by Jo Wilding

Thursday is a holiday, a celebration of the anniversary of the creation of the Kurdish zone in northern Iraq shortly after the end of the 1991 war when the Kurds who had risen up for freedom were betrayed by the ceasefire and massacred by Saddam’s army. It’s a celebration of their freedom.

Four teenage girls sit on rugs by a heater under shimmering chandeliers, minding the children. The oldest granddaughter of the village chief is fourteen. Silver glitter around her eyes sparkled like the tear she wiped away, explaining that she had never been to school. Her mum and dad wanted her to go, at least for a few years, but her grandfather wouldn’t allow it. Zainab and Ashti went for three and four years respectively.

These days they get up at 6, with the rest of the women in the household, to bake bread, then to cook breakfast, then to begin cooking lunch and when lunch is ready and served and cleaned up it’s time to start preparing dinner and in between and after there’s washing to be done, cleaning, looking after the children.

They’re not allowed to go out and meet with the other women in the village, about 70 families altogether. They’re not allowed to go to the market. They’re not allowed to watch the television the grandfather bought last year to watch the war coverage. They’re not allowed beyond the edge of the courtyard to the broad patio where the men sit in the sun. They can’t read because they weren’t allowed to go to school. Liberation never came here. Their dictator didn’t flee, wasn’t arrested.

New York Collective of Radical Educators (NYCoRE) is a collective of New York City public school employees who believe that radical change is necessary in our country’s school system. We began the creation of “Military Myths: Combating Military Recruitment in the Classroom” as part of a widespread response to the increased efforts of military recruiters in New York City high schools. NYCoRE stands firmly against US militarism both at home and abroad. We believe that drastic cuts in state and city education budgets are indicative of the war being waged against low income youth, especially youth of color. Lacking sound educational institutions in low-income communities, military recruiters see this as an opportunity to encourage young people to join the military after high school. We must combat the effort of military recruiters to colonize our school hallways, lunchrooms, and courtyards. Teachers must proactively address military myths with their students and challenge them to seek alternatives to enlisting in the military.

Download NYCoRE’s Military Myths Curriculum