Over the barbwires..
Hello friends, I didn't write for awhile I have been so busy with school..
School is fine, I am studying well, my marks are not as high as I expected, but they are good, the teachers' policy in my school is to give us low marks to make us study more and take high marks in the ministerial examinations which will be next June.. I think my only problem in school is physics, our teacher in school is not good.. and the private teacher gives us so much information in the lecture we asked him to slow down but he refuse to do so, he used to explain so well, but after he got his money in advance, he changed, I'll also study on my own and pray I will get high marks .
The situation is still not good at all, we keep hearing explosions and shooting the whole time, beside threats and murders ..
Last week, I was in my way to school, the street was terribly crowded, the driver switched the car off and waited , after about 40 minutes or so, a man said the street is closed. hardly we could find a way out and we started to search for an opened sub-street, but we couldn't ! the driver taught me which streets to walk in till we reach the school (as I am the eldest one), the younger girls and I started to walk, we passed over barbed wires !!, while we were talking suddenly a soldier turned with his gun-machine, there were only the soldiers, and us ! we stopped, I didn't know what to say because I wasn't sure if the soldier was Iraqi or American then another soldier allowed us to walk, my heart was beating fast ! because the streets were empty, there were armed soldiers, and we were only 4 teenager girls ! and the other reason that concerned me is I felt that I am responsible for the other younger girls, I was catching their arms lightly!.
We reached school exhausted, many students couldn't attend school, we didn't know what's best to do, stay in school or go home! in the break time, my friend and I were talking and suddenly a loud explosion happened the windows were hastily opened, followed by heavy shooting, my class mates and other students ran to the classroom, we didn't know what to do, if we stay inside the class another explosion may happen and the windows glass may harm us, If we go out bullets would hit us too, because they were falling in the school yard . we gathered behind the walls, my friend said " I need to sit, I can't stand" she sat on the floor!! Her legs failed her..
The students got panicked, they were running everywhere, the teachers did their best to control the situation but it was hard to calm down about 1000 panicked girls !!! at that day shooting also happened near another school the bullets killed a student and injured another..
You don't know who'll be the next victim, it is so scary to live each day wondering if you and your family will be ok, it tires me, sometimes I can't control myself and start to cry and cry because I can't ensure my families safety, I don't worry about myself as much as I do about my family, I pray for them at day and night.. whenever I see my orphan friends I pray for god to save my parents and family members.. I want nothing from this world but seeing my country safe ..
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last week, I met a girl from another school and she told me that the US soldiers visited their school, and talked with them.. she said " when the soldier asked us how we are doing and if we need anything, first we didn't say a word we only exchanged looks, then a girl stood up (she had a bad day) and said in Arabic that she wishes if they leave, the translator refused to translate, but she repeated her sentence in English, we decided to talk ourselves in English too, a girl stood up and said " yes we want one thing, we want you to leave our country" the soldier didn't reply anything, he was shocked, then another girl said "we want electricity to be able to study, we didn't have electricity for two week" and my friend M said "we don't want you to make curfews and close the roads, we want to be able to come to school everyday and don't miss classes" another girl interrupted her and said " even if you'll make curfew at least allow us to go out of our neighborhoods walking and don't shoot towards us " "
I admire their courage, just think how hard situation it was, when teenager girls stood and faced armed soldiers, they were definitely feeling worry, pain, and scared, but in the same time they needed to express themselves and talk .. The Iraqis girls faced very hard situation but even though everyday they pray for a better tomorrow, and smile, they have faith, bravery, and a great tolerance..
Sunshine
posted by Sunshine @ 4:57 PM
24 Comments:
Hiiiiii,
you are such a brave girl im proud of.i believe you can achieve high scores in final exams,you are smart just be patient.
im begging god to stop all kinds of violence and live in peace.those girls are really great.
dont worry about your family god is protecting them.keep up and take care plz.good luck
Do YOU want them to leave? Will it be better for you?
Inshallah your situation will better. In Baghdad, rarely anyone goes to school some days. All I can say is don't give up. :)
Best wishes,
friends from baghdad.
wow, Iraqis are very brave.
May Allah keep you safe, and please keep reporting on what is happening in your town, no matter what it is, good or bad.
And you and all Iraqis are in my thoughts every day. I will pass your words along to other Americans.
i feel so sorry for the american soldiers, because they have to respond and suffer for the stupidity of their superiors.
Sunny, chances are, your wish will come true. Whether that's a good thing or not remains to be seen. We want our people to come home too, but not at the price of leaving Iraq to the scavangers. Keep your Sun shining. Solo
Sunshine,
I am so sorry for your troubles, this is all such a mess. But never be afraid to speak your mind to an American soldier. They won't hurt you for it. If they ask, tell them. I wish you safety and good grades!
I'm so sorry, Sunshine.
So on the one hand the Americans are supposed to provide you with electricity, but on the other hand they are being told to leave immediately. Which one is it?
