For Iraqi Students, One Last Hurrah Before an Uncertain Future
At a recent end-of-school party at Baghdad Technology University, a poster displayed smiling students’ photos next to the slogan: “We graduated in a time of austerity.” Nearby, another student who wore a long black frock and a skull mask described himself as "the messenger of death." "This has become a part of our life," said […]Matt Bradley writes for The Wall Street Journal:
At a recent end-of-school party at Baghdad Technology University, a poster displayed smiling students’ photos next to the slogan: “We graduated in a time of austerity.”
Nearby, another student who wore a long black frock and a skull mask described himself as "the messenger of death."
"This has become a part of our life," said Hussein Alaa Hussain, a 23-year-old engineering student. "Even when people see me like this they don't get surprised. This is an indication that violence has become something normal in our life."
Iraq's war with Islamic State has raged for nearly two years and terrorism regularly punctuates life on the home front. But the country's tanking economy is foremost on the minds of university graduates.
