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Welcome to Iraq. The People The Land The War. Your Travel Scrapbook.
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Welcome to Iraq The People The Land The War
Your Travel Scrapbook • As you take this Virtual Field Trip to the country of Iraq, you will be asked to write responses to questions and save photos that you find interesting for some reason. You will save these in a Word document that we will print out at the end of the trip for your Travel Scrapbook. The thoughtfulness of your scrapbook will help me to assess your learning during this trip!
Where is Iraq Anyway? Iraq borders Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran. It is about twice as big as Idaho.
Play the Middle East Puzzle • How Much Do You Know? • Click here! Athal Tree in Basrah
What do Kids In Iraq Do? • Click and See! • Iraqi children come from all types of families, just like you do. Some are very poor and some have more money. Some attend school, and some can’t because the war has made school too dangerous. Children in Iraq share many of the same hopes and dreams that you do, but they live in a very different environment – they are living with war.
Fadi: "One of my neighbours was killed by the air strikes. For almost an entire month we weren't really able to leave our homes - it just wasn't safe to go out because of all the bombing. • When the planes and tanks opened fire our homes would shake and all the doors broke and the glass on our window shattered. • In the past when Saddam Hussein was in charge we weren't really able to do anything - we weren't even allowed to travel abroad. • In those days if you broke the strict laws you'd be arrested and severely punished." • Furat:"Now we feel much freer - we can protest at anytime we want to and we can visit one another without being frightened. " • Fadi:"My family went to a place called Mosul because we thought it would be much safer than Baghdad. • But almost as soon as we got there the Americans started to bomb the Iraqi army in Mosul as well." Karam: "We used to watch the fighter planes heading towards Baghdad - they came from all over - sometimes you'd see a whole lot of them at once." • Marwa: "Before the war we always felt safe living so close to the police officers. • We kept a diary during the war to remember it. I hope it never happens again because the whole thing really scared me." • Fadi, Fadi, Furat, Karam and Marwa in Iraq
How would you feel? • If you could not safely leave your house? • If you saw fighter planes in the sky? • If you didn’t speak the same language as soldiers walking around your town? • Respond to one of these questions with a paragraph in your scrapbook, a drawing, or write a poem to describe your feelings.
What do Iraqi’s do for fun? • Click to Hear Iraqi Music • Just like you, the people of Iraq enjoy different types of music – from dance music, to folk music, to traditional music…the above link will let you select musicians to listen to on-line and get a taste of the language and culture of Iraq.
What’s this war anyway? • What do you know about the War in Iraq? • Click Here and Find Out!
United States and Wars in History • The Iraq war may be the only one YOU remember, but there have been many other military conflicts in U.S. history • Click HERE for a U.S. War Timeline • This is my brother in law Gary. He is in the National Guard and was in Iraq for 18 months. He will be visiting our class to answer your questions next week! Start writing down interview questions in your scrapbook!
Life in Baghdad • CLICK to Read How the War Has Affected the Majid Family
But What Are They Really Saying on the News? I don’t GET IT! • Sometimes the words reporters use can sound like a foreign language! Here are a few things you might have heard, and what they mean • CLICK
So What’s Really Going On? • Each newspaper, TV station, and person sees things a little bit differently. Be your own detective and learn about Iraq yourself! • News About Iraq Explore this link and read at least 3 articles about Iraq. Be ready to talk about what you read in circle.
See Iraq! • The following links are to videos of American soldiers in Iraq • Hospital • Elementary School
What can you do to support the troops? • Being a soldier is hard work and most of what U.S. soldiers do is NOT fighting! Take a look and see what some soldiers have to say…. • CLICK Visit this site Any Soldier and pick someone to write a letter to. What do you want to tell them about what you are learning? What do you want to ask them? Letters due next week.
What is it like to be both an American and an Iraqi? Muna Al-Husaini, an 18-year-old Iraqi refugee, reflects on her experiences in the United States. • By Muna Al-Husaini, Age 18 • When I first left my home country of Iraq ten years ago, I was only eight years old. I remember being very frightened since we were involved in the Gulf War and the people were now trying to rise up against our leader, Saddam Hussein. Would I ever see my home again? What about my friends and the family we were leaving behind? What would our future be like? These and a thousand other questions raced through my mind as we entered Saudi Arabia and an unknown future. • The United Nations people were very nice to us and I learned a new word, I was a "refugee." How strange this seemed to me when only a short time ago I was a happy girl with nothing more to worry about than school and play. • After a time in the Saudi refugee camp we were told by the U.N. staff that we would be going to our new home and that would be America. You see, a refugee never knows what country they will be sent to and they must wait until a government decides to accept them. • My family and I talked excitedly about what life would be like in America, we had all seen American movies and of course we had learned in school about it. We were still worried about whether we would be able to get along in this new and wonderful country, but the thought of life without bombs and fear overwhelmed any trepidations we may have had. Everyone looked forward to the day when we would get on a big plane and begin our lives in the United States.
When we arrived in America we were sent to Erie, PA where people were waiting to help us. The International Institute of Erie staff came to the airport to pick us up and they showed us all we needed to do over the next few weeks. There was so much to learn, from language to grocery shopping to how to go to the doctor. We felt very lucky that Americans were so friendly and helpful to us and gradually we learned all we needed to know. • Now I feel that I am American and not Iraqi. I came here at such a young age that most of my schooling and growing up were done here and this made me American. I still follow my Muslim religion and I wear the headscarf known as "hijab" but I also enjoy pizza and shopping malls! • The news that is on the TV now has reawakened the worries and fears that once were a part of my daily life. I hear talk of war, weapon inspections, bombings and I am afraid all over again. • This time I am not afraid for myself but for all those innocent people who still live in my homeland. My country has babies, children and grandparents and bombs do not discriminate when they land. • Saddam Hussein has caused too much pain for the citizens of Iraq, he needs to leave office, but how will bombing help this? If they kill others and not him will anything change? • I do not pretend to understand the complications of world politics, I am an eighteen-year-old girl, but I'm not sure if this is the answer to the problems that have plagued Iraq for so many years. I know that I want my family and my old friends to be safe and that someday I would like to be able to return there for a vacation and hug each and everyone of them.
Response Journal • Write a paragraph in your scrapbbok about how Muna’s story changes (or doesn’t!) the way you are thinking about the war in Iraq. Use specific examples from her words.
The Many Faces of Iraq • Travel through Iraq with these weblinks; save your favorite photos to your scrapbook, and write a note about why the photo appeals to you – how does it make you feel? What questions does it make you want to ask? • Photos 1 • Photos 2 • Photos 3 • Photos 4
Now, what do you know? • Where are you???? • What have you learned about Iraq and the war? What questions do you still have? Fill in your KWL chart and be ready to discuss!
