Dear Barack: Refugee kids’ advice to the president

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http://features.csmonitor.com/littlebillclinton/2009/02/18/dear-barack-refugee-kids-advice-to-the-president/

Dear Barack: Refugee kids’ advice to the president

By Mary Wiltenburg | February 18, 2009 edition

Watch Video at link~
Listen to refugee and US-born kids give a list of presidential to-do's from jobs and housing to recycling and coming to a birthday party.


Second graders want him at their birthday parties. Sixth graders want to end homelessness. Third graders worry about job loss. Kindergartners are eager to come to his house and play. For the past month, students at Georgia’s International Community School have been sharing advice and messages for President Barack Obama, collected in our latest slideshow.

Much of it comes from personal experience with issues of global importance.

“My uncles go to Iraq and have war. One of my uncles died before,” a fourth-grader explained, “and I really want you to stop that, because I’m from Iraq, north Iraq.”

Kids related their families’ struggles with unemployment, housing, and utility bills. Students born in Somalia, Iraq, Sudan, and the US begged Obama to end fighting in different corners of the world.

In addition to serious worries, kids were entranced by the first family. They complimented Michelle Obama’s dresses, shared messages for Malia and Sasha, and empathized with the challenge of choosing a First Dog. One second grader with an impending birthday had thought through the logistics of inviting the president.

“You can bring your guards,” she assured him, “and you can sleep over.”