Photo By Christina Bhatti | Iraqi army Col. Ala'a, commander of the 36th Brigade, 9th IA Division, hands a...... read more read more
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By Sgt. 1st Class Christina Bhatti
2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division
CAMP TAJI, Iraq - Approximately 300 girls in blue jumpers and white head scarves stood in formation on the school's courtyard. The chill in the morning air rose in puffs as they chatted, happily anticipating the formal opening of their new school.
"Today is a good day," said Sheik Saeed Jassim Hameed al Mashhadani, a tribal sheik in Tarmiyah. "This day marks a beginning of education for these girls."
The Huda Girls' school in Tarmiyah, northwest of Baghdad, officially reopened its doors Jan. 5 in a ceremony, which featured speeches, poems and songs. The school provides education to approximately 950 girls, who attend at various times throughout the day to accommodate the valuable education opportunity.
The school has a long history of learning. Originally built in 1982, the building was used as dormitory but transformed into a school for agriculture in 1995. Since then, it has transformed again into a primary and high schools specializing in the sciences.
"This is really something big for the people. This is a fort of science," said Muhamad Ibrihim Jassim, administrative supervisor for the ministry of education in Tarmiyah about the opening of the school. "This is the largest school in the area."
The school has long been recognized by the ministry of education for its excellence in education, but in 2003, that excellence was threatened.
The building was the scene of significant violence, said Dr. Malcom Phelps, a native of Washington, and senior education advisor for the embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team attached to the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team "Warrior," 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad.
During major combat operations in 2003, the school slowly ceased to function as a fort of science and transitioned into a fort for terror.
The school, which lies up the road from a Joint Security Station, was the launching point of ambushes, improvised-explosive device attacks and sniper fire against coalition forces and the then nascent Iraqi security forces.
After a cautious stability was reached in the area in 2006, Soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division began projects to rebuild the badly war-damaged school.
During the process, a major terror plan was thwarted. According to a Multi-National Corps – Iraq press release, Soldiers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, discovered a command wire leading from the school's outer perimeter to one of the rooms. Inside the room, the cavalry troops discovered five artillery shell explosives. The insurgent's planned attack also included two large explosive-filled propane tanks buried underneath the school's floor and numerous projectiles emplaced underneath electrical conduits in front of each classroom.
"This was a major setback," said 1st Lt. Erik Peterson, a native of Centennial, Colo., who is a civil military officer assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, "Golden Dragons," 2nd SBCT, 25th Inf. Div. "If they went off, not only would the building have been destroyed, many lives would have been lost."
More damage was caused to structure by removing the explosives, Peterson said. Engineer crews had to deliberately pull up the floor and take down walls brick by brick to ensure there was no longer a threat built into the structure.
Eventually those individuals involved in the plot were captured or killed by U.S. forces and ISF.
"Even though this was a setback," Peterson said, "we had to try again. This is the only secondary school in the city. If it wasn't rebuilt, there would be no place for these girls to go to school and get a good education."
Approximately $300,000 dollars of Iraqi and U.S. funds were spent to rebuild and refurbish the school, which contains 18 classrooms, science labs, an administration suite and an auditorium. Now that the school is open, it faces many of the same issues plaguing the entire education system of Iraq.
"We have so many students," Jassim said, adding that the girls now go to school in shifts to help alleviate the overcrowding. "We need more buildings so we can effectively teach these students."
Peterson said there are more school projects currently in the works, and he hopes more schools will open soon.
More than just new schools, Jassim said more teachers are also needed, but he is confident in the coming years that will be easily alleviated for the Tarmiyah Qada.
"All of the teachers we currently have graduated from this school," he said. "They belong to this area. Some of these girls will do the same thing, and we will continue to prosper like we did before the fighting."
Jassim said he is sure the area is now safe and the fighting done.
"There is nothing more to be scared of," he said. "These girls can come to school in peace."
Even though there is peace and stability in the area, a symbol of violence still looms in the background. Clearly visible from inside the school's compound is the brightly colored dome of the Ghalani Mosque. This mosque is a known safe haven for terror and frequently broadcasts anti-coalition Forces and ISF messages.
Jassim said this will not deter his efforts and the efforts of his teachers to ensure the best education possible is available for his students.
"It is our duty to provide the best education possible," he said. "We have been charged with that duty - and we will prevail."
| Date Taken: | 01.07.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 01.07.2009 08:56 |
| Story ID: | 28554 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 279 |
| Downloads: | 267 |
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