HW 33: "Challenges at a Girl's School in Baghdad"

"Alive in Baghdad" captures real stories about Iraq and its people who are facing so many troubles today. One episode is titled, "Challenges at a Girl's School in Baghdad" which can be found at http://aliveinbaghdad.org/2007/05/21/challenges-at-a-girls-school-in-baghdad. This episode was published on May 5, 2007. The general topic that is covered in this episode is the problems that Iraqi schools and children are dealing with due to the violence and the disturbance from American troops. The episode takes place at an all girls’ school at the Safina Middle School in Adhamiya, which is unfortunately located in a very unsafe place in Baghdad. The school is quite rundown: there are holes in the walls, desks are small, and it is a primitive environment. The female director of the school and a teacher are interviewed during the pod cast along with several students. One student in particular, tells her story of being an Iraqi girl going to school today. Some days this girl cannot even make it to school if there is a bombing near by or raids or roadblocks. Because of this, the girl has a very unstable education and she misses lessons that were taught on the day she wasn't there. Her family doesn't want their daughter to go to school because of the chance that she could be killed on her way there or while she is in school. Although she admits she is scared, she continues to push to get an education. Everyday all around Iraq, families struggle with either sending their child to school to get an education or to keep them safe at home. A viewer watching this episode might learn that the occupation of American forces is not only damaging Iraq today but it is causing a problem for it's future who are the children of Iraq today. If children are not properly educated, the literacy rate will decline in Iraq, which will cause even more problems down the road. Most other video footage that I have seen about Iraq is American troops and Iraqis fighting; there is nothing about an innocent girl's school in the middle of a war zone. What I find most memorable about this episode is that the girls are continuing to go to school even though they are risking their lives to do so. If I were one of those girls, I don't know if I would be able to do that.