Back to School

In our area there are something like 70 schools, all probably in desperate need of repair some much worse than others. But we are only here for a year and we can only tackle so many projects at once. We do what we can, and that’s still better than nothing at all. So we picked a few schools to start on. We got one school that would be kinda like a Kindergarten through Fourth grade that has about 200 kids; which is considered a pretty big school around here. Then we got what would be a fifth through eighth grade girl’s school and next door to it is the boy’s school. Yes, schools are divided like that all the way through high school. And I hated school with girls, I can’t imagine how bad it would have been without, on the other hand I might have paid a little more attention to the teacher and not the nice set of legs across the classroom…

Anyways, if you can recall those monumental elections Iraq had a few years ago, you may remember all the violence that came with them. In the area that we control the schools were used as voting centers much like they are in America. Well, that morning as voters and teachers and children alike started to arrive for the day they were met with the unforgiving blast of IED’s. All the schools that were going to be used as voting center had IED’s detonated at the front doors of them that morning blowing down the front doors, throwing shrapnel throughout the school, blowing out windows and reeking all sorts of havoc. But the Iraqis pressed on. The election was a success and the children were undeterred and continued to attend classes. But due to the minimal progress of the Iraqi government none of these schools ever really received any money for repairs. Most turned to the teachers and head masters (principles) and the US Army to pay for the cost of repairs.

This is where we find ourselves today, with a laundry list of repairs for an even longer list of schools. Now this may seem like it’s really not that big of an issue. You may think that we need to be out finding the terrorist that do all the damage around here since we are a combat unit. But looking at the big picture of it, these kids we help today are the kids that will one day help Iraq get out of this hole and keep my children or even yours from having to one day back over here and fight this ugly fight once again. And I do not want anyone to have to go through this. That’s why I am here, so you aren’t.

These schools really don’t need major repairs, the roof isn’t falling in and the kids aren’t in any real danger being in these buildings. The repairs mainly consist of new fluorescent lights and light bulbs, new light switches and wall plugs, new fans and glass in the windows, new doors and door knobs. It’s a whole lot of little things that add up to a lot of work. The worst is something that probably never crossed your mind, and it will make your stomach turn once you hear just what it is.

But first you need a quick geography lesson. Where I am is kinda like the “Mason Dixon” line of Iraq. This blurred line separates the Sunni and Shiites. The town that we mainly deal with is Sunni, but the bigger city that they kinda fall under is Shiite. This is why they didn’t get money for the schools, why the IA up here doesn’t get chow, bullets or soldiers like they should and why they shut off the main water lines that came up here. We also think that is was them that blew up the “High-Rise” power line right in front of our patrol base the other night. Leaving the already messed up power supply even more diminished.

Okay back to the schools. You may have notice that little line up there about the water being turned off. Well, that left this area with out any clean running water. The only “running” water is unfiltered from the river and canals. You couldn’t pay me a hundred dollars on the hottest day of the year to drink that water. These schools however have no running water, which is where this story gets nasty. The biggest problems these schools have are the fact that the bathrooms have no running water. No way for the kids to flush or wash their hands and its been like that for years. As we went through the schools “Doc” and I walked back to the bathroom and as we got near the stench was nearly unbearable. Once we opened the day what we saw was even worse. Iraqis don’t have the traditional “bowl” like we are accustomed to. They have this smaller modified bowl built in to the ground that you “squat” over. So, once the “bowl” filled up the kids moved on around that area and so on and so on. And you can’t just tell a kid they can’t go use the restroom. When they got to go they got to go. Now that things have became so bad it becomes a huge health issue. Just sending a kid is there is wrong, but they have little choice. I don’t even want to think about how bad it will be once it starts to warm up and the flies come back along with all sorts of bacteria and disease.

So here we are now. Stuck with a pretty serious situation we didn’t see coming, just like so many other things over here. We walked in wanting to make some simple repairs but saw things that we now just can’t walk away from. Somehow we have to get running water to them, despite the politics of the Iraqi people and our own Army. I have eight months left over here, I would be amazed to see it fixed before I leave.

But before I go, if anyone out there would like to send school supplies they would love to have them. Despite the lack of running water, class still goes on. Mostly they need the basic supplies that a 3rd grader would need. It’s been a while since I was in the 3rd grade.

They need:
Pencils
Notebooks
Crayons
Chalk
Paper
Erasers
World Maps
Folders
And most importantly in the kids eyes, Soccer Balls (“mista, mista gimme football!”)


[I have sent Holly the pictures and she will post them soon for you all…]