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DEL.ICIO.USScouting the Iraqi way
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Louie Favorite
Karrar (front) and his cousin, Mohammed, attend the three-year anniversary ceremony for the Iraqi Boy Scouts Green Zone Council-Baghdad in the US Embassy in the Green Zone.
Baghdad, Iraq — Karrar, like most young boys in Baghdad, likes to play soccer and get into mischief when he can.
But there aren’t too many times that he can in the Iraqi capitol.
Mostly, Karrar, 11, and his cousins Mohammed, 11, and Yusuf, 12, are housebound. It is too dangerous here for the three boys just to be boys.
They can’t enjoy weekend family outings to the park or the movies. Or splash in a swimming pool.
The boys have only school. And now, perhaps the Boy Scouts.
They went once to a Scout meeting and on Wednesday they were invited as VIP guests at the U.S. Embassy, which hosted the third anniversary of the Scouts’ Green Zone Council.
Karrar said he was impressed by what was said about the Scouts. He thinks he could learn a lot if he joined.
His cousins agreed.
Mohammed, whose favorite subject in school is English, said he would like to learn about other peoples and cultures through the Scouts. It will take a while before any Scout in Iraq can go camping outdoors.
Iraqi Scouting started in the 1920s, not long after the birth of the organization in the United States.
Iraqi Scouts fell out of good standing during World War II and during the latter part of Saddam Hussein’s rule. The Green Zone Council was started in 2004 in the hopes of reestablishing the organization.
The Iraqi Scouts now boast more than 150,000 members.
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad was on hand at Wednesday’s ceremony, telling the audience of the virtues espoused by the Scouts: to be loyal, trustworthy, friendly, and, he said, “in this environment, brave.”
Inspiring, especially for children, in a country struggling to rebuild.
Rear Admiral Mark Fox asked everyone in the audience who had ever been a Scout to stand up. More than half the hall did, including several journalists.
One day, maybe Karrar and his cousins will be able to stand up with them.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Moni Basu
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By monisha
March 4, 2007 9:51 AM | Link to this
I liked the article! I’m the same age as Karrar. I live in Canada. I thought the article was funny because of the mischief part.