By INDYKIDS STAFF
NAME: Sima Abdul Razak
AGE: 11
HOME: Baghdad
LANGUAGE: Arabic
RELIGION: Muslim
FAVORITE SUBJECT: Arabic reading and grammar
FAVORITE FOOD: Gass (roasted meat, usually mutton or chicken, sometimes beef)
LIVING SITUATION: Lives with her mom
PARENTS’ WORK: Sima’s mom was a kindergarten teacher but now she is retired
BROTHERS AND SISTERS: 1 brother, 1 sister, both older than her and no longer living at home
FAVORITE HOBBY: Drawing
WHAT SHE WANTS TO BE WHEN SHE GROWS UP: A teacher
HOW SIMA WAS AFFECTED BY THE WAR: The situation in Iraq is bad. One of Sima’s cousins was killed by insurgents, and another cousin was injured recently. He went out to buy a joystick for PlayStation and was passing by a gas station when a bomb exploded. He was wounded with shrapnel from the bomb. Sima had another cousin who was injured during the active part of the war. Also, there are lots of other problems like the electricity. Sima’s family only gets about two hours a day of electricity. It’s very hot without a fan, or cold water, or air conditioning.
WHAT SIMA WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO KIDS IN THE U.S.: “I’d like to go to the U.S. because I hate Iraq now. I’m upset from the bombs, and I just want to leave.”
THE PHOTO ABOVE: Sima with her dog’s new puppies
LEARN A LITTLE ARABIC:
Hello: salaam alaykum
How are you? shlonek (for a boy) shlonitch (for a girl)
School: madrasa
Dog: chelab
Cat: bizuna
Peace: salaam
Iraq Quick Facts
Total area: 437,072 square kilometers, (two times the size of Idaho)
Population: 23.3 million people (about the population of Texas)
Capital: Baghdad
Religions: Muslim 97% (Shi’a 65%, Sunni 35%)
Christian or other 3%
Major languages and cultural groups: Arabic, Kurdish, Assyrian, Armenian
Major exports: Oil
