quality," he said, noting the farming fields of Arab Jabour where his flocks graze are good for "fattening up" the flock. "In Baghdad, they don't have the fields to raise these animals."
Jowd guarantees his customers that the meat he sells is fresh. Each day he butchers the day's sales, refusing to keep meat any longer than a day, a practice which has left his customers satisfied.
The freshness is also apparent in his new restaurant, a small building located next to the butcher shop. Within the four brick walls, he prepares his own dishes; the most popular is tikka, a kabob delicacy in Iraq. Covering the meat with a blend of herbs and spices, he cooks it on a grill in front of the customers before placing it in a neat bread roll stuffed with home-grown cucumbers and tomatoes.
"I've been very busy fulfilling all the requests," Jowd said.
Originally, the trade which he learned from his father and dates back deep into his family's history, was only practiced by himself and his son, who he hoped to pass the business on to. Now, with demand so high, Jowd has an additional 10 apprentices.
He said he is also teaching the apprentices how to run a successful business, in the hopes that one day they too will be able to earn a safe and steady form of income to help better their families and communities.
Jowd said he could have never done it without the support of Coalition Forces.
Coalition Forces have been jumpstarting local businesses through the use of microgrants which are given to small business owners to encourage economic growth.
The grants are designed to increase jobs and potential economic growth in the area, said Capt. Rems Keane, Company B, 426th Civil Affairs Battalion, attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
The creation of jobs is vital, not only to the economic welfare of the community, but also to the safety and stability of the community. The lack of jobs and income in the area was a tool used by the insurgency to gain recruits.
Many detainees taken in by Coalition Forces that were questioned by Pfc. Mariano Sperzagni, a interrogator with the 2-3 Brigade Troops Battalion, 2nd BCT, 3rd Inf. Div., cited their reason for aiding the insurgency as not a love for its ideals, but due to promised monetary reward.
Jowd's next goal is to save up enough revenue to buy a delivery truck, allowing him to deliver his meats all across the community. Already, he said, several installments are set aside.
For now though, Jowd is focused on the task at hand: butchering sheep and cows, selling the meat to area families and creating his own take-out sandwiches for folks just looking for a good-quality meal.
| Date Taken: | 02.17.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 02.17.2008 12:54 |
| Story ID: | 16442 |
| Location: | ISKANDARIYAH, IQ |
| Web Views: | 411 |
| Downloads: | 245 |
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