¦ First tell us about the reason for your visit to Mauritius.

Basically, we are a liaison between the embassy, the military and the police here in Mauritius and our US military. So we do a lot of training with the Mauritius police and the coastguard.

¦ And what kind of areas have you been working on?

We’ve been working on areas like fire fighting and counter piracy. These are the latest areas we’ve been working on.

¦ How does a Muslim Lebanese get to become a member of the Marines?

Well, if you are a resident in the United States and you have graduated from high school, you can apply and take a test. The Marines don’t really care about your religion. They don’t discriminate. You just apply, you take the physical test and register as beginner.

¦ So you haven’t experienced any of the religious discrimination that is talked about elsewhere?

Actually, I have never experienced it in the military because it is not tolerated there. As you know there are chaplains in the military and we have Muslim chaplains as well. If there was any discrimination, they would not hire Muslim or Jewish chaplains. I’ve seen all three faiths and they work with us, and if you need something, all you need to do is call the chaplain. The Marines will actually fl y the chaplain here to me if I have any problems. And they are willing to… they want you to have faith. In fact, it’s encouraged.

¦ Can you generalise this tolerance to the rest of America?

Well, you can have problems with the local population. Wherever you go, there are uneducated people. I can speak for the military and the government. They are against any discrimination. There’s a protocol if there are any hate crimes. I’m actually part of an organisation back home that’s part of the military local leaders and that’s one of the things we talk about. If there’s any hate crimes or very bad discrimination, it’s brought up to the law enforcement government and investigated right away.

¦ What is your life like in the Marines? It can’t be boring.

It’s been exciting. It’s an experience that if you’ve never been a part of it, you’ll never even imagine it. One of the amazing things in the Marines is the brotherhood. Irrespective of religion. In fact, we are more than brothers. Just to give you an example, a few months ago, a friend of mine called me. He’s a Marine but he is also a State Trooper. He asked me for financial advice on an investment. And I said, “Why are you asking me that? It’s like your life savings this is your children’s college money. Why are you asking me for advice? Go talk to a financial advisor. I’m not qualified for that and you trust me with all your money?” He looks at me and he goes, “I trust you with my life. You think I wouldn’t trust you with my money?” Your own brother does not tell you that. These guys know I am Muslim but they overlook it. You wear that green uniform so you are one of their own.

¦ When you are old and grey, full of sleep and nodding by the fire, what kind of memories will have remained with you from the Marines?

I’ll take a lot of good things. The Marines made me who I am. You don’t notice it about yourself but other people notice it. My wife often mentions how I am dedicated, disciplined and very ethical.

¦ How do they inculcate those values?

From day one, you are one team. If one person messes up, every body gets punished because you are like one band of brothers and sisters. This is something I carry on even in a civilian job. This is one of the things they look at in the United States. If you are a military member, they want to try to hire you first because they know you are honest, disciplined and hard working. Basically, if you can handle the military, you can handle any civilian job out there.

¦ I can understand how the Marines enforce discipline but how do you develop those values like honesty and a high sense of ethics?

Anything that you do that is not within their policy, you get punished for and everyone else does. If one person does badly in a platoon, everyone pays for it because they want everyone to have the Corps values. So, you look after other members of the Marine Corps even before you look after yourself. I’m sure you’ve heard stories of battles in the combat zone. A Marine will put his life on the line for other Marines or for civilians. It’s like your instinct. It’s a pride to be in the Marines and it’s hard to explain that.

¦ But isn’t it a harsh life? It’s not meant for everyone, is it?

No it’s not. And that’s why we call ourselves “The few, the proud, the Marines”. And because of that, we don’t want just anyone joining the Marines and a lot of them try.

¦ At what point do they give up?

Mostly at boot camp. They don’t give up, the Marines gives up on them. They can say, “You know what? You don’t cut it to be a Marine. We’re going to discharge you.” And throughout your career, you can be discharged because of misconduct.

¦ Are you telling me you are all perfect guys?

