Here’s a military item in honor of the “surge” and courtesy of a tip from frequent commenter Maurice. It’s about the (presumably) first Indian husband and wife to both serve in the U.S. military. Sgt. Cyriac Alenchril, 35, is a supply sergeant in Iraq. Wife Fixie Alencheril, 31, recently completed basic training and is headed to Iraq as a human resources administrator. India Abroad has the story.
He says:
“I was told it would be an interesting news that my wife and I have committed ourselves to this war on terror, whereas many immigrants just enjoy only the fruits of the blessed land,” Cyriac said.
She says:
“It was not easy for an Indian woman to do all that the Caucasian or African-American women do. More than the physical struggle, the mental stress was too much. I am happy that I completed it successfully,” said Fixie…
Can’t you just hear the intonation? (I don’t mean that in a derisive way.) The article is full of other interesting tid-bits including this surreal scene of a Mallu herding Punjabis to perform for Americans in Iraq:
Cyriac said his proudest moment in Iraq was on last August 15, “when I gathered some 15 Punjabis to sing the Indian national anthem in Sulaimaniya before an American audience.”
And the taste of home:
Guarding 3,000 detainees in Sulaimaniya and training Iraqi correctional cadets are not easy tasks. But he felt at home in Iraq because of the many good curries he got to eat, thanks to the many benevolent Kerala cooks he met there.
Cyriac is a true believer. He intends to stay in the military 30 years, and he wants more Indians to emulate him:
“Currently, there are very few Indians in the army. Those who are in the services are mainly medical personnel. This needs to change,” Cyriac said.
The couple’s two young children are with Fixie’s parents back in India. Here’s hoping everyone stays safe, surge and all.
Inneresting. There’s a good number of desis in Iraq (they aren’t all WaPo journalists)- many Punjabis and Bangladeshis who work as contracters, particularly. My SO reported hearing desi languages being spoken (he thinks it was Punjabi) in the US military base dining facilities in various parts of Iraq…there were also lots of desi truck drivers working very dangerous jobs there.
Stupid George Bush. It’s just amazing that we are in this situation now where all these people are putting their lives at risk for cause that’s completely hopeless. We’re spending billions of dollars for what? And this is not to mention all of the Iraqi lives that have been lost. The country is way worse off now than it was under Saddam, as horrible as he was. Stupid George Bush, conceivably the worst presidency in history.
“It was not easy for an Indian woman to do all that the Caucasian or African-American women do. More than the physical struggle, the mental stress was too much. I am happy that I completed it successfully,” said Fixie…
What the heck does that mean???
Sash (#3) – Yeah, that was my question too. All in all I found the article a bit patronizing of Fixie, which was one of the things that made it interesting to me, actually. I couldn’t parse out what was from Fixie herself and what was from the journalist.
I’m skeptical that there are so few Indians in the Armed Forces. I personally know 4, 3 who served in the first Gulf War as well, one is in the Navy, one in the Marines, another one on the Korean border at the moment and a 4th one is in the reserves. There is no way if I personally know 4 that there aren’t more. We aren’t even 5% of the population. The NYPD has close to a 1000 desi employees, many of them cops/detectives in the 35K+ force so I’m not so sure the Armed Forces would be that different.
I wonder what his rationale for this “needing to change” is. It’s great he feels motivated to commit himself “to this war on terror, whereas many immigrants just enjoy only the fruits of the blessed land…” But there are many of those immigrants whose fruit may not be as ripe as others.
Since the desi population is about 0.7% of the total United States population last time I checked. I don’t think we can expect a high number of desi in the army.
What kind of a name is “Fixie”?
does surge = sarge?
Oh Fixie! Sounds like someone needs to witness barefooted Indian women on construction sites hauling buckets of cement atop their heads under the blazing Kerala sun.
Right. Where does one even begin? Anecdotally speaking though, I know (and I am sure that I am not the only one) of more than a few desis who are committed to Dubya because ‘he is our enemy’s enemy’, essentially, that Bush is taking care of ‘them’ elsewhere so that the great Hindoo nation can breathe free…
Fixie, Mixie, Girlie, Pinky, Baby, Shiny, Happy, Genuine, Innocent…I suspect that Fixie is part of the illustrious pantheon of Mallu (though not exclusively Mallu) names and nicknames, a comprehensive catalogue of which was authored by Anna at some point, if I am not mistaken.
