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U.S. troops deliver gifts to Iraq - school supplies
By Walter Yost -- Bee Staff Writer
Thursday, January 5, 2006
Pencils, erasers, chalk.
The simplest of classroom supplies are luxuries in many Iraqi
schools devastated by war and official neglect.
On Nov. 7, members of an Army special operations battalion
showed up in a village north of Mosul, not to hunt down insurgents,
but to deliver box loads of much-needed school supplies.
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It was part of a less publicized mission by many U.S.
troops, including those from this region, to help Iraq's youngest
generation receive an education and perhaps foster an appreciation
for democracy.
"The reaction of the children is like that of children
the world over who have just received an unexpected gift - simple
joy," Lt. Col. Mark Mitchell, commander of the special ops
battalion, said in an e-mail to The Bee.
Jim Cahill, Mitchell's uncle and a special education teacher
at El Dorado High School in Placerville, said, "The education
of the new generation in Iraq will make more difference than
any military action."
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 Lt.
Col. Mark Mitchell and his Army special operations battalion
visited a kindergarten in an Iraqi village with gifts from home. |
Among the supplies delivered by Mitchell's battalion Nov.
7 were more than 60 pounds of items collected by Cahill from
friends and local educators and high school students. Cahill
paid for their delivery to Iraq.
"They don't read or see things like this when watching
the news," Dale Kasnic, a special ed teacher at El Dorado
High, said of the students in his Advancement Via Individual
Determination program and the school's Key Club, who donated
several large boxes of binders, notebooks, pencils and backpacks.
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The materials brought smiles to children and teachers
at schools in the predominately Assyrian Christian village of
Tal Usquf, where they were delivered by Mitchell's soldiers.
The village is near Mosul in northern Iraq.
In a letter Mitchell sent to Cahill, the special ops commander
enclosed photos of kindergarten children at a school recently
renovated by the U.S. government based on a recommendation from
soldiers.
Children and teachers are shown inside the bare-bones classrooms
gratefully receiving the most basic school supplies."There
is simply no comparison to a school in the United States,"
Mitchell said in an e-mail. "In some cases, the schools
were damaged during combat operations."
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 Kindergartners
in the village of Tal Usquf, near Mosul in northern Iraq, received
school supplies and stuffed animals sent from Placerville. |
Insurgents and terrorists, he said, frequently make use of
schools and mosques to conduct their attacks and store supplies.
"Many schools," Mitchell continued, "are simply
dilapidated as a result of deliberate neglect by the Ba'ath Party
under the (former dictator Saddam) Hussein regime, which misappropriated
oil revenues for the benefit of the predominately Sunni party
members."
United Nations economic sanctions imposed in 1991 also are
blamed by some for the demise of Iraq's education system.
Mitchell said that even in schools with sound infrastructure,
"the classrooms are very simple - often just a room with
some desks and a blackboard. There are no computers and often
very few books."
Throughout Iraq, coalition forces have renovated hundreds
of schools, and Mitchell said his soldiers have delivered classroom
supplies and stuffed animals to three schools in Tel Usquf.
According to the U.S. Agency for International Development
Web site, the agency is spending millions of dollars to resurrect
Iraq's education system by increasing enrollment, ensuring that
classrooms have sufficient supplies, training teachers and implementing
accelerated learning programs.
The agency said it has rehabilitated more than 2,500 schools.
Cahill believes the key to Iraq's reconstruction is the country's
children. "Education is something you can give that lasts
a lifetime," he said. "Iraqi schools in the past taught
kids to hate Western culture."
While it may be too late to "win the hearts" of
the country's teenagers, there's still hope for the youngest
children, Cahill said.
A veteran of the Vietnam War, Cahill said soldiers like those
in Mitchell's battalion are fulfilling another, more personal,
need by helping Iraqi schoolchildren.
Separated from their own families by the war, Cahill said,
"A lot of these soldiers have a need to interact with children."
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Who are
the Christians of Iraq?
January =
Canoon Kharaya
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Campaign
activity, insurgent violence rise in Iraq Dec. 5, 05
Myths
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Competition
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List
of "Reported" Assyrians murdered in Iraq in 2005. Dec. 3, 05
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Shades of voter
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|
Assyriologist,
Erica Reiner Dead at 81- 1924-2005 Jan. 4, 06
The
Last Assyrians Jan. 3, 06
Egypt Appoints
First Christian Governor in Three Decades Jan, 3, 06
If
Only Rocks Could Talk! Jan . 2, 06
Car bombs, fuel
riots usher in New Year in Iraq Jan. 1, 06
Errors
in Biblical Dating According to Ancient Assyrian records January 1, 06
December =
Canoon Gadmaya
Many
treasures looted from Iraqi museum still lost Dec. 30, 05
Don't
Blame the Hanukkah on the Assyrians Dec. 30, 05 Revised
Kurds
Are Flocking to Kirkuk, Laying Claim to Land and Oil Dec. 29, 05
Iraq's
jailed former deputy PM Aziz gets family call for Christmas Dec. 28, 05
Family
of Kurdish Historian Accuses Barzani of His Murder Dec. 28, 05
The arrest
of Dr Kamal Sayid Qadir emerges as a key test of Kurdish Regional
government Dec. 28, 05
Christians
trying to find a place in war-torn Iraq Dec. 28, 05
Hopes
for peace in Iraq this Christmas Dece. 26, 05
Assyrians
make sure Iraq pays attention Dec. 26, 05
Christmas Celebrations
in Turkey Dec.
