Remembering 9/11

           12 years ago this day was one of the most saddest and horrific day in the United States of America history. The 9/11 September 11th attack took the lives of thousands of people and left many in great wounds of devastation and trauma. At the time of the attack, I was in math class clueless of what is going on as many of my classmates started to leave class early. By the end of the day, I was the only student remained in the classroom. As I walked out of school, the parking lot of the school was empty like it was a deserted island. As I enter my father's car, he stated to me that there was an attack in New York City, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon.

         12 years later, I want to take the moment to thank the United States of America for giving me the great opportunity to achieve the impossible. This country had blessed me with the freedom to live my life with safety and security. The great opportunities continued for me as I was the first one to graduate from college. With achieving a great education, I am able to be part of the workforce as a Behavioral Counselor with at-risk youth.

          The most important part of this day is to remember this people who lost those lives. Many have lost their lives in the attack. We must remember the individuals who were inside of those buildings and as well as the victims who attempted to help them from firefighters, police officers, and as well as bystanders. We must also pray for their family and as well as the survivors of this unforgettable day.

          We must take the time and remember this day as a day of remembrance rather than focusing on who is responsible for this event. This attack took place and many want to debate who is responsible for it whether the al-Qaida or was it a governmental set-up. Within those years we have focused and we continue to focus on who did it and how it was done. We continue to keep our attention to a minimum on the survivors or the family of the victims. These families are going through trauma of dealing with the lost of their loved one. We must also support the victims by focusing on offering them treatment such medical treatments and counseling.

           9/11 is a day that will always be remembered in United States history. This great country has given us great opportunities to achieve great things such as education and work. We must keep maximize our focus on the victims and less on who is responsible for the attack.

Who are the faces of Erie.

With a population of little over 100,000, Erie is the home to Whites, African-Americans, and Hispanics. However, the population is rapidly growing with immigrants and refugees from many other nations. Immigrant is defined as individuals who choose to abroad their home country and live in another. Refugee is defined as a person who is forced to leave their home country due to war or persecution.

Today, Erie has become a safe haven for refugees and immigrants from many other countries. Erie is the home to refuges from Iraq, Nepal, Somalia, Sudan and many other countries. Erie and its local universities have also gained many immigrants and students from numerous Gulf Countries of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

Many of these refugees have fled their homeland to secure safety in other countries. These refugees lived in countries that were home to the largest refugee camps in the world where food and health was limited but life was much better.  After many years, the United States of America and numerous westerns countries have accepted these refugees to give them the opportunity to start a new life but with consequences.  The United States accepts these refugees to struggling cities but those cities have the potential to improve.

One of the struggling cities that I will be discussing is my current home town of Erie, PA. I will not be talking about the economy rather I will be talking about how Erie can gain from the diverse people in this city. We have seen a great presentation of cultures but those cultures seem to be forgotten not by its people but rather by our local government. I remember when my cultural geography professor stated to our class that, “Canada honors other cultures by implementing a program in the schools where it allows people from diverse background to stay connected from where they came from.”  Erie and it is local governments including police departments, outreach departments, or councilmen have done minimum recruitments to gain people from such great cultures. The local police department has yet to reach out to individuals to represent those countries with majority of the police officers coming from small town boroughs that have minimum knowledge of cross-cultural.  Erie needs to do more in bringing people together such as having a cultural sharing day at least once a month where  incoming refugees can be introduced to the Erie community and showing them what Erie has to offer for them from jobs, attractions, to its political system.

With the great diversity of the people from many nations in the Erie region, we must do more to honor these cultures by bringing them together and honor what they have to bring to the local region from their homeland. As more and more refugees are coming, the local government must do more to keep these individuals in the Erie region.  They can do this by keeping their cultures alive by implementing a program in the local schools to honor their culture or a cultural day where refugees are introduced to the city.

Turkey's dream

                As president Obama pleads his case to congress and his European allies to attack Syria, Turkey can benefit from this by joining the rally to attack Syria. Turkey is a strong Allie of the United States in that region with hosting to US military and as well as hosting the largest refugee camp to Syrian’s refugees. Turkey has long been fighting to join its Western Allies in the European Union but that dream is yet to come true due to its cheap labor and its conflict with Greece.  Turkey must resolve its conflict with Greece over the disputed Cyprus. Turkey can put this dream into reality by joining the Allies of attacking Syria, improving the labor, and as well as resolving its issues with neighboring  country of Greece.

