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See Jane Run From the Zionist Intruders

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  • See Jane Run From the Zionist Intruders


    From a grammar lesson: "The door was pushed and flung open. Four Zionist soldiers moved in."

    While Iraqi schoolchildren were on summer vacation, a committee of educators was busy excising references to Saddam Hussein and the Baath Party from textbooks. But the new de-Baathified textbooks will not be available until November, so the old textbooks were handed out last week when the new school year began.

    Students were instructed to cross out the sections dealing with Mr. Hussein or the Baath Party — a Herculean task, since he and the party appear in one way or another in every one of the 560 textbooks examined by the committee.

    Mr. Hussein's full-page picture appears at the front of many books, from first-grade readers to high-school texts, typically next to a reminder of the student's good fortune: "This book between your hands is the gift of the Revolution to you." Excerpts from a sampling of textbooks follow.

    Children learned how to repay the revolution's gift starting in first grade, when they were taught to read with lessons like these:

    I Love the President

    I love the president, the leader, the hero Saddam Hussein. We love him, and he loves us. The president visits us at school and visits us at home. We are all soldiers for the leader, Saddam Hussein. God protect our leader.

    I Am A Soldier

    My ship is armed, speedy and strong. With it I protect my sea from the dangers of the evil people.

    My airplane is fast, sturdy and gorgeous. With it I protect my sky, my land and my water.

    My tank is big. Its firepower is great. With it I protect my borders and the homeland of my ancestors.

    My cannon is heavy. There is nothing like it. Its shot roars. My enemy will fear it.

    Third-grade students honed their reading skills in stories about Iraq's war against Iran. In a reading textbook, fifth graders studied Mr. Hussein's explanation of the relationship between education and militarism:

    We have to know how to read and write. If we know that, we will defeat many. We will rebuild Iraq's role to serve itself, the Arab nation and humanity, just as the role of Iraq was during the days of your ancestors. . . . When 10 more students succeed, we are 10 steps closer to liberating Palestine.

    Fifth graders learned about the Palestinian cause through writing exercises ("Write this sentence twice: Jerusalem is always in Mr. Hussein's sight") and in geography textbooks, which showed a map of the Arab nation stretching from Mauritania across northern Africa and through the Middle East to the borders of Turkey and Iran, with no trace of Israel. A high-school English textbook presented an essay by an Arab mother as a lesson in the use of the past continuous tense:

    We were having supper when we suddenly heard loud beating on the door. Somebody was shouting, "Open the door," in an ugly voice. My two little sons looked at one another. As I was making for the door, the beating increased. The door was pushed and flung open. Four Zionist soldiers moved in. They were carrying guns, which they pointed at me.

    "Where's your husband?"

    "My husband? Why do you want him?"

    By this time the soldiers were searching every corner in the house. They were turning things over, kicking everything and looking into every box or drawer. Evidently they were not only looking for my husband, but for guns, too. In a short time the house was a complete mess.

    "Tell us where your husband is. If you don't speak we'll arrest the two boys instead."

    High-school exercises in speaking and writing English came with precise instructions:

    Do the following composition orally:

    1. Why Arab unity is possible

    a. Arabs form one nation

    b. the land is similar

    c. the language is one

    d. economical and political problems are similar

    2. Why Arab unity is necessary

    a. stand against imperialists

    b. develop strong economy

    c. give freedom to Arab individuals

    d. develop into a great world power

    Other English exercises required intimate knowledge of the events of July 14, 1958, when the Iraqi monarchy was overthrown in a coup, and July 17, 1968, when Mr. Hussein's Baath Party came to power:

    Write a letter to your friend Henry/Margaret on July 14th telling him/her about (a) the 14th of July, when it took place, why, etc., (b) the 17th of July Revolution, when it took place, why, major achievements, nationalization of oil, progress in agriculture, industry, education, etc.

    Essayists were also encouraged to sing the praises of the military:

    Write three paragraphs about the Iraqi Army.

    Your first paragraph should include . . . defend Iraq against enemies/never against Iraqi people. . . .

    Your second paragraph should be about the wars in . . . 1948 . . . 1967 . . . 1973. [No subsequent wars are listed.]

    Your third paragraph should be about the improvement of the army after the 17 July Revolution.

    1. strong

    2. modern arms

    3. soldiers/well trained

    4. ready/fight/enemies

    5. defend/Arab homeland



    An English textbook for high-school seniors included an essay, "The Revolution and the People," followed by questions supposedly designed to test reading comprehension, although many students could answer the questions without reading a word of the essay. The instructions were "Match the beginnings in list A with the appropriate ending from list B":

    List A

    1. Firmness of principle and flexibility of application are responsible for —

    2. Sound planning for the future should make use of —

    3. Satisfaction with present achievements has made —

    4. Progress continues in our country because our Revolution depends on —

    5. The main duty of the army is to protect —

    List B

    a. the provision of free education for all Iraqis.

    b. the revolution from foreign enemies.

    c. the lessons of the past and the facts of the present.

    d. the successful revolutionary transformations that have been going on in our society since 17 July 1968.

    e. natural resources only.

    f. objective assessment and self-criticism to safeguard it against the malady of stagnation.

    g. many revolutionary movements unable to continue their progress towards greater aims.

    Answers: 1(d), 2(c), 3(g), 4(f), 5(b)

    The same textbook has a chapter devoted to the marshlands of southern Iraq, an area once famed for its natural beauty, its ancient culture and its houses of latticework reeds built on artificial islands. Mr. Hussein's forces, suppressing a Shiite rebellion in the region after the Persian Gulf war in 1991, obliterated the wetland villages, scattered the local population and drained the marshes, rendering them virtually uninhabitable. All of which is absent in this upbeat reading-comprehension essay:

    The marshland has been witnessing tremendous transformations since the July 17 Revolution. Today, it is no longer subjected to exploitation and the rule of feudal lords. The feudal lords were dispossessed; water stretches have been controlled and the land has been reclaimed and distributed among villagers, who produce, among other things, large quantities of rice every year.

    The region is experiencing a great economic change. Big boats transport cattle reared in the marshes to the markets on the mainland. . . . Health centers and schools are found even in the remotest parts of the marshes. . . .

    The July 17 Revolution has given and will continue to give this area great care and attention, including the provision of electricity, color television services and even floating hotels and tourist facilities.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/05/we...ORD.html?8hpib

  • #2
    It feels good to be loved...
    Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

    Abusing Yellow is meant to be a labor of love, not something you sell to the highest bidder.

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