Reservist helps to re-establish Iraq’s legal authority

MANAMA, Bahrain – Most paralegal researchers never help rebuild a country’s legal systems.

That’s a big reason Lori L. Luce has lived in Manama, the capital city of this tiny island country about 20 miles east of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf, since March 2003.

The Orlando, Fla., native, who spent summers picking blueberries and mussels at her grandparents’ home in Warren, Maine – her grandmother worked at Moody’s Diner in Waldoboro for about 45 years – believes she found a nearly unprecedented opportunity helping rebuild Iraq as an active-duty reservist in the U.S. Navy.

For her, life with the Navy in the Persian Gulf is not about the oil.

“For me, it’s about freedom and justice and liberty, and I believe in those principles, very much,” Luce said at her office at the Naval Air Station in Manama. “This is an opportunity to introduce or reaffirm those principles in another country. To be part of that in another country, if only in a minute way, is very humbling.”

One of the most stunning aspects of her work helping establish maritime law in Iraq is working with Iraqi lawyers and judges, many of whom survive death threats and attempts on their lives in order to make Iraq a nation of laws.

“One of the most-targeted people in Iraq is a policeman, and yet these people still volunteer [to become police] every day,” said Luce, 45. “It’s amazing to deal with judges who face terrorist threats and yet still want to do the work. It gives you a tremendous respect for what you have.”

The Navy has helped rebuild Iraq by helping select and train judges and establish a court system, Luce said. Her role has involved researching and helping to tailor international or generally held legal standards and precedents to Iraqi needs and desires.

“It’s fascinating work,” Luce said. “I hope we are introducing, and not imposing, these things to them.”

The work helps compensate for the occasionally daunting day-to-day life in Manama. Bahrain is one of the most westernized countries in the Middle East – so much so that it’s referred to as “Middle East lite” – and Manama is probably its most westernized, modernized city, with everything from American TV to Starbucks coffeehouses.

Yet living as a servicewoman in a Muslim country can be a lonely experience, Luce said. Muslim men often treat her as a second-class citizen. She recalled a mechanic lying to her that her car’s axle was broken, and she often feels suspicious even of those who treat her well, she said.

“Given the nature of terrorism, you have to wonder if they have another motive,” Luce said. “The biggest change for me is that I am not nearly as trusting as I was.”

That’s one reason she likely will leave in April when her enlistment term is up, she said.