Saturday, September 3
Ekra, Ektom and Hesab – the Iraqi Three R’s
| Diwaniyah, Iraq - If you peer closely into the “windows of their souls,” it is apparent that these are the eyes of children who have already lived a hard life. Theirs is a youth spent much closer to the razor’s edge of unexpected death than that of their peers from Butte, Mont. or Lubbock, Texas. But those smiles! They are grins of such beauty that can warm the heart of the most grizzled individual. These are the faces of the children of Iraq . . . the very future of this oft conquered country that was for so long dominated by grownups with misdirected objectives. In these small faces lies the direction for Iraq in the 21st century. And, to a large part, this goal is being helped by the multi-national Coalition force reconstruction efforts. In fact, if the several thousand individuals who comprise the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region District (GRD) and its partner in country re-building, the Project and Contracting Office (PCO), have anything to say about it, these children will be masters of their own fate when they are grown. The Corps’ Gulf Region South District (GRS), led by Col. Larry McCallister, is a prime example of the focused, community-by-community effort helping provide better environs in which these children may learn the Iraqi equivalent of “the three Rs: readin’, ‘ritin’, and ‘rithmatic.” In Arabic, the equivalent is “ekra, ektom, and hesab.” The variety of work being done on these schools varies from project to project. The actual determination of how much will be done is made by the local Provincial Regional Development Councils. In some cases, it may be a $24,000 rehabilitation project of adding two rooms and upgrading or building a new toilet as are being done at the Saniyah School for Girls and at the school of Shahama. As in the Diwaniyah neighborhood of Thalthah, it may be a totally new facility of nine rooms and a rest room facility costing $93,000. In many cases, however, it seems not nearly enough. Having been so stated, Barry Stuard, construction representative, and Michael Osborne, project engineer, both of the Diwaniyah Resident Office, recognize anything is better than what typically existed. McAllister affirms this sentiment saying, “Yes, there is so much more that we wish we could do but, tragically, virtually all manners of this country’s infrastructure have been unattended for nearly three decades. As generous and giving as the U.S. and its Coalition partners are, there is only so much that can be done at this point. Like others, he acknowledged the frustration that more cannot be done in specific areas, but that Coalition reconstruction efforts must address many other badly-needed services, to include water purification, sewage treatment facilities, medical clinics, hospitals, power generation projects, road paving efforts, and many more. In a major understatement McAllister said, “This creation of a country business is not for the faint hearted.” “Under Saddam Hussein’s regime, institutions of learning appear to have not been of little to no priority as regards real education. Again and again we find that nothing has been done on these facilities for thirty years.” In the Diwaniyah district, there are presently fourteen school construction projects in progress. Considering the oppressive range of temperatures in the region, most facilities are small and crowded. Most lack even basic fans to circulate the air. For years, educators have tried to accommodate the massive need, but to no avail. With limited facilities and so many children wanting to learn, classes are taught in shifts. In the small city of Hussain, the 1,200 students cram into fourteen classrooms in two sessions, one morning and the other late afternoon. Fortunately, as a result of the efforts of their military, civilian, and Iraqi national employees, GRD and PCO are contributing to help create a new, democratic country that is concerned with the basics of Ekra, Ektom, and Hesab. |
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