Chien's Essential Question Response

JUA, Why Do They Hate Us
Chien Miller


On December 11, 2006, the junior class departed from New Hampton School, at five a.m. to venture and seek out answers on the Junior Urban Adventure (JUA). Upon arrival at the Hostel in Boston, all the groups unloaded from the buses and stored our backpacks until the day was done. Students picked a topic area in which they wanted to explore. Individuals spent time throughout JUA to come up with an essential question based on their topic to be answered; however, this is not an ordinary question, it is one that can only be answered through their experience in Boston.
Once out of the hostel, each group parted their separate ways for a fast breakfast, and furthermore to their first destination to find answers. My group was why do they hate us, and our first learning stop was at Harvard Square. At this stop, our group divided in half, one group went and looked for printed media on our topic (books, magazines ect…), while the other looked for posted media (billboards, posters ect...). The next stop was a mosque, in which we toured, watched, and later talked to about any question we had. The next day, the first place we went to was the American Friends Service Committee where we were able to listen to his lecture and ask furthermore questions to help us answer our essential question. The last learning experience we came upon was a Marine who came back from Iraq. All of these learning blocks can be found with more information on our blog at, http://www.jua2006why.blogspot.com/.
Since 9/11, we have been on the offensive against terrorism. With the action that the United States has taken in Iraq, have we assumed the role of a bully and given the people of Iraq a war they do not want? At the mosque, one of the guests speaks said “some Muslims want to get foreign troops out of Iraq” The Islamic believe is a very antiwar religion for example, they are against killing of innocent life, including trees and the earth. One of the Muslim speaks said a very interesting quote, “Killing one soul is killing all.” According to the American Friends Service Committee, in their “Ten reasons Why the U.S. Must Leave Iraq” shows the following, “Iraqis want the United States to leave now “Recent polls reveal that Iraqi opinion coalesces on four demands: (1) an end to foreign occupation, (2) compensation to Iraqis for damages caused by the U.S. invasion, (3) release of Iraqi prisoners, and (4) establishment of political and military institutions independent of outside influences. A survey in Iraq commissioned by the British military in September 2005 found that 82 percent of Iraqis “strongly oppose” the continuing presence of coalition troops, and 45 percent feel attacks against coalition troops are justified. The battle for heart and minds has been lost.” The Iraqi vet that we talked to told us that there was no weapons of mass destruction, however there were fields of bombs, rockets, and many more weapons.
I have gathered much valuable information from this trip and have found answers to what I was in search of. JUA was not only a great time for me, but also a great learning experience, learning about different view points, and religion. I now see a wider picture of three different views; one from a religion that some people do not have a clear understanding of. Second, we saw how an antiwar organization felt about politics, and finally, there was the vet that gave us direct input on the situation in Iraq. JUA has more then defiantly been helpful and has shown me a greater understanding of us, the US.