'In my Wonderland we would have electricity and clear water'

We are a group of students attending the Asheville School's summer academic program. As part of our class we contacted a girl living in Iraq. "Hnk," as she prefers to be called, is a 17-year-old living in Mosul who writes about her life in her online blog, iraqigirl.blogspot.com. We were able to discover a new perspective on the war in Iraq by reading her blog. We then each emailed her a question. My name is Alex and I am from the suburbs of Washington, DC. I am 15-years-old. In your post you mention the story Alice in Wonderland. This is one of my favorite books and when I was younger, I often daydreamed about traveling to my own version of Wonderland. If you were to fall down the rabbit's hole, as Alice did, what would your Wonderland be like? Hnk: The most beautiful thing in my Wonderland [would be] that we [would] have both electricity and clear water all the time.... All the people in my Wonderland [would] feel in peace because they [would] live in peace. Anyway, I don't dream so much because I know it's hard to live my imagination; but it's really helpful to lie [to] yourself and pretend that you live in your own Wonderland.... My name is George Boston. I'm 15-years-old and I live in Brooklyn, NY. I know that if there was a war going on around me it would be difficult for me to fall asleep knowing that the next day may be my last. How hard is it for you to fall asleep at night? Hnk: It's too easy to fall asleep and it's too easy to wake up. Since the situation became so bad, it's become easy to fall asleep because it's the only way to run from reality. And I think it's easier and better for my health to know that tomorrow would be my last day because I don't live the life. I want to live the life but I can't find it. My name is Kayla and I am 15 years of age. I live in Atlanta, GA. Being that all of the turmoil is going on between my country and yours, I often wonder how things would be different if I was in a position of power. If you had a chance to be in a position of power or a leadership role in your country, what would it be and what would you do differently as a leader? Hnk: I am [an] Iraqi and I live in Iraq but I still don't know what is going on. Who is right? Who is wrong? Who is my enemy? Who is my leader? I don't want to be a leader. But if I was a leader, I [would] ask [the] American government to take their soldiers to their own country where they need to be. The situation gradually became worse day after day since they arrived to Iraq. Their famil[ies] need them more than we do. In fact, we don't need them at all. My name is Hasting Butler. I'm 16-years-old and I'm from Atlanta, GA. I have gained some knowledge of your lifestyle. I want to show you compassion and heart, even when Americans seem least likely to have it. I understand the nights of endless crying, the times you wish you could leave, and the days you feel so depressed, you don't want live. It's not fair for you or anybody to suffer like this. On your seventeenth birthday, you smiled. You said you feel guilty when you smile because it's not right, in your belief, to smile after so many families have been destroyed. Personally, I can partially agree with this, seeing families randomly and unfairly destroyed would make me upset, yet I still don't really understand because I haven't been in a situation like yours. Does this mean you must live in sadness eternally? Hnk: You want to feel my pain.... It's not hard to feel my pain. But it's hard to write about my pain, it's hard to translate the feeling into words; they are not from the same type. Words are just words; you read [them] and [they] just pass in your heart. But the feelings are leaving... steps on your heart. It's [hurts] to see your age pass and all the power you have to change your life die. And that just because you are living in Iraq.... [Do you want to know] if I wasn't liv[ing] in Iraq, [what] my life would look like? Would I be happy? Would I be someone? Sometimes in life you feel your life is over but someone came to you and help[ed] you to draw a smile in your face, help[ed] you to feel joy you didn't feel before. This someone for me was my niece Aya. Sometimes in life you feel your life is over but suddenly you're shocked that there is someone just like Aya; her life is just beginning to start and [it's] over at the same time. She doesn't know her grandpa because someone from [the] USA killed him.... She's my niece... my only hope and my only [depression]. My name is Vera and I live in Moscow, Russia. I've just graduated from high school and entered the Moscow Linguistic Academy. Russia is one of the biggest countries in the world and we know about what is happening in Iraq now; not everything, just the things they speak about in the evening news. But you are a person who lives there and knows everything from the inside. Do you think that the countries of the Middle East will be able to maintain their own governments? Do you think they will be independent in the future? Hnk: You can call me a [pessimistic] person because I think there is no hope in Iraq. The news you [have] heard covered a little. Some days passed and all [of] Mosul was in a very bad situation. People dying here and... cars exploded and the news channel[s] don't mention anything at all. The life we live is too bad and too dangerous but the life in Baghdad is worse. They said it can't be worse and the next day our relatives called and said it became worse. I [cried] everyday before I went to bed; I missed my grandpa and my grandma (they are living in Baghdad); I didn't see them for a long time and I feel I will not see them ever again. My name is Cherry Meng, and I am an international student from China. I was still in China when the Iraq War started, so, I have a unique view on the whole event. I want to show my strongest compassion for you and I want to give you my sincere support. After reading your blog, I personally think you have tasted bitterness, while I can still sense your thirst for sweetness. You have a closer relationship than others with your parents and friends, and even us because of your blog. I truly admire the way you express yourself, but I wonder, meanwhile, do you feel lonely in your world? Hnk: I am really close to my parents and my friends somehow. But I certainly feel lonely sometimes. I mean sometimes I feel that nobody understands me or nobody cares about me but I think all... teenager[s] feel that sometimes, [don't] they? I think this is the only [thing] I shared with... teenagers in your place. I think... teenager[s] in Iraq [are] more calm and quiet than teenager[s] in your country. But yes, they feel lonely sometimes, especially [when] they can't go out of their house because of the curfew and the bad situation. This help[s] them somehow to build a good relationship with their parents. I am Bella Nunez and I just turned 16. I live in Houston, TX, but my parents are from Mexico. Reading how you have suffered and try to survive in Iraq makes me appreciate everything around me. Like everyone I wanted to see my county rise again after Sept. 11, 2001, just like you want to see Iraq rise as well. I want to know what it would look like for Iraq to "rise again?" I want to let you know that I admire you but, if you are not happy in Iraq, find happiness somewhere else. Stay strong and do not let anyone break you down. Hnk: First of all, I can't leave Iraq; I can't live in a foreign country without my parents. And we can't find a job for my parents.... I just want to ask you something. After Sept. 11 took place, what did you feel? Do you feel in pain? I feel this every day. It's only a building destroyed... five years [ago] and you still remember that pain and that suffering. Well, for me it was not one building, it was a country and it's still under the occupation. And every day 1,000 people die. Do you think I will forget this? I can't.... If I live [to] be 100-years-old, maybe I will forget my name and my country, but I will never forget the pain and suffering I am feeling right now. Sorry if I talk so much. But every time someone talks about Sept. 11 I become angry because I know that he (or she) doesn't have any tiny idea about what is going on [here]. My name is Andrew Dos Santos, I am 16-years-old. I go to boarding school in North Carolina, but my home is in New York City. I am dark enough to be considered African American, but my parents are from Brazil and I am sure my roots go back to Africa. Motivation comes to me from my father and mother; they are what keep me going, and my faith. What keeps you from giving up and how do you maintain hope? Hnk: Why did you [mention] you are black? Is that important for you? One of the things we don't do in the Middle East, we don't care about the human color.... One of the Prophet's orders is not [discrimination] between the people because they are rich or poor, from a famous family or not, black or white, etc. I [give] up sometimes... when I wake up in the morning [to] the sound of bomb. I feel like... someone took my heart and returned it back to my body.... Just like the computer... if you are working and it's suddenly turned off, you might lose the file you work on but you still have the last file. Can you understand my view?