LSA ANACONDA, Iraq — Eva Gergis is a Christian Iraqi who desperately wants to emigrate to the United States.

For her, it's not just a dream. It's a matter of survival.

The Arabic translator, a contractor for the Titan Corp. who works with the Hawai'i National Guard, has been living a life of practical captivity on the 15-square-mile U.S. air base for most of the past year.

She's gone out once, in sunglasses and with her face covered. It's been that way since Nov. 25, 2004, when insurgents burst into her apartment, shot her son in the arm, and tried to kill Gergis for working with the U.S. military. Her husband had a rifle and he fired back, chasing off the intruders.

"The doctors did a great job here (on the base)," she said. "They operated for seven hours, took two pieces of nerve from his left leg and bone from his hip to fix his arm."

Her story is all too familiar. Militants routinely identify Iraqis working with the U.S. military and target them for death. More than 4,000 civilian translators work for San Diego-based Titan. She's now working toward emigrating to the United States.

"I want to serve in the Army. I want all my family to live there and continue their studies. These words are in my heart," said Gergis, 48, an auburn-haired woman with gold earrings who said she isn't afraid to say how she feels or to have her story told.

"I'm working with great people (U.S. forces), and they are so important for their country and the Iraqi people. They are helping my people," Gergis said. "I believe in what you are doing. I know freedom is not free."

Her son who was shot is 20, and he, too, lives on base. She has another daughter, 19, and a son, 14, who live with their father off base in Iraq.

She learned English at Baghdad University, worked for three years as an English teacher in Kuwait, and has traveled to Britain.

"I'm not scared of any terrorists. I'm not going to stop (working for the military), ever," she said. "But I wish I could start with my family in America. This is my wish."