While the 20 men from Alabama were providing humanitarian aid to the surviving citizens of Bam, Iran, they learned an important lesson; don’t believe everything you see and hear.
Before coming to Iran, most of them had seen news broadcasts showing anti-American demonstrations and the American flag in flames.
Larry Murphy, who led the disaster relief team, described the city as, “Looking like a ghost town. The city is a grave.” Even that initial observation was incorrect as many locals came to help the team build and man an emergency kitchen and water filtration system.
Murphy later said, “People fell out of heaven to help us out.”
The men and the local helpers served only 35 meals the first night. That initial night was misleading as more than 14,000 meals were served during their two-week stay in Bam.
The men from Alabama were not the only ones who learned not to believe what they saw the heard. The people of Bam discovered that the Americans from Alabama were not “the great Satan” nor were they their enemies. One Iranian soldier made a point of telling Murphy, “We love Americans.” Alabama, loosely translated in Farsi means, “God with us.” Thanks to the acts of kindness from the Alabama men, the Iranians began referring to the feeding station as “God with us.”
Mark Clayton, a specialist in water filtration wasn’t sure what to expect when he landed in Iran. “I did not think we’d be so well received by the people.” While the people almost immediately trusted the men from Alabama, the local authorities took a little longer to win over. Clayton believes it was their desire to help out the earthquake victims that made the difference. “Our love for the people (of Bam) is what changed the minds of the authorities.” One of the government officials told Clayton, “It is good to have good Christians like you to come to help us without politics.”
On the surface the men of Alabama did little more than provide hot meals and clean water. However in doing so, they dispensed dignity and hope to desperate people struggling to continue.
(TAB)
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