Winning Their Hearts With TV Dinners, Oh Yes

When Ghamer, 36, and his uncle, Mohammad, 52, walked up the street to the school, Ghamer held a wooden stock with a ragged white cloth tacked to it. He rolled up the white cloth as he came inside, and held out his hand to be dusted for signs that he had handled explosives, which security forces would consider a sign he was an insurgent. Once cleared, he was handed a white bag filled with candy and snacks and a microwaveable meal, even though the city’s electricity was cut more than a week ago.