L Blogger

Challenges at a girls school in Baghdad
Alive in Baghdad
5/21/07
http://aliveinbaghdad.org/2007/05/21/challenges-at-a-girls-school-in-baghdad/

This covers the education in Adhamiya and all over Baghdad. It lets us Americans know what is going on with their students over there. Some girls can not go to school because their parents are scared to let them go out of their house. The school year started out with atleast 300 students and now many have dropped out because of the war and the bombings/explosions. Some travel by foot or by a car to get to their school whether it’s a few blocks or a couple miles. One girl tell us that her parents want her to quit school but she seems to be in good spirits because she doesn’t want to quit. She wants to get a good education and to do something while there’s nothing else to do in Adhamiya. In the video, we saw a piece of the school and the streets. The teachers have expectations for their students and they are going to work through the hard times to get there students where they need to be at, no matter what it takes. They take pride in their students and want them to get an education. One teacher contributes that she is trying to raise their spirits, which I think is great for the conditions they are living in right now. The school was an old building, walls are very plain and the children are all in a rows. Comparing to our classrooms in America, we have colorful posters and all creative decorations, unlike these schools in Baghdad. Most memorable about this pod cast was that one of the girls will go to school no matter how hard the conditions may get and that shows great dedication. A viewer might learn a lot about education system in Iraq and what the hardships are there and how we don’t see this every day in America. This video footage is different because usually the news isn’t very focusing on education; they are usually focusing on the troops and bombings around the area’s.

Iraqi teens work to help their families
Alive in Baghdad
10/15/07
http://aliveinbaghdad.org/2007/10/15/iraqi-teens-work-to-help-their-families/

This video was mostly focused on mostly men who helped their families with work around the house or travel to work, which can be very dangerous for them. A big thing that caught my attention was that 50% of Iraqis are UNEMPLOYED. Some of the boys are working with carpentry for the fathers. Some are in college and working with agricultural. One boy who really caught my attention was the one who unemployed, who didn’t have a lot to say but he was atleast getting education. I can only imagine how hard it must be to get buy with no money but he is getting an education , so he will be able to get a job sooner or later. One of the boys was picking grass and working with plants, while others were carving and polishing wood with his father. A viewer might notice that learn a lot about what they do for occupations over in Iraq, like carpentry. In the mainstream media, they would have never showed this footage because they care more about the politics of the war than what is the every day life for the people in Baghdad. The most thing memorable about this pod cast was the reminder of how many people over in Baghdad need help with occupations and helping making money for their families, which is really sad.