Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Baghdad (Fides Service)- Catholic Iraqi priest Rev. Nizar Seeman told Fides about the first day at school in northern Iraq.
It is 7.45 in the morning I am in front of the elementary school. I see boys and girls, many are smiling, others are still sleepy to talk. Many are without schoolbags because they have no textbooks and exercise books. Those with school bags have only a pen and notebook. Most are smartly dressed.
I stop a boy of 11 and ask how he feels about the new school year. He says: “I hope the teachers help us to learn a lot because I want to become an electrical engineer so I can build an electricity network for our country”. This desire reflects the fact that for the past ten years Iraqis have had no proper electricity service.
One smart six year old says he wants to be a teacher. A nine year old girl, the first in her class last year, is very serious: “I hope they let me study I hope there will be peace for all and I want to be a doctor so I can help the sick and the wounded”.
None of the children I spoke with, age 6 - 12, showed any fear. They were all very happy to go back to school Surprisingly I hear older middle school and high school children speak of politics and the situation in Iraq. All have the same desire, security for the country and the chance to learn. “We are not afraid of people who want to kill us. We will come to school and we are sure we will complete the school year” they say.
One boy says: “I hope our teachers are more democratic now. I want democracy although I am not sure what it means, but I think it is better than dictatorship”. All say they want to study to help build a new Iraq. I ask what sort of Iraq? They say, an Iraq of peace and respect for everyone. I leave the boys’ school and go to the girl’s school where a 15 year old girl pupil says: “it is not easy to study in our situation but we have to because our country needs us: we are the future and we must prepare to serve the country. We are not afraid and we hope this year the situation will improve”.
At schools of all grades teachers and headmasters say school buildings need maintenance and that they are still waiting for the new books to be delivered. A history teacher says that textbooks will have to be changed and quickly. “I would like a history book which speaks of people who have dedicated their life to peace and democracy instead of books all about military leaders” he says. Under Saddam most textbooks, whatever the subject, had the leader’s photograph inside the cover and a page with his speeches and some sentences the school children had to learn by heart. Now that the regime has fallen, the old books are still used but the speeches and photographs of Saddam have been torn out.
“Certainly” one headmaster told me “a reform of the school system will not be easy in this situation and it will take time, but we hope not too long so that our children will grow with a new spirit because Iraq has enormous human resources in the school and in education”. With regard to security it is not easy to forecast the future and most Iraqis are now resigned to live one day at a time. There have been recent rumours that schools will be targeted now that the school year has started, but no one wants to believe these reports and things proceed normally. (Agenzia Fides 4/10/2004 righe 51 parole 698)
