University students in Basra fight sectarian violence

University students in Basra are promoting peace using leaflets, posters and internet chat rooms to alert the population to the dangerous consequences of sectarian violence. "If people stay in their homes without doing anything, the result will be civil war," said Ali Haydar, an engineering student in Basra, some 550km south of the capital. Since the al-Askari shrine in Samarra – one of the holiest Shi'ite sites in Iraq – was partially destroyed by a bombing in February, more than 1,300 people have been killed in incidents of sectarian violence between Sunni Arabs and Shi’ite Arabs. The student movement, therefore, has devoted itself to raising awareness about the folly of sectarian violence by distributing leaflets and posters and through the internet. According to members, the group, which supports itself financially, is growing daily. The idea was originally the brainchild of a Sunni student whose family was killed in sectarian violence, Haydar explained. "We’re more than 200 students from different colleges in Basra working with the same aim,” Haydar said. “To open the hearts of the population and ease feelings of revolt and revenge." Half of the students involved in the project spend at least five hours a day in internet chat rooms discussing sectarian problems and urging their compatriots to help avert an escalation of the violence into civil war. According to local officials, there is currently at least one computer for every seven Iraqis. Under the regime of Saddam Hussein, they added, one in 20 had access to a personal computer. "Many people have changed their minds while chatting online,” said Rasha Adnan, a philosophy student and chat-room moderator. “Some of them have even opened their own web pages to inform others on the dangers of sectarian violence.” The other half of the group, meanwhile, is responsible for visiting schools, universities and other institutes of learning to talk to students, distribute leaflets and mount posters encouraging peace and coexistence. "After our talks, students would often ask to join us," Haydar said. “It’s uplifting to see our simple work bringing results.” As a result of the Basra initiative, a similar student movement has begun in the capital, albeit at a slower pace due to insecurity and prevailing curfews. Despite these obstacles, however, members hope to eventually expand the scope of their work throughout the country. "If each person, in his own way, does something that can lessen the violence, a better country will surely emerge in the end,” said Adel Abdel-Rasoul, a member of the group and a dentistry student at a Baghdad university.