Amazing Bella!

    A week ago, I met the most beautiful and welcoming 8 year old, Bella.  From talking to Bella for 5 minutes, I was honored to meet her and learn so much about this amazing individual and the horrific disease she carries. Bella is diagnosed with a hair loss disease called Alopecia since the age of two. Alopecia has completely took Bell's hair and has left her head completely bald. At the time of meeting her, Bella wore a purple scarf to cover her head but she understood why she is in such a situation or what is targeting her hair. Bella seemed so happy and she had an amazing smile that was so welcoming and was is very proud of the way she looks. Bella was even more excited to tell me she just arrived from an Alopecia convention in Michigan which i didn't even know such a thing exist.
http://www.naaf.org/site/PageServer

This is BELLA!
    Many of you are probably wondering why am i writing about Bella. Bella and i have something in common; Bella and I are both diagnosed with Alopecia. Alopecia targeted me 13 years ago and I continue to live with it everyday. My brown hair started to fall out during my 7th grade of middle school. I remember when I was doing a math worksheet and the worksheet was completely covered with hair; my own hair. After numerous treatments, nothing seemed to work and until to this day nothing has worked. I continue to wake up every morning shaving my patches even some people say my head looks like a map sometimes or some say the bald style works for me.
 

As the more I sit here and think, I can never picture Bella go through the same suffering that I have gone through. At 12 years of age, i never expected of having a disease even after multiple doctors attempted to explain it to me numerous times. I hated life at the time. I missed school for a month and even after going back it was very hard for me to adjust. At the time of this terrible and challenging time of my life, I became closer to my family and my religion. 

    Bella is a strong young lady and I am certain she will face some hard time in her life and she will be asked many questions and also face many difficult individuals but she will overcome those challenges by educating others about Alopecia. Bella also has an outstanding support especially from her mother as I witnessed at the park.

   I am so grateful to meet an amazing courageous person and I am so pumped to write this article. I also want to thank Bella’s mother by giving me the permission to write about her wonderful little precious daughter. We will overcome this ongoing pain.

Motivation and Cross-Cultural Letters

Motivation Letter

        The Peace Corps is a very well known organization all around the world. It is known for its tremendous and amazing work. The Peace Corps established itself in 1961 and it has grown ever since. The organization has more than 210,00 volunteers in 139 countries. These volunteers are working in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, South America, and etc.. to give back to the people who are in unimaginable circumstances. The Peace Corps educate individuals in third world countries on how to take care of themselves and to better the community around them. If I am chosen for a position with the Peace Corps, I know that the experience will expend my knowledge and understanding of the many issues that are facing the world today.

        I was born and raised in Iraq and also lived in Jordan for about a year. I came to the United States at the age of 12. While growing up in Iraq, I witnessed everything from poverty, homeless, and killing of the people by its government. Throughout my time in Iraq, I had to help my mother and brother to survive by working and providing for them. I believe God put me through those situations to make me stronger and to help me understand all of the complex issues that were facing the world back then and as well as now. 
    During my undergraduate studies, I majored in Criminal Justice and also took many geography classes. I took the geography classes to expand my expertise on the Middle East, North Africa, and as well as Asia. Throughout my undergraduate, I met individuals  who came from many different parts of the world. These individuals helped me understood their cultures and how they lived in their home countries. Volunteering in the Peace Corps, will expend my cross-cultural understanding and also help to me to grow in my line of work.
    As I look at the 10 core values expectations, the most difficult one to me would be serving 27 months oversees without seeing my two sisters. I know it it is going to be difficult not spending time with them but I am sure they will understand that I have a mission to give back to individuals who are in need. I can overcome the challenges by integrating myself in the new environment and getting to know the people around me. I know that there will be many challenges with this job, but I know the opportunity with the Peace Corps will change my life forever.

Cross-Cultural Letter
        I am proud to say that I had the pleasure of growing up and living in the Middle East. I was born and raised in Iraq until the age of 12. Throughout my years in Iraq, I lived in a very challenging and hardship environment which started at the age of three. During the 1991 Gulf war, I was involved in an attack where my family and I were victims. This horrific scene took my brother’s eyes and my cousin’s life. I also lived during the Saddem Hussein regime where the country was so divided due to political tensions and religion sectors. The Hussein’s regime controlled everything about Iraq not just destroying the country but killing its people as well. I was not just living to survive the regime but also had to find a way to support my family. To support my family, I had to sell plastic garbage bags in the market. By doing such work, I was able to support my brother and my mother. 

