Children back to school in Iraq

Schools in Iraq are back underway after the long summer break. This must be making parents a little uneasy condiering what is going on around them. "Sending your children to school in Iraq, especially in the capital, Baghdad, can mean sending them to an uncertain fate: bombings, rocket attacks, kidnappings, and random shootings have all claimed child victims." Each child has a curfew which is causing them even more stress. "And then there is the emotional toll of living with daily violence, risk and fear, and the often devastating effect on children's mental health and well-being. The violence in Iraq has led to large-scale displacement and this inevitably affects children's education."But what else are parents supposed to do? Not allowing your child to get an education will surely effect them later on down the road.

"Their schooling is disrupted and when they do settle in a safer area, they may find they are in overcrowded classrooms along with other traumatised children whose families have also fled the sectarian violence." "[The children's] schooling is disrupted and when they do settle in a safer area, they may find they are in overcrowded classrooms along with other traumatised children whose families have also fled the sectarian violence." The Iraq government has built 250 new schools for the new school year in hopes to decrease the overcrowding. Children wittnessing violence during their everyday lives are sure to be scared forever, but hopefully setting their minds to their school work will help ease them just a little bit.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7021064.stm