Schools Also on the Front Lines in Iraq

[cynatnite]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The day began like any other at Dijla Primary School in Baghdad's posh Mansour district. Rows of students in neat gray and white uniforms gathered in the courtyard to raise the Iraqi flag and sing the national anthem. They read passages from religious texts, then cheerfully went to their classrooms. Headmistress Wajida Sharhan was working in her office when a mortar shell slammed into a second-floor fifth grade classroom.

"The sound of the explosion was so powerful, as if heaven and earth collided," she said. "I couldn't open my eyes because of the dust. I heard loud screams from the children, and a girl came into my office with her arm nearly cut off."

The torrent of violence that has swept Baghdad and surrounding provinces since U.S. forces invaded three years ago, and surged since last month's attack on a Shiite shrine, has left little unscathed — even schools. What were once sanctuaries of learning have become places of fear, undercutting efforts to rebuild the dilapidated education system left by Saddam Hussein.

Bombs, rockets, mortar and machine-gun fire killed 64 school children in the four months ending Feb. 28 alone, according to a report by the Education Ministry. At least 169 teachers and 84 other employees died in the same period.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060325/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_frontline_schools_lh1

[LynnTheDem]

1. Uh oh, sounds like the media is a wee bit pissed off with bush & Cabal's

"it's the media's fault" bullshit.

THERE IS NO GOOD NEWS IN IRAQ and it's WORSENING DAILY.

But gee, I bet if all the MFing rightwingnut freeping idiots go to Iraq and search around, they can find GOOD NEWS for us! I'll make sure their names are spelled properly on the ICCC.

[LynnTheDem]

2. "What were once sanctuaries of learning..." ie under Hussein, BEFORE bush

invaded & occupied a sovereign nation that had been doing nothing whatsoever to anyone.

[saigon68]

3. At least the troops gave them a few pencils and paper

To keep score of how many of their friends go smoked.

[Moderator]

4. cynatnite: Per LBN rules, please change the topic subject line

Thanks

[cynatnite]

5. My apologies.

:)

[Erika]

6. Dilapidated old school buildings?

I thought they were talking about our schools.

W says that is a local issue to us. The Feds are too busy using our tax $ on dilapidated old school buildings of the ME.

I guess we are chopped liver.

[rodeodance]

7. "Iraq once had one of the best education systems in the" ME

....Iraq once had one of the best education systems in the Middle East, but its schools and universities crumbled under two decades of war and neglect. Teaching methods became outdated, enrollment dropped, and adult literacy fell to less than 60 percent — one of the lowest rates in the Arab world.

The system has been a focus of U.S. efforts to rebuild Iraq. Nearly 3,000 schools have been refurbished, more than 8 million textbooks distributed and 30,000 teachers received training since 2003, according to U.S. government figures.

Al-Sudani, the education minister, has ambitious plans to modernize the curriculum, restock libraries and put computers in every school. But the unrelenting bloodshed hampers progress.

After Saddam's fall, Dijla Primary School received a thorough spruce-up. Walls were painted, air conditioners and water coolers installed, and students got new paper and pencils.

[StClone]

8. Under Republicanism schools are first to go

Look at America they attack school spending, Science and "uppity elite professors" (i.e. educated people that use facts).

[saigon68]

13. They want Gill breathers to vote for them

After they drink beer, beat their wives, Hate gays and minorities (read guys with black skin) and the best of all "PRAISE JESUS"

[ChairmanAgnostic]

9. do the militia training centers count as schools?

where they learn to torture just like the Americans did?

[paul_fromatlanta]

10. The whole country is the front line

it makes it particularly ironic that we cling to the policy of "no women in combat." All of our people over there are in combat areas (with the exception the Kurdish areas.)

[IndianaGreen]

11. The only reason we are upset is because of bad news!

Let's do what Bush wants us to do, and that crazy military wife suggested, let's only report the good news from Iraq:

(chirp, chirp, chirp)

[RedEarth]

12. Wonder how many school children were killed by bombs, rockets, etc

prior to our invasion and occupation

[rman]

14. The bad news: we had to bomb schools to bits before we could rebuild m.

In the mean time, in large parts of Iraq, sewers, electricity and drinking water still isn't working.

[roseBudd]

15. click through & vote this a 5 DUers it only has 66 votes