I think its great that the army gets as diverse as our towns and cities. I can’t think of a better way to make our own defense instis inclusive and tolerant, and there’s no better way to disarm the enemy’s argument that these wars are this nation’s religious crusade.
That said, can’t help that its a stupid war.
Really, what does that mean? An Indian woman is too ‘delicate,’ ‘too feminine’ or ‘too weak’ or ‘used to servants’???
Someone help me with this?
Same can be said of the rich white upper middle class and above. I do hope there is better class and race representation in the armed forces but that is not going to happen is it? In any case, the way things are in this war the class division is a much bigger issue than the race division.
BTW does the army provide statistics on race?
Can any main stream journalist make the above statement?? Even if they felt that way ? (Any reasonable person can tell that Iraq now is worse than what it was under Saddam) and those third world countries dont have journalistic freedom????
Do they go late to the military briefings?
Some documents are available here
From the India Abroad article, about Trixie’s training:
Uh oh, this could be especially trying for Indians 😉
Thanks Vikram, that was informative. Now I am curious as to how those ratios might have changed since 2002, given the recruitment efforts since.
this chart has newer data :
Simbly fundastic Mallu name. One of my classmates in school in Mumbai was named …… kid you not ….. Titty.
A perfectly good mallu one 🙂 Before anyone gets too rough on the Mallu names, the Khasis do it too–my parents knew a Nylon and a Teflon (or maybe it was Teflene).
Titty, Nylon, Teflon you guys are killing me. I knew Anal & Anas (said Anaaal & Annnas) in HS! I was recently introduced to a Pinku who I assumed was about 8 years old up until that point from an aunty. Pinku turned out to be aunty’s 200lb 6 foot tall 38 year old son!
Wait, I think I know Pinku!
Not personally, but I remember my friend telling me about a big tall desi guy she knew named Pinku and it was his actual real name, not a nickname.
Gotta love it. I hope more people w/names like these become commissioned military personnel, doctors, 7-11 owner/operators etc. I have a Afro-centric (“real black”) name- thankfully for me, my parents researched it, the spelling and ‘legitimacy’ as an [Amharic] African name- and I was informed of its origin.
The Shortest way to US citizenship is to serve in the US armed forces for some time period. I dont see any other rationalisation for an indian to fight for america..
Its also a method for poorer people to obtain an education and receive funds for college education. Again, not something Indians have a problem with.
From a cultural perspective, it’s not easy for an Indian woman, or for that matter even a man, to do some thing that Americans are accustomed to as part of their routine. Taking a shower in public is one instance..common in the states and not so common in the third world countries your parents originated from. So the woman expresses herself in racial terms more out of ignorance than anything else, a bunch of fricking “liberal” abcds start whining about it.
At least she is doing more than what most 2nd generation ABCDs do for “their” country.
I knew twin sisters named Flora and Fauna.
Says who? Joining the military the only way to serve your country?
Don’t pick the bait, guys. For all we know there’s a representative number of desis serving in the military, given that desis are less than 1% of the American population.
All over India you will find people bathing in public, at community pumps and wells, ponds and rivers.
They are not fully nude of course, but you can see alot through a wet sari, lungi or gamcha.
And what about those guys who bathe in their skimpy underwear?
There would have to be more than 10,000 desis active in the US military then.
In the 2000 census report there were 450 indian-americans in active duty. That number must have grown by now but not by so much as to be representative of the percentage of american desis. Such a remarkable growth would have been very newsworthy and we would know if such a change had happened.
Lol.
Would that be ignorance on ignorance? 😉
Dude – you missed the best part of it. They’re artsy!
I know two separate sets of sisters called Mona and Lisa, Barfi and Halwa and ofcourse we all know Simple and Dimple. But Flora and Fauna! Love it! (#29)!
