By Pfc. Adrian Muehe

3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division Public Affairs Office

DIYALA, Iraq – “What was once unthinkable is now a reality right before our eyes,” said Qaim’maqam Zaid, mayor of Muqdadiyah, Iraq, while standing in the middle of a once again bustling Aruba Suq, March 16.

To restore Aruba Suq to the prominent business community it used to be was a collaborative effort of 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment and Battery B, 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment both from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division; the local government; the Diyala Red Crescent; and the Diyala Provincial Reconstruction Team.

A year ago, the streets of the Aruba Suq were desolate. A fierce battleground is what became of the second largest market in Diyala province. Buildings that once flourished as successful shops now stood demolished. Their owners and shoppers fled to escape the violence that strangled the life out of the area.

            “People were afraid to open their stores, afraid to come to work,” said 1st Lt. Sean Malloy, the Commanders Emergency Relief Program project purchasing officer for 2/3 Inf., 3rd SBCT, 2nd ID. “Shops were left empty, buildings were burned and store fronts were looted.”

            This project started with the Diyala PRT. After the violence had stopped, they went through the destroyed areas and helped to repave roads and lay down new sidewalks, with hopes to bring businesses back to Aruba Suq.

“When we first visited the Suq it was in a state of disrepair,” said Capt. Peter Curly, assistant to the PRT for economical and agricultural affairs.

            Shopkeepers still didn’t return after the original refurbishment. The PRT and their counterparts put their heads together and devised a plan to bring the masses back to the Suq.

            “The timing was right for a micro-grant surge,” said Capt. Curley. “It was ripe for the picking.”

            A micro-grant is a sum of money given to business owners and entrepreneurs with a set plan to jump start their shops. These grants are funded by CERP. Assisting the PRT with issuing the micro-grants was the Diyala Red Crescent, headed by Hazim Mohammed Salman.

            “He was the most non-sectarian person we could find in the Suq,” said Capt. Curley. “His interests are based solely on restoring Diyala for everyone in Diyala.”

            The grants, approved through the Red Crescent, were divided equally between Shias and Sunnis.

            “They [the Red Crescent] are seen through the eyes of the Iraqis as a fair and partial organization that can help them and has been helping them,” said Capt. Curley

            The Red Crescent went through the market and, along with PRT, was able to establish anchor businesses, such as three medical clinics that are now open in Aruba Suq.

            “We started by identifying these anchor businesses that will pull people in,” said Capt. Curley. “It’s like a Macy’s in a mall, you have to go the mall to get to the Macy’s, but you’ll probably go to another store and buy something.”

            The Red Crescent administered the application process for the micro-grants, as well as gave a two-day business class to the recipients. The classes taught these entrepreneurs what they needed to know to make the most of their grants not only to benefit themselves, but the market as well.

            The market originally had more than 1,700 shops. To date 750 micro-grants have been paid out to help restore the bustling business center to what it once was. When this project is complete, the PRT will have given more than 1,500 micro-grants to this one area, said Capt. Curley.

“This has been one of the largest, if not the largest, business building projects in Iraq,” said Michael Rothe, from Claremont, Calif., the senior economic advisor for the department of state working with PRT.

More work still needs to be done, but Aruba Suq is once again a vital part of the Muqdadiyah community. This process has been so successful that it will be repeated in the markets of Jalula and Khalis to build them up as well.

            “It was like night and day,” said Capt. Daniel Threkeld, commander of Battery B, 1/37th FA, 3rd SBCT, 2nd ID, who visited Aruba Suq. “Even between January and now, it is amazing how many stores have opened up.”