[Vision2020] Iraq School Attendance?
Tbertruss@aol.com
Tbertruss@aol.com
Fri, 4 Jun 2004 02:32:15 EDT
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Paul et. al.
I did some fact checking on the claim you posted that school attendance in=20
Iraq is up 95%.
I have no illusions about Saddam's brutality, but Iraq was one of the more=20
well educated Islamic nations, and one of the most secular, allowing women m=
ore=20
rights than Saudi Arabia, a dictatorship backed by the US that keeps women a=
s=20
virtual slaves of their husbands, not even allowed to drive cars. Below is=20=
an=20
article from six weeks ago quoting UNICEF as a source that asserts the=20
opposite of the claim you posted from the Dallas Morning News about Iraq sch=
ool=20
attendance. The article also quotes a UNICEF spokesperson asserting they do=
n't=20
have accurate current figures on school attendance! =20
To know what a percentage increase in attendance really means it must be=20
known what time periods are being compared. If you looked at attendance dur=
ing=20
the invasion and bombing of Iraq and compared it to now, you might get a lar=
ge=20
increase in attendance. But this might be comparing a very low rate of=20
attendance to what is occurring now. If only 20% of children were attending=
school a=20
100% increase would just mean 40% were attending school. =20
Sure Paul, let's get the whole picture in the media, I'm all for it. Show=20
all the positive events in Iraq. And let's also see the 10,000 + graves of=20=
the=20
dead Iraqis due to the US invasion and occupation. Let's see graphic picture=
s=20
of the thousands of Iraq civilians and US soldiers maimed, with lost limbs,=20
eyes, etc., from the US war on Iraq. How many pictures do we see in the US=20
media of US soldiers coming home with body parts missing?
Let's get it all out in the open!
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=3D40706&SelectRegion=3DIraq_Cris=
is&
SelectCountry=3DIRAQ
IRAQ: School attendance reportedly dropping, says UNICEF
=A9 =A0Asmaa Waguih
Education for hundreds of children has been disrupted due to insecurity
=20
ANKARA, 22 Apr 2004 (IRIN) - Many schools in Iraqi cities and towns, which=20
have been plagued by fighting and bomb attacks, have been closed, preventing=
=20
hundreds of children from receiving basic education.=20
On Wednesday, several coordinated bombs exploded at three police stations an=
d=20
a police academy in the southern city of Basra during the morning rush hour.=
=20
Two school buses were hit when the bombs were detonated. In total at least 5=
8=20
people, many of them children, were killed, according to media reports.
This incident and others, along with general insecurity around the country,=20
have forced parents to keep children at home and away from what they feel co=
uld=20
be danger.
"What we do know is that children are not in school and are out playing in=20
the streets and say they were sent home," UNICEF press officer Sarah Cameron=
=20
told IRIN on Thursday from the Jordanian capital, Amman.
Heavy fighting in the city of Fallujah, 50 km west of Baghdad, between=20
Coalition forces and anti-Coalition insurgents which left some 700 Iraqis de=
ad,=20
according to media reports, has also had the same effect. "Parents in Falluj=
ah are=20
not sending children to school out of fear," she explained.=20
Attendance at school has always been high in Iraq as primary education was=20
made compulsory by Saddam Hussein. Under his rule some 82 percent of childre=
n=20
were being educated, according to official government statistics.
In mid-May 2003, an assessment by Save the Children, a UK-based NGO, of thre=
e=20
Baghdad schools found attendance to be less than 50 percent. The survey=20
attributed non-attendance by girls mainly to insecurity and fear of kidnappi=
ng.=20
School attendance had increased by the first week of June to approximately 7=
5=20
percent it was reported.
However, there are no statistics on the current situation. "We don't have=20
specific information on what is happening now, but when violence increases=20
parents keep children at home, we know this goes on and anecdotal reports te=
ll us=20
this," Cameron explained.=20
"In the long term when children are not in school they become vulnerable. Fo=
r=20
example, they are out on the streets and exposed to unexploded ordnance and=20
abuse and trauma associated with it," she stressed, adding that the disrupti=
on=20
in education would affect the child's development and employment=20
opportunities.
Cameron said that communities in Iraq had already suffered from a lack of=20
education due to previous wars and although significant gains were made in s=
chool=20
attendance after the recent war, to oust Saddam, much ground had been lost.
UNICEF states that in many cities across Iraq, children are unable to lead a=
=20
normal life. "They are not just unable to attend school and get decent healt=
h=20
care and clean water, but far too often they are paying the ultimate price,"=
=20
said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy. "The ongoing instability and=20
fighting is hitting children the hardest," she added.
