SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND THE MIDEAST CRISIS : Two San Diegans Flee Iraq--How Remains Unclear

Nasir Hirmiz, 28, was supposed to be back at work Monday for an irrigation parts manufacturer in El Cajon after having taken a few weeks off to visit his parents in Baghdad.

But the fact that he didn’t show up was the least of the thoughts of his co-workers. The big news was that, earlier that day, he had escaped from Iraq with another San Diegan, Lee Jacob, who was visiting his parents in Baghdad as well.

“We were worried about Jim (as Hirmiz is known to his friends) because we hadn’t heard from him. We hadn’t even gotten a post card,” said Donna Aiken, the personnel director at Hardie Irrigation in El Cajon, where Hirmiz has worked for the past three years. “We’ve missed him! We want him back! He’s a character. He’s a lot of fun to be around.”

Both Hirmiz and Jacob, who are Iraqi-born Americans, drove into the dusty Jordanian border post of Ruweished from Iraq on Monday, leading a contingent of 30 or more Americans who were fleeing Iraq, a U.S. diplomat told Reuters.

The details of their escape--and the circumstances that allowed them to cross the border while tens of thousands of other Westerners remained trapped within Iraq--remained unclear Monday.

The two men had spent several weeks at their parents’ Baghdad apartments, hiding out for fear they would be detained by Iraqi authorities if found.

“We were terrified,” Hirmiz told Reuters after crossing the border into Jordan. “We were staying at our parents’ homes when the U.S. Embassy called, saying we could leave within the next two weeks. We left the first day we could because we thought the Iraqis might change their minds.”

Jacob, a computer programmer, told Reuters: “We just want to go home, very, very bad. I couldn’t believe how unlucky I was to go to Iraq for a holiday at such a time. It frightened me the way they (Iraqis) were going on against the Americans.

“We are just innocent civilians,” he said. “But I must say no one came to bother me, perhaps because I was at home all the time. I lost 15 pounds.”

Jacob said the U.S. consul in Baghdad had told him to stay off the streets because on two occasions Arab-looking American passport holders had been picked up and forcibly conscripted.

He said he went Sunday to an Iraqi government office to receive his exit permit--and saw about 500 other Americans there trying to do the same.

By Monday, the two Americans had safely arrived in Jordan.

Co-workers of Hirmiz said they did not know Lee Jacob, and said they assumed that the two men probably didn’t even know each other until their paths crossed in Iraq.

Dean Gaffney, Hirmiz’s boss at Hardie Irrigation, said Hirmiz last visited Iraq about nine years ago--just about a year after Hirmiz left his parents as an 18-year-old and came to San Diego.

Hirmiz planned to spend four weeks or so with his parents in Baghdad and left in late July, Gaffney said. “He left before anything back there had happened. There wasn’t a hint of any problems yet. He went back for a leisurely visit.”

But, after Iraq invaded Kuwait earlier this month, co-workers grew concerned for Hirmiz’s safety, but, at the same time, were confident that he had enough charm and skill to stay out of trouble.

“We were taking bets on when he would escape,” Gaffney said. “He’s a pretty smooth guy.”

The last information anyone had of Hirmiz’s whereabouts and safety was about 10 days ago, when Hirmiz’s roommate reported to his co-workers that he was safe at the home of his parents, who didn’t want him to leave for fear he would be shot.

“They said they’d be upset if he tried to get out, but he’s the kind of guy who thinks for himself,” Gaffney said.

Added Aiken: “He doesn’t like to be pushed around or told what to do. After all, he’s a (production) supervisor.”

Hirmiz’s co-workers said they still haven’t talked to him and don’t know when he is expected to return to San Diego.