Iraq in Focus: Profile of an Iraqi Girl

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

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