"Some students would put guns on their desk to take the test," says Dr. Hafudh Alwan, assistant dean of the political science department at Baghdad University.

"Once, one was cheating and when I told him to stop, he said, 'Leave me alone or I will take this pen and draw on your face.' " He paused, overcome by emotion at the memory. "It made us so upset, we would cry. We are PhD professors, and our students humiliate us. We could do nothing," says Dr. Alwan. -- "Iraq Students say 'Welcome Back, Professor'" by Christina Asquith

Earlier this week -- a few days before this morning's capture of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein -- the Christian Science Monitor ran Asquith's touching report on the renewing educational atmosphere in post-war Iraq. Professors who left their country due to Hussein's control are now slowly returning to their homeland. Fulbright Scholarships to teach in Iraq restarted in late October, just after President Bush addressed the crisis in Iraqi education in his Weekly Radio Address. And as UNESCO's recent Situational Analysis of Education in Iraq (*.pdf file) noted:

There are many reasons to be optimistic about education in Iraq. First, there is Iraq’s centuries old intellectual tradition, which has its roots in the era when Arab scholars led the world in subjects as different as mathematics and medicine. Second, Iraq had a thriving education system only a decade ago, and subsequent events have weakened it, rather than destroyed it. Third, a government that was inimical to the free exchange of ideas and knowledge has been removed. Fourth, Iraq has access to rich resources and, unlike many countries emerging from conflict, is unlikely to expend much of its wealth on military hardware. Such spending wastes resources that could improve lives and signals to the people that more conflict may be imminent. -- John Daniel, UNESCO

But optimism itself doesn't solve problems; UNESCO's large document also outlines what has been lost due to the Iraq war and describes in detail what still needs to be improved. (UNESCO's fact sheet on education in Iraq is just as eye-opening).

Considering how little return American students get on their books during "Book Buyback" at the end of the semester, I wondered if Iraqi students could use these donations instead? I did a little superficial web research and found that Scotland has begun a campaign to get books back into Iraqi libraries and schools via a "Books for Baghdad" initiative. Another group in America, iraqischools.com, is adopting schools and accepting donations of teaching supplies, which are distributed by the military. You can also make academic book donations to a Jordainian group organizing to rebuild the Baghdad Library. Conversely, you could also donate your books or other Christmas gifts to US troops in Iraq, via treatsfortroops.com

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