Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Can remodeling a church bring peoples' lives back?


               Iraqi Christians are celebrating the re-opening ceremony for Lady of Salvation Church. It has been two years since the church had been attacked by extreme Islamic group. Today, the church is remodeled and reopened to the public. But, where are those families and people who were there in that Sunday evening mass? Can remodeling a church bring them back?

              Yes, the church looks wonderful from inside and outside. But, what about the bloodshed was there everywhere? They had been killed with cold blood. Families and two priests will never be back again. Remodeling the church will not bring them back again. Are we trying to remove what had happened there? Are we trying to erase the tragedy there? Blood had been spilled in the church. Walls had been marked with holes from shooting guns. Floors had been swimming with blood. Windows had been broken and damaged. The altar of the church had been profaned. Can remodeling the church bring the peoples’ lives back?

              It is a tragedy in the history of Iraqi Christians. Nothing has changed in the “New Iraq”. Many of Iraqi Christians are leaving Iraq since 2003 seeking for peace and security for them. We are the new immigrants, here, outside our homeland. I miss my homeland and our house. Can you imagine being away from your land and house? Can you? 


Click on the link below to see the re-opening ceremony for Lady of Salvation Church.

http://www.ankawa.com/forum/index.php/topic,630563.msg5858973.html#msg5858973

Sunday, September 30, 2012

The Influence of the English language


             It has been a long time since my last post-from last November-I have been taking some English classes this summer and I did well. But still I need to improve my English skills. The English language is very wide and sometimes it has no rules just practice. It is very important to speak and to write English language in a professional way. The English language is the only way to communicate with people who speak English. It is an international language. The English language is the number one language around the globe. If you speak and write English well, then you don’t have to worry to translate your thoughts and ideas and deliver them in a correct way to people.

           Any language is a powerful tool.  The English language has an influence in U.S. itself between American people, not just among immigrants or other foreigners. It describes your personality as a professional person; people consider you and take you seriously. Otherwise, people will say “Oh, he/she doesn't speak English well,” because he/she is immigrant and they look at you as a stupid person. In fact, you are not stupid at all, but the whole issue is you can’t speak English well. You can’t deliver your opinion or thoughts. You can’t communicate with others. You can’t take a job. You can’t pursue your dreams. You can’t study in their schools and colleges. You can’t go forward. You can’t achieve what you want.  From my experience here, for more than year and a half, when I spoke English with other people, sometimes I stopped a little bit to think about a word I want to say, or a thought I want to bring up. Another time, I try to write an email to apply for some jobs. I try my best to edit the email and re-write it several times to put it in a professional form. I will not deny that I struggled many times. I reached a point that almost I couldn’t do it anymore. But I kept trying many times. I have to say it has not been easy for me, but nothing comes easy in our life. If you don’t speak English very well you can’t communicate with people, or go outside taking the bus, shopping and buying food. Definitely, you are a prisoner in your house. You can’t do the simple basic stuff in life. It is always useful to have great skills in another language in general and especially in English.

            I wish I had learned and spoken English earlier in my life. I wish that our educational system were better in my country, Iraq. I had studied English from school, but that was an old-fashioned way. The new generation needs a better way to learn English. Not just as a book we need to read and finish it by the end of the studying year, but learn new words as much as we can. Instead of talking Arabic with the teacher in the English class, we should practice and communicate with the teacher in the English language. We need libraries, both locals libraries and Schools libraries. We need new structure in our teaching system. We need more than one English book in our studying year. As Iraqis we weren’t raised to have books, different kinds of books and especially English books in our hands. We are so disconnected from our world. This heavy heritage has reflected in a bad way in my life. Everything, here in the United State of America is about reading and studying, every little thing. Is it my fault I have been born and raised in Iraq? Is it my fault that I didn’t have enough English books to read? Should I blame my country? Or should I blame my past life?
              
             At the end of the day, I think, I should put more effort to read and to write English. It is never too late. I will not give up trying my best to speak and to write in a professional way. I accept this challenge with English language. I have another course to take this winter. It will be difficult. Please, wish me a good luck. I will keep you up-dated with my news.

Note: My blog website changes to http://easternliberty.blogspot.com/