121 Contact

Apr 6 2008 Baghdad student: "I feel we are alone"

Hello Mr. Bruce Wallace

you message forced to write to you....because i felt you are honest.Each time my friends write to you i make fun of them because I don't believe in words only without actions.

you are asking about our families!? I think you are the only one in this ugly world who asks about us and our families. I feel we are alone in this world. I feel we are cursed by people called American and Iranian and neighboring coward countries. I am sorry if I hurt your feelings but this is how I feel....please accept my feeling.

You have said :(I hope for your safety and that soon you will feel a change to more peaceful times.) When? when this will happen? we are losing patience if there is any! I don't know why we are a live? to see people die? or to lose our people one by one day after day.

It is early in the morning now and we have electricity. Clap for us because we have electricity this morning and I am writing to you.tell your students that we don' deserve this way of treatment.Tell them we want to be thier friends but we can't.We are not people of violence or terrorism.We are known of our generosity and kindness but your war kills everything.We want to be friends but we can't.it is very difficult to move in the street to go to the net store to send a message.Sometimes there is no electricity, other times there is curfew and sometimes we feel hopeless.What is the benefits of our words if there is only echo you hear?!!! We are tired of see blood everywhere .ruins everywhere.tired unhappy people.the walls in our house are bored of seeing our faces every day and every hour. your students dont ask about politics but our lives have nothing but politics and bombing ,shooting and killing.I am afraid we are going to change our (Sabahalkhair)=good morning into (mino mat alyoum?) = who died today? I amgoing to answer your questions and ask my friend to answer to if they have electricity!

I usually wake up at 8:00 on Saturdays and Sundays .I m going to prepare the breakfast to my family. I will boil some eggs and i make tea,a big tea pot because we are a big family.7 members with no father.in these days we go no where but I will clean the house with my sisters and may be we will eat our lunch in the garden.the weather is warmer these days.

concerning the school: the last few days there were few students and 3 of my class hurt because of the last violence. one of the students lost her brother. he was shot by shia militia and he is shia.The teacher are changed ,we have some new teachers.some are nice ,some are not.my favorite teacher moved to the north of iraq after kidnapping her son though they released him but she decided to leave.She gave a lot of mony to save him. Our schools are boring and my mother never asks me about homework.She is worried all the time about my brothers, she doesnot know where to hide them. She cares about their safety more than us the girls.She loves us all.She is a good mother.when there is shooting she can't sit or stand but she starts to jump over the same place and rubbing her hands asking about my brothers if they were at home or out.

There was hard shooting in the last days and even bombs but we are not allowed to see or have a look .Our mother wont allow us to do that.

the electricity will be off.

Say hello to your students.

Bye Dunia(not my real name)

You can write to Dunia by sending you words to mail@121Contact.org

FEB 22 2008 You came to our country and made everything upside down...

FEB 22 2008

We got a letter from Baghdad today from S, one of the Women of Peace.

 

Donate 10 minutes of today. Write to S. Let her know there is someone out here listening.

Send your email
To: mail@121Contact.org or 121Contact@bru-mar.com
Subject: FEB 22 2008 You came to our country and made everything upside down...

We will get your email to S.

Thank you Mr.B,
you are a good person and your students are wonderful like you....how many people like you in your country, who really want to help us!!
please mr. bruce tell your people we are not your enemy and we want to live with no harm in our country. You came to our country and made everything upside down...
Everything is difficult now, we canNot visit our friends and relatives because we are afraid to be killed by your soldiers or the gangs and thieves. [We sit in] our houses bored of our faces because we are facing them all day long....this is our mid-year holiday and we should have some fun like any other students but we cannot.
before the war I usually go with my parents to my grandfather's house in Mosul or visit my uncle in Basrah and spend good and funny times with them but now i can't. when this will be finished?  we are strangers in our country. I am afraid that we will forget our people and relatives' faces one day!
God help us
S

 

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Mon 2/25/2008 10:18 PM

Dear S.,
I want you to know that I pray, and teach my daughter to pray for your safety, and the innocent children, men, and women of Iraq.  We think that the WAR is the enemy and was waged against your country for no other reason than greed and due to the misuse of power that our government employs.  I pray that you can return to your life filled with safety, and the comfort of your friends, and family.  Your right to live freely and fully in the comfort of your neighborhood, and  those of your families should be restored immediately.

We have no right to be occupying your country.  I am not the only person who prays for you, and thinks that your rights are the most important.  I will continue to say what I know is true in my heart.   

God willing you and your family will enjoy the peace that is rightfully yours in your homes, neighborhoods, and country.

With loving thoughts and Peace in my heart, for your and your family.

J.

Feb 11 2008 A Marriage in the dark of Baghdad

dear teacher
thanks a lot. I was really sad because you were abroad during my wedding. though it was simple but beautiful. The moment the bridegroom entered the house to take me to the photographer the electricity went down and every body started to look for some lights. it was fun and I was a little bit annoyed but when he said he could find me in the middle of the darkness because my white dress, that made me happy again. I really wished you were there.