Begtodiffer begs to differ. I have roughpacked extensively over Europe and its my experience that Americans are much more squeamish about this than your comment suggests. Outside of locker rooms I don’t think this is a culturally appealing activity. Its just part of the overall tone of condescension.
You contradicted yourself in your own insulting remark. The C in that wonderful acronym implies we should be more connected to India, and yet the gist of your entire statement implies we should be doing more for America, our country. Truth is, we’re foreigners wherever we go, in a pure sense, we really don’t have a country.
Serving in the U.S. military is not a way to get U.S. citizenship. Just a common myth perpetuated by would be U.S. Citizens and unscrupulous immigration attorneys.
Siddhartha, you usurped a Mallu post from homegirl Anna? Surely, it should have been Avial in Sulaimaniya?
Probably Military recruiters too. They are willing to tell outright lies just to get an enlistment.
Heehee! Flora and Fauna, Burfi and Halwa! I’m glad Panjus aren’t the only ones who give their kids funny nicknames. Could the Mallus in the house enlighten us further, please?
Re: the “this is so hard for an Indian woman to do” bit (which is rather condescending), I wonder if the writer of the article was editorialising about Fixie’s having to stay away from her kids (article said they are with their grandparents), because of course Indian women have a deeper, stronger maternal instinct than the Heartless American Witches…while Indian fathers aren’t supposed to know how old their kids are.
Yes, you can really fast-track citizenship by serving the military.
From
From
Numbers vary but the essential story is the same.
I can only speak of the Marine Corps Infantry, but for what it counts I agree with Sergeant Alencheril: There are few Indians. As an infantry officer I am the only one that I have heard of. I’m a vegetarian to boot. 1st time posting on SM – even though I have read it for over 2 years. Semper Fi.
Kush, thanks for the update. Didn’t know Bush had changed the law.
If anyone reads the San Diego Union Tribune or Marine Corps/Navy times, they feature articles periodically on uniformed foreign citizens that have earned their citizenship via the fast track process. The law was changed since there were a decent number of green card holders serving on active duty (and some who have fallen) to catch the attention of top brass. Most people I read about were Latinos or Filipinos. I’m sure they’re are a bunch of others, too.
Good for you cobra! My sis just got out of the US military last year, after serving five. She stayed a vegetarian the whole time, including her survival training on Kodiak Island.
It’s definitely doable.
Am reminded of that catch phrase from “Starship Troopers”.
“I was told it would be an interesting news that my wife and I have committed ourselves to this war on terror, whereas many immigrants just enjoy only the fruits of the blessed land,” Cyriac said.
Does Cyriac realise that the fruits of the blessed land can be better enjoyed by all without war? Blessed land? Blessed by whom? Is Cyriac joking that he is also a Church person and very comfortable with war. Please explain Cyriac.
I hope Cyriac knows the origins of the “blessed land”. Ask the indigenous people of Americas and the black slaves. Cyriac better take better advice than leaving his children in the custody of others in the family.
What a shame!
He’s a mallu Christian.
There was a detailed article in an indian print newspaper, which said something like : He’s getting an accelerated citizenship, but that was not the motivation for this etc etc.
Yeah right. Mallu Christians born in Kerala cry not ‘aaahhh’ but ‘Eeeeehhhhh (like the english alphabet. So there.
Scenario: He discovers that this is a route. Joins up. Gets his wifey too to join. Fixie is in.
Blessed land comments etc: What else do you expect him to say? He’s in the amry, any other word might result in him and his wife both getting fixed. Remember, he’s still an Indian citizen. Plus it will be a while before he’s given combat duty.
Wife’s comments about caucasian women etc. Fixie does not come from a worker family proably, but just a merchant family in malluland. Not used to hard physical labour.
So, forgive them for what they say, they absolutely need that to survive. And not for a moment think they are treated as one of the boys and girls there.
Two questions for this guy :
If fighting terrorists was such a priority for you, There’s the country which you came from, fighting terrorists in akshmir for the last 10+ years. Why didnt you enlist there? Because there were no carrots there?
Why are the children still with your parents in kerala? The social services system and foster parent system of the blessed land not good enough to take care of your kids, esp when you are serving the country with devoution? Would not they be rolling out red carpet for your kids here?
anyway.