Student relishes return from Iraq

Emran Huda is still in what he calls the “salvation” stage of coming home; up next is readjustment.

Huda returned to the United States on Dec. 29 after nine months in Iraq with the N.C. National Guard and is ready to rebuild his life as a civilian and a UNC student.

“It’s both a blessing and a challenge,” he said about coming home. It’s been dramatic and tearful to see his father and friends once again.

Home for Huda is southeastern Pennsylvania, where he grew up with the hope of attending West Point Military Academy. Huda’s time in the military and in Iraq proved to be rife with both positive and negative experiences, all of which he’s eager to share with UNC students.

“Mostly, students don’t have a sense of ownership of the war,” Huda said.

He is among the few UNC students who took time off from school to serve in the military, and he said that often, students only see one side of the situation. Although Huda did survive difficult experiences in Iraq, he said the more humanitarian missions he participated in are not often covered by the media.

A first-generation American, Huda was raised Muslim, and it was not until after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that Huda realized anyone might take issue with his beliefs.

“I had always thought that my religion didn’t matter — it’s just what I believe,” he said. In the Army world, however, where political correctness is a foreign concept, Huda said he faced prejudice often.

“Luckily, I had tons of friends that were always keeping an eye on me. I just had to take the threats seriously.”

His family encouraged him to follow orders and be a soldier first and foremost.

In fact, Huda said, the transition to Iraq was nothing in comparison to the Southern culture shock he experienced.

“While all the other soldiers were fascinated with the Iraqi culture, I was interested in the Southern culture.”

While in Iraq, Huda met fellow UNC student Jason Barber. Originally from Australia, Barber previously served in the Australian army and joined in North Carolina to reclaim the same sense of camaraderie he first found in Australia — a feeling locals call “mateship.”

“It’s been great. It’s good to be home and back with family and friends and know that our part is done (in Iraq),” said Barber, a UNC sophomore.

Barber agrees with Huda that perhaps many UNC students have a warped view of the war in Iraq. “The media is focused on showing the bad things. Rarely do they show the rebuilding,” he said.

Before Huda was deployed, Javeir Johnson was already at a camp on the border between Kuwait and Iraq. The UNC junior joined the military the day after Sept. 11, 2001. Johnson and his troop were positioned for war, but long before it was official, he said, they knew it was coming.

“We took Baghdad, and it was crazy,” he said.

He was in the first unit to “take” a palace in Baghdad, and he stayed in the city for almost a month.

Returning to High Point in 2003, he found friends and family cautious not to upset him.

“It was kind of weird at first. I didn’t want to hang out with people who weren’t soldiers,” he said. Johnson formed a bond with his fellow soldiers, who became more like brothers to him.

Huda, Barber and Johnson predict they will need time to put their civilian lives back together again, but they are happy to be back with family and friends, who might need some time as well.

“They were just adjusting like I was adjusting,” Johnson said.

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