Woman Loses Her Job Over Coffins Photo
..by Hal Bernton

A military contractor has fired Tami Silicio, a Kuwait-based cargo worker whose photograph of flag-draped coffins of fallen U.S. soldiers was published in Sunday's edition of The
Seattle Times.Flag-draped coffins are shown inside a cargo plane April 7 at Kuwait International Airport, in a photograph published Sunday. The photographer said she hoped the image would help families understand the care with which fallen soldiers are returned home.

Silicio was let go yesterday for violating U.S.government and company regulations, said William Silva, president of Maytag Aircraft, the contractor that employed Silicio at Kuwait International Airport.

"I feel like I was hit in the chest with a steel bar and got my wind knocked out. I have to admit I liked my job, and I liked what I did," Silicio said.

Her photograph, taken earlier this month, shows more than 20 flag-draped coffins in a cargo plane about to depart from Kuwait. Since 1991, the Pentagon has banned the media from taking pictures of caskets being returned to the United States.

That policy has been a lightning rod for debate, and Silicio's photograph was quickly posted on numerous Internet sites and became the subject of many Web conversations. Times Executive Editor Michael R. Fancher yesterday appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" news show with U.S. Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., who supported the Pentagon policy prohibiting such pictures.

As a result of the broader coverage, The Times received numerous e-mail and phone calls from across the country — most of which supported the newspaper's decision.

Pentagon officials yesterday said the government's policy defers to the sensitivities of bereaved families. "We've made sure that all of the installations who are involved with the transfer of remains were aware that we do not allow any media coverage of any of the stops until (the casket) reaches its final destination," said Cynthia Colin, a Pentagon spokeswoman.

Maytag also fired David Landry, a co-worker who recently wed Silicio.

Silicio said she never sought to put herself in the public spotlight. Instead, she said, she hoped the publication of the photo would help families of fallen soldiers understand the care and devotion that civilians and military crews dedicate to the task of returning the soldiers home.

"It wasn't my intent to lose my job or become famous or anything," Silicio said.

The Times received Silicio's photograph from a stateside friend, Amy Katz, who had previously worked with Silicio for a different contractor in Kosovo. Silicio then gave The Times permission to publish it, without compensation. It was paired with an article about her work in Kuwait.

Silicio, 50, is from Edmonds and previously worked as an events decorator in the Seattle area and as a truck driver in Kosovo. Before the war started, she went to work for Maytag, which contracts with the Air Mobility Command to provide air-terminal and ground-handling services in Kuwait.

In Kuwait, Silicio pulled 12-hour night shifts alongside military workers to help in the huge effort to resupply U.S. troops. These workers also helped transport the remains of soldiers back to the United States.

Her job put her in contact with soldiers who sometimes accompanied the coffins to the airport. Having lost one of her own sons to a brain tumor, Silicio said, she tried to offer support to those grieving over a lost comrade.

"It kind of helps me to know what these mothers are going through, and I try to watch over their children as they head home," she said in an earlier interview.

Since Sunday, Silicio has hunkered down in Kuwait as her employer and the military decided her fate.

Maytag's Silva said the decision to terminate Silicio's and Landry's employment was made by the company. But he said the U.S. military had identified "very specific concerns" about their actions. Silva declined to detail those concerns.

"They were good workers, and we were sorry to lose them," Silva said. "They did a good job out in Kuwait and it was an important job that they did."

Landry, in an e-mail to The Times, said he was proud of his wife, and that they would soon return home to the States.

© Copyright 2004 The Seattle Times Company

This Memorial was written last year - how many more deaths must we now add?

     As the world gears up to mark the anniversary of 11th september attack, we would like to tribute to the innocent victims of terrorism:
     On this year, we remember the 121,237 Iraqi babies who have been killed (World Health Organization statistics) as a direct result of American-imposed sanctions on Iraq, preventing child-medicines from reaching Iraqi hospitals.      3 times the People killed in 11th Sept. = Iraqi babies die every month      Every day 160 children under the age of 5, and 400 of all ages, are dying from pre-famine conditions and disease epidemics caused by lack of food and medicine    
....On this year, we remember the 31,202 Afghan Muslim civilians who have heen brutally murdered, by American warplanes bombing their villages, houses, mosques, hospitals and wedding parties     10 times people killed in 11th Sept = Innocent muslims killed in Afghanistan 
     On this year, we remember the 6,084 Indian Muslims killed and burnt in cold-blooded killing orgiens organised by the indian Government in Gujarat, during the last twelve months. 
     On this year, we remember the 5,078 Chechen Muslim civilians who have been killed by Russian aerial bombing 
    On this year, we remember the 3,039 Palestinian Muslims who have been murdered by israeli soldiers
     On this year, we remember 2,170 Uzbek Muslims who have been taken away from their homes by the American-backed Karimov Government in the middle of the night, never to be seen again.
     On this year, we remember the 1,473 Chinese Muslims who have been executed in public after having been forced to consume alcohol and the flesh of swine, in the East Turkestan (Muslim) region of China
     On this year, we remember the 1,399 Kashmiri Muslims murdered and the 852 gang-rapes carried out by Hindu and Sikh soldiers in Occupied Kashmir. 
     On this year, we remember the 1,261 Indonesian Muslims massacred by Christians in the Maluku region of Indonesia, having supplied with M-16 assault rifles, rockets launchers and funds by the Netherlands
     On this year, we remember 598 Muslim Mujahid prisoners being kept in small cages in Guantanamo Bay, after their beards were forcibly shaved, their hands and feet were bound and their eyes and ears were covered, in conditions where they are subject to malaria, heatstroke and other tropical diseases
     On this year, we remember the deaths of the hearts of 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide who are blind to the above, but awake to a few people killed on 11 september 2001.      Sleep MUSLIM-E-UMMAH Sleep

Bismillah Ar-Rahman-ir-Rahim