Fallujans’ faith in local justice renewed

Haifa Ahmad’s painful journey began two years ago, when her husband was shot and killed in the crossfire of a battle between United States forces and insurgents in Fallujah.

One year later, she suffered a second blow when a tribal chief chose to grant her late husband’s in-laws custody of her one-year-old son because she had remarried. Government courts in Anbar province were not operating at the time, giving her no option but to accept the chief’s decision.