Hat Tip to Babylonsister at DemocraticUnderground
This is a story that just made me weep, it is so moving. With all of the horrible things that have happened in Iraq, the constant carnage, the endless suffering, you would think that the Iraqi people would have no compassion left for others who suffer elsewhere. Well, such an assumption would turn out to be dead wrong. Iraqis do still take an interest in the world outside their borders, and with this moving article below the fold, show an incredible amount of empathy for the very people who now occupy their country.
From the AP today:
Iraqi Students Saddened by Virginia TechStudents in Baghdad, where universities have been hard hit by violence, said Monday they were saddened by last week's massacre at Virginia Tech and hung up a banner to express their solidarity with ``our brothers in humanity and in pursuing knowledge.''
``We want to let the whole world know that we do not support terrorism anywhere,'' said Yassir Nazar, head of the student union at Baghdad Technology University, who organized the hanging of the banner near the campus gate.
It reads, ``We, the students of Technology University, denounce the attack at Virginia Tech. We extend our condolences to the families of the victims who faced a situation as bad as Iraq's universities do. The sanctity of campuses must be protected around the world.''
``We have lost many friends and professors,'' said Nazar. ``But in spite of our wounds, we want to show our solidarity with the students of Virginia Tech who are our brothers in humanity and in pursuing knowledge.''
The article continues by documenting many atrocities that have occurred on Iraqi university campuses, including the fact that 200 university professors have been killed in the last few years, while thousands have left the country. It speaks of suicide bombers (many who were previously loners) who have unleashed carnage in colleges across the country, and the fact that Iraqi insurgents target these institutions because they view them as "bastions of Western thought", which therefore need to be destroyed. A grim reminder of how every day in Iraq is like a Virginia Tech shooting.
As a Virginian, I wanted to thank the Iraqi students of Technology University for showing so much compassion and class to think of our own students in America during this time of grief. With everything wrong in this world, this small act of kindness means a great deal, and gives me a small sliver of hope for humanity.