Saying goodbye to my parents was hard. But my husband is so nice and kind just like them.
oh, I do not know what to tell you, I have many things to say about the wedding and my husband and the school.

yes the school....the children like me a lot and I like them but they are noisy and funny at the same time. Many of them came from different neighborhoods. I mean they are refugees. Some of them are very poor and some of them are pathetic. I have 4 orphans. 1 of them lost his father in the explosion of a mosque. He was a guard there. he is very smart and polite.

oh Miss there are many children in the school and each one has a story. I always remember you when I look at them and say to myself "Where is my teacher to see these funny, poor innocent children?"
Any how, how are you? Please tell me when you come back to school. I have good news and a lot to tell you.
miss you
R

Hello my dear students,
You can't imagine the joy that fills me each time I read your words.  Please don't stop.
Looking for a job is not easy in Iraq nowadays (specially for young women), I know. You need to prove yourselves just like any other human being in this world. You want to feel your wills, you want to secure your being and to help your country. I know you and I know your motives. God bless you and bless our country.

Please don't loose hope. Work hard and be passionate with your students, it shows courage from them (and you) to come to school despite the shooting, bombing, kidnapping and the abnormally cold weather.

It is a good idea to find a job in the neighborhood and your parents are right. They are thinking of your safety. I think you have heard of the four young women who were kidnapped 2 days go. So listen to your parents' advice.
 
Tell R, congratulations and I am waiting for her to write to me. Let her do it please. I am eager to hear her stories.

Tell me more about your lives and the situation and please try to write to the blog, the people over there in the U.S. want to hear your real stories because they are away from the daily news of our country.

your teacher
n

Jan 15 2008 we feel our house as prisons

In clear words these Baghdad students continue to tell of their lives under the occupation. They carry on with their studies, take exams, look for jobs, and get married--all quite normal activities but in such an abnormal set of conditions.

And these conditions are what is becoming normal to these young people. Here's an email to an Iraqi teacher who is on leave from some of her students.

Dear teacher,
You know we love you very much.
You know that we will never forget your lessons and our smiles together.

Each time we want to write to you but we are busy finding jobs inside the district. We are afraid to go out of it and our families do not allow us to go out of the district. We feel our houses as prisons and we wish we weren't graduated. At least we could go to school and see each other.

X got married and she found a teaching job next to her house. She is lucky.

She said the children are noisy. There are orphans and many homeless children in the school.
Of course. Because many of them came from different places to get rid of the violence they left their clothes and funiture behind. I asked X to write to you and she said she will, inshallah.

When will you come back again? we want to see you.
Please do not stop writing to us.
love,
your students

You can help the orphans and widows of Baghdad. Just to give you an idea: $200 will feed a family of four for a month. Anything you contribute will help.

Send your non-tax-deductible contribution (we are not a charity; just some folks trying to make a difference) made out to Bruce Wallace.

Bruce Wallace
523 72^nd Street
Brooklyn NY 11209

Jan 15 2008 you don't look like american to me!!!

Do you remember those brave young Baghdadis who write to the blog even though it is so dangerous for them to have anything to do with Americans?
Do you remember that before the occupation they were just school kids?
Do you remember that before the occupation they thought we were the greatest! (Think Jay-Z, Friends, and My big Fat Greek Wedding)

Well some of them are still writing.

dear Mr. Bruce Wallace,
how are you Sir?
I am sure that your students like you more than being a teacher. Your words are nice and make me happy...you don't look like american to me!!!or may be you are but a different one. God bless you for helping us and be nice to us.
I wish that all Americans like you.
L
salam

So why not write to these students? Let them hear your words. Let them know there are Americans who do not hate them; who do not wish them harm; who hope there will be peaceful tomorrows.
b
Send you email to 121Contact@bru-mar.com

Jan 1 2008 U.S. Responsibilty for Iraq Pain

We've heard again from some of the 'Women of Peace' students in Baghdad. Here's an exchange that is from last month. Because of bad connections, the dangers in walking to the internet cafe, curfews, and partents' reluctance to let thier daughters and sons walk the Baghdad streets it took a long time to get permission to print it here.

From: womenofpeace
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 4:50 PM
To: 121Contact@bru-mar.com
Subject: Thank you   

Dear friends
I know that you are not responsible, you are just students like us. We are both students and we have nothing to do with war. but what is happening in my country must stop.

What happened to Ali is a piece of cake , there are many families that suffer the brutality of your occupation. My neighbor's father was detained by your troops and released but after 3 days he was kidnapped. This was 2 years ago and he is still missing. They are 5 children and their mother is sick. Now their uncle is supporting them because all of them are students.
All Iraqis wounded from your occupation, no one is happy. 

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                                                                                                                                                    Nov 13

Dear …,

Thank you for sending your words and your heart. I’ll put this on the blog for all to see.      
Try, within the moments of silence, to eat a sweet and think of a quiet place where you can sit in silence and breathe deeply. If only for a moment—feel some peace.   

