IraqiGirl
RSSComing of Age in Mosul
Daryl Grabarek, Curriculum Connections -- School Library Journal, 01/19/2010
Shortly after Hadiya, an Iraqi teen, began blogging in 2004 her mother advised her to stay away from the subject of politics: the 15-year-old’s posts had stirred up some strong reactions from readers. But as she and her audience soon discovered, merely recording the events of the day becomes political when the city you live in has a large foreign military presence and explosions are a common occurrence.
In her writings the teen paints a picture of a loving extended family and many friends. She describes a bedroom filled with books and stuffed animals, the ups and downs of her life as a pharmacy student, and even the television shows she enjoys (the Gilmore Girls, Friends, Scrubs, and Frasier are among them).
But despite her efforts to avoid political commentary, the war is present in nearly every post: her attempts to study for exams are interrupted by erratic electricity service, a roadblock on her street delays her return home from school, one sister experiences a close call when a car bomb explodes near her, and another’s father-in-law is murdered by Iraqi security officers. Hadiya remembers what life was like under Saddam Hussein’s rule but is angry about the war and what has happened to her country, her city, and her family.
In IraqiGirl (Gr 7 Up; Haymarket, 2009) editors Elizabeth Wrigley-Field and John Ross have woven four years of the teen’s blogs into a compelling narrative, and illustrated it with black-and-white photos of the girl's home, her school, and baby pictures and cooking. Over the four years, the strength she derives from her family and her hope for peace and an end to the war are constants. A final chapter, titled “2008-2009 My Present,” brings readers up to date with Hadiya’s life in an interview conducted by Elizabeth Wrigley-Field. Among other topics, the teen answers questions about her reasons for starting a blog in English, her future plans, and what she would say to President Barack Obama if she had an opportunity to speak to him.
Sharing the book or excerpts from it with students will generate discussions about what it is like to live under the wartime conditions that Hadiya describes. Ask your students to respond to her comments about the American military presence in her country or her reaction to the release from jail of Muntader al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw a shoe at President George W. Bush in 2008.
If your students are interested in blogs from Iraq, have them log on to:
http://iraqigirl.blogspot.com/ Hadiya’s monthly posts continue at this site.
http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/ The last entry in this blog, which began in 2003, was posted October 22, 2007, three months after the author’s move to Damascus with her family. In her final entries the young woman details her family’s four-hour wait at the Syrian border along with hundreds of other, “weary impatient” Iraqis and their arrival at their new apartment building that housed other Iraqi refugees. The writings address a variety of topics including the rape of Sabrine Al-Janabi by Iraqi Security Forces. Of interest to older teens.
