What Did the Last Demonstration Teach You?

Mahdi Mala Abdullah

by Mahdi Mala Abdullah

It is obvious that only a few weeks ago, AUI-S faced an unexpected situation, a demonstration welcomed by neither the AUI-S Administration nor by a large number of the students. The last demonstration highlighted and raised several hidden issues that had been taboo among the students. Nationality and ethnicity problems were among those hidden topics. It was obvious that the lack of planning and failure to consider the students’ voices caused such a dramatic event within AUI-S.

Anyway, I am not too concerned about that issue because it will never happen again, I hope. I have another consideration that I really want to address here and that will help AUI-S avoid such events as happened weeks ago. The issue is what that demonstration should teach AUI-S members generally, especially the Administration.

It seems that none of the AUI-S administration will have a good and reasonable answer for this question. One really important thing that everyone should learn from the last demonstration is creating the feeling of responsibility and cooperation with each other. I may be too vague in addressing this statement, but here is what I really mean. Students are a big part of the AUI-S environment, so there is no reason for anyone to ignore them.

Recently, we have heard of several new policies and decisions from the AUI-S Administration, yet no student was consulted before the decisions were announced. No one told the students that the policies were coming. Why? I am not asking the Administration to take the students’ voices into account for every kind of policy, but at least for those cases that are strongly related to the students and their lives.

The recent decision about the new dorm prices is one of the crucial decisions where the students’ voices should have been heard before the decision was made. The AUI-S faculty members should understand how each student’s life is, especially dormitory students. Then, the Administration   should have right to come up with such a decision like that.

I would like to ask those who came up with the decision regarding dorm fees the following questions. What are the principles that you based this decision on? Can you believe that there are several students whose total monthly incomes are less than the money that you asked for? Absolutely unlike the western countries, have you ever heard that in this country no one provides a job for students, especially when they are in school? There are numerous other questions that you should have considered, but I think these are enough to encourage you think about what kind of decision you have come up with. I will leave the answers for you and say no more except a few last comments below.

I thought the last demonstration was a great lesson to teach everyone at AUI-S the feeling of sharing ideas and respect for each other’s opinions, but I don’t think any of us got that lesson. So, we need to take a few steps back and look at what we did. Then, it should be everyone’s duty to have a feeling of cooperation and sharing ideas to decide about anything. My dear college mates, let’s not stress only demonstrations to make our voice heard. We need to give a little bit more time to our American friends to help them understand that this is Iraq and not America. Getting a job and collecting money is not as easy as they think here in Iraq, especially for the students. It is true that we are studying at the American University, but it is also important to not forget that the name of the university is not only the America University, but also of Iraq-Sulaimani. I don’t want to be repetitive about reminding you the bad situation that we, Iraqis, are suffering today such as lack of money and lack of jobs because it is clear for anyone who reads one article about Iraq and its situation.

My lovely American friends, we Iraqis are always eager to work and help our families be rescued under such pressure that we provide because of our studies, but what can we do if we can’t get jobs? We will really appreciate and give you double price that you asked once you provide us jobs or create an environment where getting jobs and making money will be as easy as you think.