We are doing a speaking tour and trying to educate Americans about the consequences of US actions in Iraq. We are also raising money for needy families in Baghdad. We are also sending books to schools there. We are not doing a lot, I know, but we are trying.   

Stay strong, dear ones. You are the future, and in you lies the memory of the past, the pain of today, and the promise of Iraq tomorrow.

In loving kindness,
Bruce

Dec 11 2007 Dear Women of Peace 2008. Hello, Baghdad?

Hi, Women (and, shhhhhh, Men) of Peace,

It's only me. I've been thinking about you and Baghdad a lot these days. Today we spoke to a high school audience in Brooklyn and read some of your emails. I could not help but see you all sitting there; not in Baghdad, but in Brooklyn. When the students asked us questions i could only wish that you were there to answer them. We tried our best to let people know how you feel, how you live,  and how you see the world around you.

It's almost five years since you started letting us hear your voices about life in Baghdad. The email was easy in the early days. I remember your first emails. There were not too many problems  back then with electricity and internet servers and things like that.

I think you started writing before it was so dangerous to have any contact at all with Americans. How brave you are. You are so much older now in so many ways. I'm a little older, too, of course, and I've learned so much from you.

I am writing because I want to thank you. Shukran. Shukran  jazeelan for all you have taught me. You have let me understand the heart of the great and peaceful nation that lives within the borders called Iraq.

I am posting this email because I want everyone to know that the Iraqi spirit is not broken, and that there are young people in Baghdad growing up, watching, and learning...intelligent people who can separate the lies from the truth. Compassionate people who know what the real meaning of 'occupation' is, and who will never forget.

I know there are those among you who will help lead Iraq to more peaceful tomorrows.

I am so honored to know you,
Bruce

Dec 3 2007 All Iraqis wounded from your occupation, no one is happy.

This just came in anonymously from the 'Women of Peace' in Baghdad.
Make no mistake. We've got to get out of there quickly.
We've got to start thinking about really helping the innocent civilians of Iraq.
b

Dear friends
I know that you are not responsible, you are just students like us. We are both students and we have nothing to do with war. but what is happening in my country must stop.
What happened to Ali is a piece of cake , there are many families that suffer the brutality of your occupation. my neighbor's father was detained by your troops and released but after 3 days he was kidnapped 2 years ago and still missing. they are 5 children and their mother is sick. Now their uncle is supporting them because all of them are students.
All Iraqis wounded from your occupation, no one is happy.

Nov 13 2007 American Soldiers beat brother: children of family hate Americans

I hope your remember the post of email from Dunia and Ali, in the Women of Peace and Dunia and Ali categories. They were so angry. We didn't know why until today. We got an email from another Women of Peace member and she wrote:

"I am sorry for them because the American soldiers beat her brother in very bad way and arrest her father for few days then they released him but he was beaten."

OK. There are no verified facts here; just a report from a student to a beloved teacher. Yes, we assume it is true.
Yes, we can easily understand why there is so much hatred being born in Iraq.

Yes, let's bring the troops home now so we can get down to the real business of helping the innocent Iraqis build a new peaceful life. They don't need military action. They need practical support--power plants, water treatment plants, medicine, jobs...the real stuff of life.
b

Nov 3 2007 the Women of Peace are alive, and well...

It was a joy to hear once again from the Women of Peace in Baghdad. I'd really love to know who wrote those two letters (signed Dunya and Ali). I'd really like a chance to meet these 'Women of Peace' whose letters have taught us much about life in Baghdad under the occupation.

They are not journalists. Some of them are poor writers of English. All of them understand the effects of political violence in a way that I cannot. They live it.

Back in  2003 and 4 I kept telling myself, every three months or so, that I finally understood what life was like in Baghdad. And then I realized that I could never understand, never even want to fully understand, such an existence. I imagine that the fatique of being so sensitively and protectively alert drains vital energy and makes it harder to enjoy the simple pleasures that make life worth living...a walk in the late evening air, a stopping in the park, a trip to the store to buy a new sweater, a sweat cake, and that good kHbuz (the BIG round flat-bread--not thick!).

I imagine. I imagine these young people. They have little contact with each other these days. They rarely get to the internet these days. Somehow, one or another of them manages to send us a letter from time to time. We write back--usually in a flurry of warm responses (and the occasional  war-minded  email). We often wait weeks before an answer arrives.

What are they doing in the meantime? How do you wait until you get enough courage to walk to the internet cafe and send email to an American student? Do you think about it every day? It must be important to you or you wouldn't be taking the chance you take just by getting in touch with Americans...

Did you enjoy Eid? Was most of your family able to get together to end the fast? Are you all safe today?

My friends and I are still unable to change the direction of our government and get the troops to leave your country. We still work for this change, but we are not working much with the government. We are working to educate the people of the U.S. and let them see, in their hearts, that it is wrong for us not to do what we can to help the Iraqi people, and that the first step is to get our  young soldiers out of your country.

We started this pain that your people are suffering and we have a deep responsibility to help you. Some of us are trying.