I would suggest thinking about what Mosul would like like if US troops left TODAY- and Al Qaeda and the Mahdi Army move in the day after. Is that really what you want?
Obviously your government doesn't agree, since they just signed up for Americans to stay in Iraq until 2012..
Though they may have been scared, it takes no courage for teenaged girls to berate American soldiers. First, those soldiers are likely to be teenagers, too. I was 18 when I was doing their job (many years ago), and I went into Korean schools to ask the same questions that these boys asked your friends. (You might also want to compare the half of Korea where the American soldiers stayed to the half of Korea where they didn't. There's a lesson for Iraqis.)
To tell these boys "We want you to leave" makes no sense. Do you not think those boys want to go home to their parents, families, and perhaps their babies even more than the Iraqi schoolgirls want them to leave?
Teenaged boys in American uniforms have no more control over whether they stay in Iraq than do the teenaged schoolgirls. Any such demands should be addressed to your own Iraqi government. Speaking of which, are not new elections coming soon? Who do you think will win? Hopefully it will be a party that you favor.
Robert
Sunshine, did the girls from the other school get their electricity back on yet? You don't have to be afraid of the American soldiers in the schools, they are trying to help as best as they can. I hope and pray that the violence will subside. We hear that Mosul and the other parts of the north are the worst areas. The rest of the country is getting a lot better. Do you know if this is true?
Robert...she is just a girl for pitys sake. The soldiers asked...the girls answered. I think she knows that by telling the soldiers that she wants them to leave...isnt going to make the difference.
I hope they leave too...for their sake as well as Iraqis. They arent there keeping americans safe thats for sure, and its dangerous for everyone with them there.
Laurie
When America left South East Asia, millions of people were executed afterwards.
Terrorists will flood Mosul as soon as the last US soldier is gone.
ENI Sunshine.
Inshallah the situation in your city will improve
Shukran gazeelan for stopping when the soldier with the gun faced you and the other girls. The soldiers do not know how to identify suicide bombers and ask everyone to stop when approaching them. If you stop they soon know you are not a terrorist.
When the American soldiers visit your school and talk with students they want to be your friends. They do not want to hurt you. I remember one time when they visited your home and you enjoyed talking with them. They prefer being friends to you.
Tisbaheen ala kheer
Alif Shukur for keeping us informed. We all appreciate you.
i can't imagine how dangerous and risky Iraq is...you are such a brave young gal!!im proud of ya!!
i wonder that you are really good at writing in english!! did u ever go to UK, america or sumthin???
:):):)write back soon:):):)
"i feel so sorry for the american soldiers"
I don't. If American soldiers refused illegal orders to occupy Iraq, there would be no occupation! If American soldiers had refused illegal orders to invade Iraq, there would have been no invasion! If American soldiers had refused illegal orders to drop bombs on Iraqis, no bombs would have been dropped! If American soldiers refused illegal orders to torture Iraqis, Abu Gharib would never have happened! It's the American soldiers who made this atrocity possible! I don't feel sorry for them at all, and I'm an American!
Hello, Sunshine!
I'm from the Philippines. Just hang in there and believe that things will be better someday. Be brave always.
Stay safe Sunny.
dear.. Allah help u...friend from indonesia
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brave girls, in mosul when the military vehicles pass everyone must stop and stay far away,whether those soldiers were teenages or not the girls got the courage to express their point of view in a time many persons are afraid to do so. they asked them to leave because they witnessed the life before the war and now. the us gov. ought to clean the mess and back the troops to their homes.better for both sides.
I agree with dancewater, and also, i know that Iraqis want US soldiers out, but it isn't necesserily thair
For Sunshine and Laurie,
First, to Sunshine, I apologize for the comment I wrote above. Having been a young soldier 10,000 miles from home -- in South Korea, an occupation of 63 years and counting -- my sympathy for the American soldiers being berated by the Iraqi schoolgirls produced an unnecessarily iritable comment from me. I do agree with other commenters that Mosul residents should consider what life would be like if the Americans disappeared tomorrow.
For Laurie: I wasn't in favor of overthrowing Saddam through direct action. However, once the decision was made (with Congressional authorization -- unlike, say, our misadventure in Kosovo), I have and will support our soldiers, who I think have done a good job in Iraq. I suspect our troops will be in Iraq for most of our lifetimes, though in my experience even a benevolent occupation outwears its welcome within 30 years or so. That said, it is still up to the politicians in Washington and Baghdad, not to teenaged boys in Army uniforms or teenaged girls in school uniforms. I hope the girls will have more understanding of this "fact of life" the next time they deal with the soldiers.
Robert
Hello Sunshine, I am an American soldier and I want you to know that I have seen with my own eyes the suffering you and your people are going through. I have cried many times when I think of all the pain and horror I have seen in Iraq. I pray to God each day for your people.
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