"A little oasis:" One unique Iraqi school shows promise of ethno-religious diversity

Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen children sit in the same classrooms at a school where Islamic and Christian education textbooks are stacked on the same tables.

Mariamana school in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk is a rarity in a country whose unique cultural, religious and ethnic mosaic is threatened by conflict and sectarianism.

“The main idea was a school that would be attended by different ethnic and religious groups… in order to rid society of that tension,” said Zakia Matty Dawood, the headmistress.

The school was the brainchild of Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako who was still Kirkuk archbishop when it opened its doors in 2012.

The number of pupils has now tripled to 150, including around 100 Muslims and 50 Christians aged six to 12.

“I like my school because I learn here, because I play with my friends,” said Hamza, a nine-year-old wearing a neat white shirt and red tie.

Original article by Jean Marc Mojon

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“A little oasis”: One unique Iraqi school shows promise of ethno-religious diversity