From a 15 year old girl in Mosul.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

I'm posting only part of this blog entry dated May 28th. She also tells of her uncle's (I'm not entirely clear about the relationship) murder by kidnappers. I edited what I posted for the sake of clarity and readability - no changes were made to the text.

http://livesstrong.blogspot.com/


That wasn't enough , LARGE explosions occurred and caused huge damages in many parts of Mosul ,4 schools badly damaged , my school was among them , the way to my school is now blocked , so I had to walk with my dad , we walked among the policemen, national guards , and walked over the broken windows' glass and shrapnels .. the policemen drives really fast , and shoot while driving ! although there wasn't any car in the street because it was locked . I don't like that annoying noise " WAA WEE WAA WEE " and I kept hearing this voice all the time while I was answering the hard questions ,I was worried about my father who was waiting outside , I gave my papers without re-reading my answers ..In chemistry exam.

As usually I left home early at 6:50 am , to reach school before the exam starts , the way was blocked , but this time FAAAAAAR away from my school , we walked , me and dad alone among the damaged stores and buildings, with police cars everywhere , on burned ground full of windows' glass , shrapnels, what a good way to start your morning?! I reached school thank god , safe , but tired , and low spirited , the exam was delayed half hour because many girls couldn't reach school , then the headmistress said we won't wait for them ..

Some girls couldn't reach school , and many reached school at 10 am (the exam ends at 10 am), they were very exhausted, afraid and thirsty , they walked about 2 hours , alone , without adults to guide them , trying to find an open road ..

Can any teen in this world bear our life? Just going to school is a challenge, living each day is hard , specially when you lose the people you love, and feel afraid about the others .

Our friends' had a horrible night yesterday ,when the US soldiers exploded their doors , damaged their house and took their men at 2 am! my mom's friend is a doctor , she talked with the soldiers they said "it is obvious that this was a deceptive notification because we did not find any weapons or any thing suspicious but we have to take the men " .. they took her husband with his two brothers (one of them is a handicapped) , their daughter is my friend.
I can't believe their kids feelings when they saw there house damaged and the soldiers taking their father , and uncles with blindfolded eyes and enfettering hands , just like terrorists while they are peaceful , educated , kind , caring people . I wish they will come back safe ..

The US soldiers took my parents cousin's husband, " deceptive notification " as well , he came back after 9 months !! his son was 2 months old when he was taken from his home , and when he came back he was one year old!
I am worried about my family and relatives .. please pray for us ..

I have many plans for this summer holiday, but all are inside the house , I'll take photos for my handmade work as well.

Sunshine...

[leftchick]

1. so very sad

heartbreaking. :(

[Christa]

2. 15 years old

:cry:

She is supposed to have a carefree life, enjoying the sunshine, being with her friends :cry:

[Mabus]

3. And that's just one child's story

This hurts. It really hurts. I'm sure some of the girls that didn't get to school by ten (or ever) have some pretty horrible stories too.

Meanwhile, the Bush girls are safe and sound. Instead of trying to get to school they try to get into party situations. :grr:

[babylonsister]

4. No one, much less children, should have to live in that environment. And

it's all our fault. :-(

[libodem]

5. Unspeakable

We ruined their lives and their country. How in the hell can we expect them not to join the other side. Any side against the occupation. You can bet if the shoe were on the other foot I would.

[bdamomma]

6. this has me so enraged, how could we do this innocent people?

we will pay heavily for this.....sigh.

[tmlanders]

7. Bush wants us to stay another 50 years

I can't even imagine what this girl and the other civilians in Iraq feel when they hear him say that.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. Kick for the swing shift.

[file83]

9. Life in hell.

Basically. I can't believe that Bush is proud of the world he has created over there.

[ConsAreLiars]

10. This is the reality behind the Big Lie of the

so-called "pro-life," "family values" monsters who claim to bring freedom and justice through mass murder.

So. Fucking. Sick.

[Usrename]

11. There needs to be some small amount of justice for these people.

The monsters that created this disaster must be held accountable somehow.

[FloridaJudy]

12. At fifteen

My worst problem was trying to pass trigonometry. I can't imagine what this young woman is going through. At that, she's probably one of the lucky ones: she's still in school, still has a father who's alive and not incarcerated, still has a home. I'd like to see any of the chickenhawks that foisted this foul war on us try to live like the average Iraqi for even one day.

Damn you, George Bush, you wretched excuse for a human being! I hope this haunts you for the next thousand life-times: I wouldn't want your Karma for all the precious objects in the world.

[BikeWriter]

13. A girl from the Middle East briefly chatted with us...

on our forum chat several years ago. She was articulate and bright, but so very afraid. :-(

[lazyriver]

14. I wonder where our soldiers are taking these men

when they remove them from their homes after finding no evidence of wrongdoing. I wonder how many ever get returned to their lives and how many are filling up the cells at the Halliburton Hiltons and other "secret prisons" with no legal recourse. Exactly what laws are our troops enforcing over there? That paragraph sent chills through my body.

[lebkuchen]

15. Well, the zoo has opened in Baghdad, and the aquarium might open

"if all goes well." That "achievement" has taken the lives of nearly 3,475 soldiers and countless lost limbs, minds, and other body parts, to reopen something we destroyed, but hey, it's America's new definition of "progress."

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=46292

[lumberjack_jeff]

16. K&R

[HooptieWagon]

17. Email exchange with Sunshine ( blogger in OP )

hello , how are you ?
thanks a lot for your E-mail .. i'll continue writing .. i love to tell the people the truth about what's going on in Iraq ..
river band is really famous , i wish i can be like her one day , she has millions of readers , but i have about 72, 338 , mama said it's good for a girl my age ! heheh .. thanks for sending the link , i want to thank the writer , i'll search for his/her E-mail ..
Stay in touch ..
Sunshine


On 6/1/07, ****** wrote:
Hi Sunshine,

I am an American living in Florida. I saw an excerpt from your blog posted on the Democratic Underground website ( http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1012772 ), and followed the link to your blog, which I read; also your mother's. I would like to say how much I appreciate the Iraqi bloggers efforts to tell about their lives and how the war affects the Iraqi people. Most of the media here doesn't tell the truth, and of course our government doesn't tell us the truth either. Please continue your efforts (but be careful), because they do make a difference; Riverbend is very well known here. Most people here don't like Bush and don't approve of his war, but many of our politicians are corrupted by the corporations that are making money from the war, so it is difficult to get resolved.

I am saddened to read of the damage to your house and the murder of your uncle, and I will pray for the safety of you and the rest your family.

Take care, and remain safe.
Rod

[helderheid]

18. excellent. I don't know what we'd do without the internet.