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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
IRAQ: Focus on back-to-school effort
BAGHDAD, 2 October 2003 (IRIN) - Children in blue uniforms with white shirts are so excited they can barely sit still as they wait to get notebooks, pencils and other materials on the first day of school in the Al-Furat District of Baghdad. Twelve-year-old Shaima leaned over to whisper conspiratorially in her friend's ear.
"I'm trying to register at this school, it's so nice," she said, loud enough for others to hear. "I was told we should come to school today to gather books and supplies."
US-led troops repaired this school and numerous others this summer with new paint and blackboards as more than four million children prepare to continue their education. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has repaired 175 schools across the country. Other humanitarian groups also are involved in back-to-school work as millions of children return to education.
According to estimates some 50 percent of Iraq's 15,000 schools were in need of major rehabilitation before the US Coalition started bombing, according to aid workers not many schools were destroyed during the recent bombing.
The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) announced that schools across the country would open on Wednesday after an earlier announcement by the Ministry of Education saying they would resume on 15 October. Some parents and children were this morning turned away from schools that were still in the process of being refurbished.
"School starting means a new year for us. We would like to live in peace and safety," Fayzan Awan, the mother of one of the students at the Al-Furat school, told IRIN. "The education is the same, but now Saddam Hussein will be removed from the teaching," she added.
Attendance at school has always been high in Iraq as primary education was made compulsory by Hussein and some 82 percent of children were being educated, according to UNICEF. The UN has estimated that 55 million history and geography books need to be revised.
The old textbooks contained a picture of the fallen leader followed by a note from Hussein telling students that the Ba'th Party revolution of 17 July 1968 had been a great event, because it had enabled the government to supply the schools with books. Many history and geography textbooks refer to the Iran-Iraq war in extremely patriotic terms, describing the Iranians as "yellow snakes" for fighting against Iraq.
In addition to this, some 6.2 million new books are being printed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
"One of the first ways to remove the legacy of former President Saddam Hussein is to bring the schools up to modern standards," Janan Jabero, an assistant project officer for rehabilitation at UNICEF, told IRIN. "Parents were previously asked to pay out of their own pockets to buy everything from new blackboards to running water in the bathrooms. Many communities were too poor to take on large school projects."
UNICEF is carrying out repair work on basic infrastructure - water, sewage, latrines and glass. "Sometimes roofs are so terrible we have to replace them," he explained. At Shaima's school, US troops living nearby wanted to do something extra for the children.
They created the website www.iraqischools.com to persuade people outside Iraq to donate things like notebooks, pencils, crayons and glue for the children. They contacted churches, youth groups and old college buddies to spread the word.
"When we got here, the first thing people asked for were foot patrols to make sure the children could get to school safely," Lt-Col Charles Williams from the 1-1 Cavalry Unit, told IRIN. "There were a lot of schools here that were in terrible condition," he added.
The soldiers hope people in the US will continue to send supplies throughout the school year, since many communities in Iraq cannot afford to pay for the same types of school materials American children usually buy. "A lot of people want to help out, and they don't know what to do," Lt Michelle Walsh, a US military public affairs officer, told IRIN. "This is a great way."
"Getting the school painted and cleaned and getting boxes of school supplies for the kids is the greatest thing to happen in the last five years," Mouir Muhammad Jasim, the chairman of the Al-Furat district council, told IRIN.
"The happiness of the kids and the parents is unbelievable," he maintained. "I can't describe it." But parents are concerned over the safety of their children.
Many still worry that their children will not be safe as they walk to school, or even after they have reached school. Bombs have been found at universities and under bridges in Baghdad. Almost daily attacks on US-led Coalition troops continue, often using the detonation of explosive devices at roadsides.
Extra security guards and a policeman were on hand Wednesday at the Al-Furat. "We feel happy when we see the police checkpoint, because police are surrounding the schools to protect us, Ghafran Awan, a fourth grade student, told IRIN.
"Nobody here has said anything negative about us being here today," said Williams as he looked around a courtyard filled with parents, religious leaders and children. "No matter whether they agree or disagree with the United States being here, we're making a difference."
Despite the temporary relocation of many of UNICEF's international workers in Amman, Jordan, the school rehabilitation work was continuing, Jabero said. Workers who remain often use their own cars when they go to inspect the work being done, following security concerns about using UN vehicles. Many aid agencies have scaled back following the 19 August truck bombing in which UN Special Envoy to Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mello was killed.
"We're not paying attention to whether the outside is shiny, but we're dealing with infrastructure like water or electricity. We do playgrounds, too - wherever the child is," Jabero said.
More than 30 percent of the UNICEF school projects have been completed. In some schools, workers can continue their jobs as children start learning their lessons in coming weeks, Jabero said. In schools where that is not possible, the education ministry has designated alternative temporary schools for students.
Themes: (IRIN) Children, (IRIN) Conflict, (IRIN) Governance, (IRIN) Human Rights
[ENDS]
This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2003
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