Loved ones rejoice on release of Iraqi detainees who U.S. troops help reintegrate into society

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Loved ones rejoice on release of Iraqi detainees who U.S. troops help reintegrate into society
By James Warden, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, September 27, 2008

BAGHDAD — The detainee release began orderly enough.

The men quietly exited their bus and headed into a mosque to sign the papers that would make them free men. A crowd of mostly women and children waited in a grassy area off the road. Many tossed candy to the line of men marching along.

But the women were too excited to wait for long.

A few loosed an ululating cry of joy, tears flowing down their cheeks. Others quickly took up the high-pitched call. It eventually became too much for one mother. She rushed past Iraqi army guards and buried her face in her son’s chest. With that, the floodgates opened. Women and children poured into the street to embrace sons and husbands and brothers they hadn’t seen free in months or even years.

Coalition forces released about 75 detainees on Thursday following a ceremony in Baghdad’s Ghazaliya neighborhood. The occasion was just the latest detainee release as American and Iraqi forces work to reconcile former fighters with their country.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=57699