San Diego civilians return from trip establishing relief for Iraq

By SIMONE CARR

On April 8, while Coalition forces fought in Iraq and more troops prepared to go, two civilians left San Diego for the Iraqi frontier. Their plan was to spend some time in Jordan and then hopefully enter Western Iraq. Their mission was to bring humanitarian relief.

Just the two of them? Right in the middle of a war? Yes, they could have waited a little longer, but they believed that was the time.

“That’s what we do,” said Wendell Cutting, one of the two volunteers, rather matter-of-factly, after their safe return to San Diego on April 17. Together with Gary Becks, he has worked in dangerous and remote areas of the world since 1988. “We specialize in delivering relief to disaster victims in areas that are not expected to be helped by traditional relief organizations,” Becks explained.

They were not disregarding the dangers. They were just used to them. Over the years, they have helped refugees in Central America, Albania, Kosovo, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. They have also helped disaster victims of 9/11.

“It was just as dangerous in Albania,” Wendell remembered. “We had a 13-hour drive on the same road where 11 relief workers were killed a little earlier.”

“When we first arrived in Jordan, an American was shot just outside his hotel, and funerals were held for a murdered Jordanian journalist,” he continued. “Pro-Saddam demonstrations were held every day, and U.S. citizens were writing terrible letters to the Jordanian papers, making the situation even worse for Americans there. It took us several days just to find a driver to take us into Iraq. People were afraid not just of the war, but of all the robberies and killings that were going on at that time.”

Cutting believes that part of their strength in difficult situations derives from their unity as a team. “We know each other and can usually predict what the other person will say or think,” he said. “It’s also good to travel in pairs.” Becks also sees the advantages of age. “We use wisdom and stay low-key.”

Becks, 57, and Cutting, 56, are both staff members for Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, and traveled to Jordan and Iraq as volunteers for World Emergency Relief, a Carlsbad-based organization that coordinates the distribution of relief supplies. Beck is also the founder and president, with Cutting as vice president, of Rescue Task Force, a non-profit, all volunteer, international relief agency.

Becks lives in Imperial Beach. He has three daughters, one son, and seven grandchildren. He served in Viet Nam with the Third Marines and is a former Fire Department battalion commander. Cutting is a former teacher and school administrator and served as the mayor of the City of San Jacinto. He spent many years in the Middle East and Asia building and operating a successful business. He is a terminal cancer survivor.

When Cutting and Becks began planning for this Middle East mission, their main goal was to work with some Jordanian churches to assist the expected flood of refugees from Iraq. Only two weeks before their departure, it became clear that such masses were not going to happen, mostly because of regulations by the UN Office of Migration Control. Also, unexpectedly, not many Iraqis were fleeing their country.

“My expectations were fairly low back then,” said Joel MacCollam, president of WER. “We didn’t know what we would encounter.” Cutting explained that there were some “hints” that a city in Western Iraq, Ar Rutbah, needed help, and they were hoping to be able to travel there. Larger, traditional relief organizations had not provided supplies in Western Iraq as yet.

“We had to go in as journalists,” Becks remembered. “We had press credentials, and that was good because U.S. relief workers were not allowed into Iraq.”

Ar Rutbah, a town of 17,000 people, was just then badly suffering from the destruction of a hospital. Two 40-foot ocean freight containers which Cutting and Becks had shipped from the States were at that time in Jordan, ready to be used. One contained medical equipment, and a second one personal hygiene items.

“That was just what the hospital needed,” Becks said. “The problem was, there were heavy restrictions on bringing humanitarian aid into Iraq. For the time being, all we could do was assess the situation, make arrangements with the mayor of Ar Rutbah and the U.S. forces for the receipt of the goods, and with some churches in Jordan who volunteered to send or deliver them.”

“This is usually what we do,” Cutting added. “We assess the situations and dangers, study regulations, observe road conditions, and coordinate the shipping and distribution of supplies.”

MacCollam is very pleased with the mission. “The work in Ar Rutbah has raised our work to a second level. Now we are focusing our efforts there.” He also explained that federal funds are not usually awarded to private relief organizations, so WER will solicit help from private sources. They especially need medical equipment.

“The US troops were surprised to see two American civilians showing up in Ar Rutbah,” Cutting remembered, as he talked about their wonderful job there. “They have restored the electricity and established order in the community,” he explained.

According to Beck, the situation in Ar Rutbah was different from any they had encountered before because they had to start from scratch. “Usually we build from an existing system, but there the hospital was totally destroyed.”

Cutting and Becks both noted the thankfulness of the Iraqis. “There are no pro-Saddam Iraqis apart from a very small circle,” Cutting explained, “and no one is really anti-American. They are, however, very pro-Iraqi.”

Becks remembered a banquet the people of Ar Rutbah gave in their honor with what little supplies they had at that time of war. “We had rice, goat, and fresh vegetables, all around the table, eating with our hands.”

Becks knows, however, that, after so many years of indoctrination, most Iraqis do not have a clear picture of who Americans or Christians really are. “Many of their ideas of Christians come from the movies,” he continued. “A veil of darkness has been lifted and the time is ripe for the Gospel. Obviously, we cannot have tent revivals there. It will be a person-to-person type of evangelization.”

Becks is familiar with that evangelistic approach from his experience in Afghanistan, where he has helped to establish a learning center for women. “In Iraq, as in Afghanistan, we will need to present the love of the Lord. When the people in Iraq learn that all the supplies that we are giving them come from donations by people just like them here in the States, they will also learn what Americans and Christians are really like.”

“The fact that five Christian churches in Jordan are actively involved in delivering aid also sends a strong message that Christians help others in time of need,” added Cutting.

“Those Christian workers are mostly young people from different parts of the country, and work on a rotation basis,” he continued. “Although there can be difficulties and disadvantages in that, the good thing about it is that it brings people together. They learn to become mutually supportive of each other and hopefully will continue throughout the years.”

Although the Jordanian camps received only about 250 refugees, mostly Sudanese and Egyptians who were living in Iraq, the churches didn’t relent in their work. “They are presently setting up playground equipment for the children and providing shoes for all,” Cutting said.

“Before we arrived, a huge windstorm had swept through the camps for 24 hours,” Cutting remembered. “Some large tents that held supplies were swept away, and many sought refuge inside the few vehicles parked there. When we arrived, the tents were weighed down with rocks.”

According to Becks, Jordan has several strong Evangelical churches. One of the groups he and Cutting have worked with is the “Do Not Forget to Do Good Society” (mostly known by their Arabic name). “Many Palestinians are Christians,” he explained. “One church we visited had about 600 people.”

Cutting estimated that Iraq’s Christian population amounts to about 5%, mostly composed by Chaldeans, who are Catholic. “One Iraqi sect, the Mendians, claim that their church was started by John the Baptist,” he said.

Cutting and Becks will continue to assist the delivery of supplies from here. “We do a very diligent follow-up on our projects,” Becks said. They hope to go back there, but, in the coming months, they will be busy with work in Afghanistan and Honduras. “There is only so much time,” MacCollam explained.