The attacks in Basra provoked reaction from many international organisations=
.=20
"Indiscriminate attacks have devastating affects and reveal a complete=20
disregard for the most fundamental human right - the right to life. This bec=
ame=20
tragically clear for the parents of the children, who were killed or injured=
by=20
the explosion on their way to school," Amnesty International said in a state=
ment=20
issued on Wednesday.
"Those responsible must be brought to justice in accordance with=20
international law, the climate of impunity must stop, otherwise the cycle of=
violence will=20
never end".
Meanwhile, the 'All Our Children' consortium, made up of various church=20
organisations, also issued a condemnation of the attacks:=20
"Today's [Wednesday's] explosions that engulfed mini-buses of children on=20
their way to school in Basra shows pointedly that those trying to embark on=20=
a=20
normal day, trying in the midst of chaos, trying perhaps at the behest of pa=
rents=20
who sought to give their children childhood, remain exposed, defenceless,=20
vulnerable and at risk in the face of the violence that continues to engulf=20=
their=20
country," a statement said.=20
Other recent IRAQ report
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<HTML><FONT FACE=3Darial,helvetica><HTML><FONT SIZE=3D2 PTSIZE=3D10 FAMILY=
=3D"SANSSERIF" FACE=3D"Arial" LANG=3D"0"><BR>
Paul et. al.<BR>
<BR>
I did some fact checking on the claim you posted that school attendance in I=
raq is up 95%.<BR>
I have no illusions about Saddam's brutality, but Iraq was one of the more w=
ell educated Islamic nations, and one of the most secular, allowing women mo=
re rights than Saudi Arabia, a dictatorship backed by the US that keeps wome=
n as virtual slaves of their husbands, not even allowed to drive cars. =
Below is an article from six weeks ago quoting UNICEF as a source that asse=
rts the opposite of the claim you posted from the Dallas Morning News about=20=
Iraq school attendance. The article also quotes a UNICEF spokesperson=20=
asserting they don't have accurate current figures on school attendance!&nbs=
p; <BR>
<BR>
To know what a percentage increase in attendance really means it must be kno=
wn what time periods are being compared. If you looked at attendance d=
uring the invasion and bombing of Iraq and compared it to now, you might get=
a large increase in attendance. But this might be comparing a very lo=
w rate of attendance to what is occurring now. If only 20% of children=
were attending school a 100% increase would just mean 40% were attending sc=
hool. <BR>
<BR>
Sure Paul, let's get the whole picture in the media, I'm all for it. S=
how all the positive events in Iraq. And let's also see the 10,000 + g=
raves of the dead Iraqis due to the US invasion and occupation. Let's see gr=
aphic pictures of the thousands of Iraq civilians and US soldiers maimed, wi=
th lost limbs, eyes, etc., from the US war on Iraq. How many pictures=20=
do we see in the US media of US soldiers coming home with body parts missing=
?<BR>
<BR>
Let's get it all out in the open!<BR>
</FONT><FONT COLOR=3D"#000000" BACK=3D"#ffffff" style=3D"BACKGROUND-COLOR:=20=
#ffffff" SIZE=3D6 PTSIZE=3D20 FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF" FACE=3D"Arial" LANG=3D"0"=
><BR>
<A HREF=3D"http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=3D40706&SelectRegion=
=3DIraq_Crisis&SelectCountry=3DIRAQ">http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?Repo=
rtID=3D40706&SelectRegion=3DIraq_Crisis&SelectCountry=3DIRAQ</A><BR>
<BR>
<P ALIGN=3DCENTER><B>IRAQ: School attendance reportedly dropping, says UNICE=
F<BR>
<BR>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT><IMG SRC=3D"http://www.irinnews.org/images/20031233.JPG" WI=
DTH=3D"250" HEIGHT=3D"200" BORDER=3D"0" DATASIZE=3D"21203"></FONT><FONT COL=
OR=3D"#000000" BACK=3D"#ffffff" style=3D"BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=3D2=
PTSIZE=3D8 FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF" FACE=3D"Arial" LANG=3D"0"><SMALL><SMALL><SM=
ALL></B><BR>
=A9 =A0<A HREF=3D"mailto:as_waguih@hotmail.com">Asmaa Waguih</A></FONT><FONT=
COLOR=3D"#000000" BACK=3D"#ffffff" style=3D"BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZ=
E=3D2 PTSIZE=3D10 FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF" FACE=3D"Arial" LANG=3D"0"></SMALL></S=
MALL><BR>
<BR>
</FONT><FONT COLOR=3D"#000000" BACK=3D"#ffffff" style=3D"BACKGROUND-COLOR:=20=
#ffffff" SIZE=3D2 PTSIZE=3D8 FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF" FACE=3D"Arial" LANG=3D"0">=
<SMALL><SMALL><SMALL><B>Education for hundreds of children has been disrupte=
d due to insecurity</FONT><FONT COLOR=3D"#000000" BACK=3D"#ffffff" style=
=3D"BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=3D2 PTSIZE=3D10 FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF" FAC=
E=3D"Arial" LANG=3D"0"></SMALL></SMALL></B><BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<P ALIGN=3DJUSTIFY>ANKARA, 22 Apr 2004 (IRIN) - Many schools in Iraqi cities=