     Coming to the United States at age 12 was totally different compare to Iraq. I never saw snow until I arrived here in cold town of Erie, PA. I came with a t-shirt and shorts and I remember when I asked my father if the snow was “white sand”. I came to this country without understanding a single word of the English language; I didn't even know how to spell my own name. I was fortune enough to be put in English as Second Language classes where I was very eager to understand and master the language. Also, integrated school system with boys and girls in the same school was a very culture shock to me as well.
    I completed my undergraduate studies in 2010 at Edinboro University of PA with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice. Three months after graduating from college I was fortune enough to receive a position as a behavioral counselor with a residential treatment facility of Gannondale. At this position, I worked with females between the age of 12-18 who have committed serious crimes or were taken out of their home due to poor environment in the household. I was pleased to work at this position because I wanted to help these females to learn about life but as well as recognizing their deviant behaviors so they can hold themselves accountable for their actions. majority of these females came from an African-American and Islamic background. I have a great knowledge and expertise  about Islam however, my intelligent were limited when it came to the Nation of Islam. As of today, I am appreciated to learn about such a great movement and also the culture that i was introduced to while serving those wonderful females. Later during that year, I served Erie County Office of Children and Youth as a Domestic Violence caseworker. At this position, I was introduced into another culture. Drug & Alcohol and violence became a big issue of my clients’ lives. My duty was to ensure that my clients’ were attending their drug and alcohol counseling while the children in the home were safe at all times. I expended my cross-cultural experience about two months ago by working with individuals who came from all around the world and the United States. These individuals were between the age of 12-17 but very smart and educated. These individuals were very proud of where they came from and wanted to learn about each others’ cultures by attending workshops on dialogue and issues that are facing the world today such as poverty and public health. The most important aspect about this experience was to reconnect with my Iraqi culture and also talking to young participants about the difficult issues that are facing my home country of Iraq.

    In 2011, I took a three-weeks vacation to Dubai to see how it is for myself. I heard so many great things about it but I wanted to see it with my own two eyes. My vacation in Dubai was amazing. Dubai had very modern and great infrastructure with huge skyscrapers and the tallest building in the world. I also met a great humble of people from all over the world especially South and Central Asia, Africa, and many working class Americans. These cultures brought the great additions of food with them from back home such as the amazing Ethiopian dishes and the Pakistani rice and hummus soups but my favorite of all is the Felafel sandwich that is wrapped with the amazing texture of the Peta bread.              

    I pray to God everyday for what he has put me through. He put me through difficult situations in Iraq because he knew I can handle them and also to learn and share it with individuals like you. I know that my mission as a peace Corps volunteer will not be complete until i share these experiences with the individuals I will serve. I am also very dedicated individual who has a great knowledge of cross-culture by working with individuals from the united states and around the world who are very smart and come from many different environments. I am proud to say that I have served my community and I will continue to serve those around me locally and abroad. I pray that the Peace Corps will give me the opportunity to serve.

Camp Experince

          I finally got a BLOG!!! i am going to write my first blog about my experince at GYV. i will not go into great details but i am sure you will understand what i will be discussing. GYV is a summer camp for kids who come from around the world to learn communication skills and dialogue...you get the point. I was assigned to Amani (peace in Swahili) as a cabin counselor. I had the pleasure of meeting 12 participants 8 of them are from Iraq and 4 are from the United States.  as soon as i got to meet them i knew they are very bright individuals and have in depth knowledge of all the issues around the world. The Iraqi participants talked about the difficult environment and how war has destroyed their country. Many of these kids come from a very heavy war-territory where many of them have lost a family member(s) and many of them have to leave their home due to the conflict. also, the four Americans participants learned so much about Iraq as well. I remember one of the American participant saying..."I came to camp to learn about the issues in Iraq from people who are living through them." I also had the amazing opportunity to meet many other Iraqi and American participants who were assigned to other cabins. oh i forgot to mention, this camp was more beneficial to me because it reconnected me to my Iraqi-heritage. Yes people i said it i do have iraqi blood in me! i am grateful for these wonderful kids and i know that one day the country i left 13 years ago will be a great place because of them. These individuals are very open minded and i know they will always making me and Iraq proud. Thank you for a great experience.

Peace and Love
Maitham