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Just Tryin' To Get By: Hayley Aida Al Siddah's Story, Part Two by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
Tuesday, November 9, 2004
Rated "PG" by the Author.
I am glad I told you about myself the other day. I feel better now, that I have gotten some of this hurt and pain off my chest. It's been in me for so long; and hearing of the continued fighting in Iraq makes me uneasy. As you know, I have relatives there, and I am so worried that they may get maimed or even killed...I can't watch the news or look at the papers, for fear of hearing one of my relatives in Iraq getting killed or maimed...every time I see stuff on Iraq on the tv or in the paper, I can't help but to cry!
I haven't slept well ever since this war started; but I can see the reasons behind it. Saddam Hussein was a very bad man who did a lot of bad things to his very own people, and he needed to be stopped. Because of him, women couldn't go to school or go out in public all that much, and they were often treated worse than dogs. Children, men, and women who didn't follow what Saddam wanted were often killed (shot, beheaded, or worse), and there were plenty of times when bombs would wake my parents from sleep. And then America was attacked by Osama bin Laden, and the world has gotten to be a much uglier place: people hating each other more (especially those of the Islamic religion, or Arabic people as a whole), and the threat of war, war, war. I am so sick of war, I could just SCREAM!!!
I am glad I was born here in America, and I am glad that my mother and father came here. If I had been born in Iraq, my life would be very different than it is now, and I might have not lived as long as I have now. I don't have to worry so much about bombs or guns going off and stuff, and I can sleep better (sometimes, but not always; my mind is always full of fear and worry about my relatives in Iraq)...
I have very few friends here; for some reason, they see my way of dress and hear my talk, or see my Koran, and right away, they act suspicious and call me terrorist, which makes me cry. I am NOT a terrorist; I am just a little kid who only wants to be free and have a chance at life! I can't help it if I was born to Iraqi parents who came from Iraq, and I can't help that I am Muslim! I am just a kid! Don't treat me like yesterday's garbage because I am a person too, and I can laugh and cry, too, just like anyone else! It also doesn't help that I am crippled and walk on crutches and braces on my legs; but I get around fine MOST of the time! Sometimes the kids will push me down for no reason or kick me; and I come home from school in tears. I don't know what I am going to do because I didn't ask to be treated this way!! Just because my legs don't work doesn't mean my brain doesn't; I happen to be VERY smart for my age! I am in the gifted program at my school, and I make very good grades! Just give me a chance, and get to know me better, and you will find that I am a lot like you, more than you may think!!
I am sorry, but I can't write now; I am crying too hard. I will write again soon; hopefully I'll have a better day. Because this day is ROTTEN!!
~Love, your friend, Hayley Aida Al Siddah, aged 12. :( >tears<
I am glad I told you about myself the other day. I feel better now, that I have gotten some of this hurt and pain off my chest. It's been in me for so long; and hearing of the continued fighting in Iraq makes me uneasy. As you know, I have relatives there, and I am so worried that they may get maimed or even killed...I can't watch the news or look at the papers, for fear of hearing one of my relatives in Iraq getting killed or maimed...every time I see stuff on Iraq on the tv or in the paper, I can't help but to cry!