and towns, which have been plagued by fighting and bomb attacks, have been=20=
closed, preventing hundreds of children from receiving basic education. <BR>
<BR>
On Wednesday, several coordinated bombs exploded at three police stations an=
d a police academy in the southern city of Basra during the morning rush hou=
r. Two school buses were hit when the bombs were detonated. In total at leas=
t 58 people, many of them children, were killed, according to media reports.=
<BR>
<BR>
This incident and others, along with general insecurity around the country,=20=
have forced parents to keep children at home and away from what they feel co=
uld be danger.<BR>
<BR>
"What we do know is that children are not in school and are out playing in t=
he streets and say they were sent home," UNICEF press officer Sarah Cameron=20=
told IRIN on Thursday from the Jordanian capital, Amman.<BR>
<BR>
Heavy fighting in the city of Fallujah, 50 km west of Baghdad, between Coali=
tion forces and anti-Coalition insurgents which left some 700 Iraqis dead, a=
ccording to media reports, has also had the same effect. "Parents in Falluja=
h are not sending children to school out of fear," she explained. <BR>
<BR>
Attendance at school has always been high in Iraq as primary education was m=
ade compulsory by Saddam Hussein. Under his rule some 82 percent of children=
were being educated, according to official government statistics.<BR>
<BR>
In mid-May 2003, an assessment by Save the Children, a UK-based NGO, of thre=
e Baghdad schools found attendance to be less than 50 percent. The survey at=
tributed non-attendance by girls mainly to insecurity and fear of kidnapping=
. School attendance had increased by the first week of June to approximately=
75 percent it was reported.<BR>
<BR>
However, there are no statistics on the current situation. "We don't have sp=
ecific information on what is happening now, but when violence increases par=
ents keep children at home, we know this goes on and anecdotal reports tell=20=
us this," Cameron explained. <BR>
<BR>
"In the long term when children are not in school they become vulnerable. Fo=
r example, they are out on the streets and exposed to unexploded ordnance an=
d abuse and trauma associated with it," she stressed, adding that the disrup=
tion in education would affect the child's development and employment opport=
unities.<BR>
<BR>
Cameron said that communities in Iraq had already suffered from a lack of ed=
ucation due to previous wars and although significant gains were made in sch=
ool attendance after the recent war, to oust Saddam, much ground had been lo=
st.<BR>
<BR>
UNICEF states that in many cities across Iraq, children are unable to lead a=
normal life. "They are not just unable to attend school and get decent heal=
th care and clean water, but far too often they are paying the ultimate pric=
e," said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy. "The ongoing instability a=
nd fighting is hitting children the hardest," she added.<BR>
<BR>
The attacks in Basra provoked reaction from many international organisations=
. "Indiscriminate attacks have devastating affects and reveal a complete dis=
regard for the most fundamental human right - the right to life. This became=
tragically clear for the parents of the children, who were killed or injure=
d by the explosion on their way to school," Amnesty International said in a=20=
statement issued on Wednesday.<BR>
<BR>
"Those responsible must be brought to justice in accordance with internation=
al law, the climate of impunity must stop, otherwise the cycle of violence w=
ill never end".<BR>
<BR>
Meanwhile, the 'All Our Children' consortium, made up of various church orga=
nisations, also issued a condemnation of the attacks: <BR>
"Today's [Wednesday's] explosions that engulfed mini-buses of children on th=
eir way to school in Basra shows pointedly that those trying to embark on a=20=
normal day, trying in the midst of chaos, trying perhaps at the behest of pa=
rents who sought to give their children childhood, remain exposed, defencele=
ss, vulnerable and at risk in the face of the violence that continues to eng=
ulf their country," a statement said. <BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<P ALIGN=3DLEFT></FONT><FONT COLOR=3D"#000000" BACK=3D"#ffffff" style=3D"BA=
CKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=3D2 PTSIZE=3D8 FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF" FACE=3D"Ar=
ial" LANG=3D"0"><SMALL><SMALL><SMALL><BR>
<P ALIGN=3DCENTER></FONT><FONT COLOR=3D"#ffffff" BACK=3D"#ffffff" style=3D"=
BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=3D2 PTSIZE=3D8 FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF" FACE=3D"=
Arial" LANG=3D"0">Other recent IRAQ report</P></P></P></P></P></SMALL></SMAL=
L></SMALL></SMALL></SMALL></FONT></HTML>
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