26, 05
Fearful
Christmas in Baghdad Dec. 25, 05
Bullet-riddled
body of Iraqi student leader found Dec. 25, 05
Iraqi
Government Wishes Christians Merry Christmas Dec. 24, 05
For Iraqi Christians,
Christmas represents church, family, fears Dec. 24, 05
Christians
celebrate a wary Christmas in Baghdad Dec. 24, 05
Iraqi
Christians Pray and Brace for Election Outcome Dec. 24, 05
Safety fears hang
over celebrations in Iraq Dec. 24, 05
Fear overshadows
Christmas joy in Baghdad December 23, 05
U of T pharmacology
postgraduate student from Woodbridge Came to Canada from Iraq
in 1996 Dec.23, 05
Democracy in Iraq
or Ethnic cleansing of the Christians? Dec. 21, 05
Sunnis, Secular
Shiites Threaten Boycott Dec. 21, 05
Large Assyrian
Turnout in Iraq Election Marred By Kurdish Voting Fraud Dec. 21, 05
The Real War
On Christmas Dec. 19, 95
Iraq Expats
Narrowly Favor Christian Assyrian Slate Dec. 19, 05
Concern expressed
for Assyrian Christians in Iraq Dec. 18, 05
Iraqis Vote in Historic
Election toward Freedom, Democracy
Dec. 17, 05
Turkmen
Complain Kurds Cheated in Elections in Kirkuk Dec. 17, 05
Touch of
Assyria in San Jose. Dec. 16, 05
Iraqi
Christians flee to Jordan, Syria in response to increased persecution
Dec.
16, 05
The Mid-East's
beleaguered Christians Dec. 16, 05
Exiled
Iraqi Christians Vote With Concern About Their Future Dec. 15, 05
Tension
Mounting on Day of Iraqi Elections Dec. 15, 05
Iraqi Americans
Cast Their Votes Dec. 14, 05
Information
about Voting in Canada Dec. 14, 05
A vote for democracy 12, 14, 05
Iraqi
expatriates to vote in elections, hopeful new government can
end bloodshed Dec. 13, 05
Iraqi
Americans Ponder Role in Homeland's Vote Dec. 12, 05
Iraqi-Americans
ready for polls Dec 12, 2005
The
Latest information about Iraq's Out-of-Country Voting Dec. 12, 05
Between Iraq
and a hard place, Iraqi Christians in Syria Dec. 12, 05
Half
a Million Iraqi Assyrians (including Chaldeans and Syriacs) have
taken refuge in Syria Dec.
11, 05
Assyrian
Claims Discussed in Australian Parliament Dec. 11, 05
Iraqis
here get voice in Baghdad's future Dec. 11, 05
Official
Information about Iraq's out of the country voting Dec. 10, 05
Iraq's Voting in
Canada Dec. 10, 05
Iraqi
community to cast votes at fairgrounds in Pleasanton Dec. 9, 05
Fostering
creativity in dangerous times Dec. 8, 05
Meet
Miss World Canada 2005, Ramona Amiri Dec. 8. 05
IRAQ:
KURDISH PRESIDENT OFFERS REFUGE TO CHRISTIANS Dec. 8, 05
Iraq Establishes 8
Polling Centers in the U.S. 12, 8, 05
News From Iraq Dec. 8, 05
740 Stained with
the blood of our Martyrs Dec. 6, 05
Kurdistan
Democratic Party Stops Assyrian Group From Campaigning Dec. 6, 05
Campaign
activity, insurgent violence rise in Iraq Dec. 5, 05
Myths
About the Situation in Iraq Dec.
5, 05
Competition
for the best design of the Ancient Assyrian Costumes Dec. 3, 05
List
of "Reported" Assyrians murdered in Iraq in 2005. Dec. 3, 05
Dylan's quest: Six-year-old
needs blood matches Dec. 3, 05
Shades of voter
apathy Dec, 2, 05
Holywood Tapestries
Featuring Semiramis is on Auction Dec. 2, 05
Iraq's Oily Referendum Dec.
1, 05
Iraqi Parliamentary Elections In California Dec. 1, 05
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