No. Like everybody else, we have a few bad apples, but we try to weed them out because basically their behaviour affects everyone in the Marines. If one Marine does bad, all Marines look bad.

¦ What’s the toughest thing you’ve been through in the Marines?

It wasn’t the training so much, for me it was being away from my family. Sometimes I stay away from them for one year.

¦ What’s the percentage of women in the Marines?

I don’t know about the percentage but there are some. To give you an idea, in my unit, there are probably about 25 to 35 women.

¦ Oh, that’s quite interesting. And they put up with life in the same way as the other Marines?

Basically it’s the same thing: they go through similar training and the same harsh environment,  like being away from family. Some assignments are great you get to live with your family. Others like this one, you go unaccompanied.

¦ You are retiring after this assignment, aren’t you?

Yes, when I go back, I am done with deployment. I am not going to get called up again. So I’m pretty much set now after this assignment.

¦ Are you looking forward to that?

I’m going to miss it.

¦ What aspects are you going to miss most?

I’m going to miss the people. I’m going to miss the uniform and just the work environment.

¦ You are not going to miss the fighting, are you?

No, but when I leave here, for example, I’m going to be very sad because I met a lot of great people.

¦ Any sad moments you are taking away with you?

From here?

¦ From your life in the Marines.

Well, anytime you lose someone you are close to, it is very sad.

¦ Anyone you remember?

Yes, I remember, there is one person who was very close. It’s very sad especially when you know their family.

¦ Any happy moments?

Well, Thursday was a happy moment when everyone was here celebrating the Marine Corps birthday.

¦ Are there any hard moments that are going to haunt your dreams, or is it that once you have retired, it’s over?

Once you retire, you just put everything behind you.

¦ And you will be able to do that?

That’s what you’re trained for. You come back and if you can’t forget, there are chaplains you can talk to and they can help you through. And you are trained to do whatever you have to do and when you come home, and see your family, you have to put everything behind you.

¦ Are you going to work when you retire from the Marines? What kind of job are you thinking of taking up?

I have a Masters degree in Engineering, and I was working as an engineer for the Ford Motor Company. This is like a reserve assignment. When I go home, I’ll go back to my regular job.

¦ That must be a very different life.

Yes it is. My wife says that when I am at Ford, I am one person, but when I am in uniform, I am a different person. I guess that when you have the uniform on, you’re representing not just yourself but the Marines and over here you are representing the United States. So, you have to be a good ambassador. And that’s some of the stuff the Marines teach us. They give it to us every day. You put your uniform on, and you are putting everyone’s name on.

¦ What kind of people wake up and decide, “My future is going to be in the Marines.” What does it take?

A lot of people want to be part of an elite team. I, personally, did not want to do something that everybody is doing. I wanted to become the few, the proud, the Marines. And a lot of people try to do the same thing.

¦ And they don’t look at the dangers?

There’s danger in everything you do.

¦ Isn’t there more danger at the front?

It could be but when you are with a bunch of good people who would put their lives on the line for you, you feel confident that somebody is always watching you someone is always taking care of you. You might be home and you can get hit by a car or get mugged and it could be that there’s no one there. But in the Marines, everyone is watching out for you.

¦ The selection process to get into the Marines must be very tough.

It is very tough. For every two to three they bring in per month, there are 10 or 20 who applied, maybe more.

¦ Is it a well-paid job then?

(Laughter)

¦ It has to be!

It pays the bills! (More laughter)

Are the bills very high?

Well you can make US$100,000 a year or US$500,000 a year depending on how you live. You can be a military person and live comfortably or not live comfortably if your spending exceeds what you make.

¦ Back to Mauritius, are there other tasks you will be carrying out with our policemen or are you done?

No, I’m here for a year, so for that year that’s all we will be doing. So whatever comes up we actually engage.

¦ What impressions do you get of Mauritius?

I actually love this place. I would like to retire here when I am done. I am seriously thinking about it! As they say, Insha’Allah!

Touria PRAYAG
(l’express Weekly, 25 November 2011)

Touria PRAYAG