Remembering Ameer

Native without a Nation honors the memory of one of its favorite Iraqi students, Ameer Mohammed. Ameer, 14, participated in several cross-cultural video sessions with students all over the world. He attended NWN computer literacy sessions and was diligently studying English. In 2006 Ameer and his family came to Damascus to escape the violence in Iraq.

Like the approximately 1.5 million Iraqi refugees, he and his family dreamed of being resettled in another country where Ameer would be able to be a normal kid again. In the meantime, Ameer worked at a local laundry mat to help his family cover their expenses. He was an excellent worker. Ameer dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player. His most cherished moments in Syria were when his chins made contact with a football. Like so many Iraqi children, his dream will never come true.

Ameer passed away last week of a health complication. Hours before his death a sweet and jovial Ameer hugged his employer, telling him he was just like family. Ameer passed with his father by his side. He will rest in peace at the Strangers Cemetery in Damascus, Syria. To support Ameer’s family you can send donations to Native without a Nation through Paypal.

Othman Abd Al-Rahman Mohammed

My name is Othman Abd Al-Rahman Mohammad. I am an Iraq pupil and I am proud of being an Iraqi.

Despite the fact that I live in my second country Syria, I love this country so much as well as its generous people.

I love to study in a perfect way. I love my school, my family and my relatives who are away from me due to the cruel circumstances. I also love helping my father with the housework.

NWN update: Mar. 2010

Native without a Nation’s students had a meeting on February 19th 2010. We talked about their problems in schools here where most of the Iraqi students are doing well. They are more intelligent than others. Two of the Iraqi refugee students are going to take part in an intelligence contest. It’s a contest among the schools in the city of Damascus. The big problem is that these students don’t sense stability here, which if anything will change their lives ever after. This thought has been controlling their lives.

The other problem is that they need computers to get information to help them choose what they like to study. For example Noor and Muna want to study art and design. Anfal wants to study sculpturing and Zinab wants to be a singer. They do well with their work but all of that doesn’t exist in the curriculum of their school.

The other part of the meeting was about Noor, Muna and Anfal's participation in the art show. They wanted to say this to their supporters:


Since the first art show we had in Damascus, we felt admiration and encouragement from the audience to continue painting, and talk about the mixtures of colors. We were often asked if we ever went to art schools. The answer always is “ We never studied art, it’s just what we do and like to do. We do express what we feel and we convert it on our paintings.

We benefit from advises and criticism of the visitors, which is helpful to make us continue with our notions in our work.


At the end of the meeting we agreed that we have to be strong and keep getting better.
The last art show was in January 19, 2010 at the Russian cultural center in Damascus where most of the visitors were artists, writers, activists, critics, journalists as well as friends.

We noticed the difference between the first and last art show, our paintings became stronger and more expressive through the subjects and the colors. Every painting had story. Now we are preparing for another art show, with new paintings, new stories, and new style.

We will never stop looking forward. We will never be silent.

Farah Emaad

My name is Farah Emaad . I am 13 years-old and I’m in eighth grade. I was born and raised in Iraq but now I live with my dad and mom in Syria. We all left Iraq in 2005 because of the security situation, which was real bad. I remember when one day a gang kidnapped my teacher and five of my friends outside the school as they were going to their homes. I saw this accident when I was 9 years old. I was frightened, while running to my home I was crying, when I arrived to my home I hag my mom, and I told her what happen while crying and shaking. I stopped going to the school after that.The other story happen with my mom, while going to her work. She was wounded when an explosion took place close to where she was. She had to stay in the hospital for about 100 days.All of these stories make my family take the decision to leave Iraq. We registered with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees or the UNHCR as refugees, we looking for resettlement in any country so that we can live in peace.My hope to be policeman, because it requires hard work and I like that. But other than that I like soccer, basketball and I like to listen to music.

Mustafa N, 17

My name is Mustafa Nateq. I’m 17. I left school when I was in ninth grade because of the security situation in Iraq, which is very bad. We came to Syria on June 2009.

I saw many accident like explosions and killing where I lived -- in AlDora area in Baghdad. It has been always a very danger area. One day I was doing some shopping with my Mom and suddenly she fell on the ground and I saw the blood flowing from her leg. After that we heard sounds of the shooting then saw people running. I didn’t know what to do A taxi driver stopped and took my Mom. Ambulances are not available. That night, I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking "what if that shooting was directed at me, what if my mother died?"

I will never forget that accident. I no more want to be in Iraq so that I don't have to face any of this again. That doesn't make my situation any easier as I have heart failure and the medical care is basically non-existent. All I hope for is to know my future after registering with the UNHCR as a refugee.

Muna H

The events of this story of an Iraqi girl are real.

Once upon a time, there was a little happy girl who lived in Baghdad and used to be described as the lovely beautiful. At the same time, she was an unlucky girl as she had Kidney failure since she was one.

When the girl was five, she became very curious about everything. She began making her own toys instead of buying them. She also started reading with her older sister as the latter did her homework. She also organized her bedroom at that age.

Fate, however, became the obstacle of the rest of her life by the time she was six. In one of Decembers’ cold days, and while she was playing with her sisters ‘hide and seek’, she fell on the gas heater that was sat up to heat the house. Her shouts looking for her sisters were less loud than the scream of pain as her body was lit on fire. After the fire almost ate all of her body, she was taken to the hospital with the least hope that she would survive. She left the hospital six months later with major deforms and shortage in her right leg.

A year later, she went back to school so that she brings past her dreams to reality and stops thinking about her situations and deforms. When she was in her seventh grade, fate played another, yet a worse role, in her life. Her country, Iraq, was invaded in 2003 to stop all means of living. But in spite of the chaos following the war, she didn’t lose hope. She was very happy to start studying again a year later. Unfortunately, the chaos also brought sectarian violence, killing on identity and kidnapping.

The little girl had a share of that chaos. One day and while in the school bus on her way to school, a car with two armed men stopped the bus. The girl was sitting next to her friend. The two armed men got into the car and threatened the driver that he must stop driving and moving, or else. Everybody at the bus started screaming.

The girl hold tight of her friend and closed her eyes out of fear, as if not seeing the armed men, would prevent them from seeing her. All the sudden, she felt some force is taking her friend away. Once she opened her eyes, she saw that criminal, one of the armed men, taking her friend and driving away. At the time, she felt sad, frightened, weak, and frustrated.

After that incident, the girl became depressed and sick, and no more could go to school. Her family decided to leave their home, as well as the country they were born and raised in. they went to Syria where they took their girl to psychiatric. She began feeling better. However, she couldn’t go back to school, as when she left her country, she couldn’t bring her documents that proved the grade she was in before leaving the country. Still, she was willing to home study and bring the other talents to the ground. She writes. She likes to learn languages. She reads a lot.

Right now, she is waiting for a chance, any chance to get a treatment for her leg so that she continues the road she already started- to become a doctor, and a writer at the same time.

She is looking and longing for a brighter tomorrow to be able to walk again. She never gave up. She never will. She became stronger.

This is me, and that is my story.

Muna Hassan, 16 years old.

Adam

This story, acted by 5th graders at the Ross School, is the product of a collaborative effort between Ross 5th graders and NWN students in Syria.

A video message from Noor