There's a lot of work that goes on at night here. Since this is Ramadan-a-ding-dong there's been an emphasis to get the bunkers built and sand bags placed (since we'll probably be using them alot more often.) Strictly speaking, there is no sand here at Tallil. This area was historically marshlands until 92 when Sadam initiated one of the greatest ecological disasters in history. He did this by draining the marshes of southern Iraq. By doing so, thousands of square miles or verdant marshland turned to dust. So there is no sand here but only a fine powdery dust. Here are a few pic of the sand bag mission. I think this was also scheduled at night since it was cooler.




The workers are either Pakistani or Indian. The 'regular' hours are 6 to 6 (12 hours) but they'll always jump at the chance to work more. While their pay isn't great, it's much more than what they'd make in Pakistan or India.





One of the Labor foremen just started talking to me one day or should I say he started giving me a hard time but in a friendly way. I sorta found this odd since I don't have much to do with Labor and so it can be tough to 'break into that crowd' for an outsider (one who doesn't get his hands dirty, so to speak.) Long story short, he's been very kind to me and I appreciate the rapport that has developed. When I was taking these pics he started giving me a hard time about whether or not I have permission to take pics on a military base (I do) but I just grabbed him around the neck and told him to shut up and smile for the camera (and he did.) Here's the pic.