5th Marines Taking Care of Refugees

Doctors visit Sudanese refugees

by Cpl. Ryan Tomlinson, RCT-5

AL-ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq – A large group of Sudanese refugees living in
tents here were visited by a group of friendly faces Aug. 25.

Marines and sailors with 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5 visited the community of Sudanese refugees near Al Waleed, Iraq, which is on the Iraq-Jordan border, to provide them with healthcare Aug. 25.

"It was a rewarding feeling to provide care to people who have gone through so much,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class George C. Fricke, a corpsman with Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd LAR Bn. “They are good people, but they’re in a bad predicament right now, so they need someone like us to help them.”

During the visit, the service members cared for more than 200 patients in the community. One by one, the people saw a doctor to be treated for sicknesses ranging from eye infections to the flu.