Can UNESCO Save Iraqi Scholars ?

General discussions Concerning Iraqi Higher Education

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Can UNESCO Save Iraqi Scholars ?

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*Can UNESCO Save Iraqi Scholars?*

Dr. Salah Aziz
Coordinator of Academic Programs
FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Tallahassee, FL 32310
saziz@eng.fsu.edu

The Condemnation coming from the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, against violence against Iraqi academics and intellectuals, while a great and noble idea, is nevertheless too little, too late in responding to what has been committed against the “custodians of Iraq’s culture and learning” since 2003. Since then, over 180 academics have been killed in Iraq and thousands have been driven into exile,
according to the Geneva-based Study and Research Center for the Arab and Mediterranean World. Immediate actions must be taken to stop the
violence and to integrate the remaining academics and intellectuals
into the rebuilding of Iraq and the production of a knowledgeable society
according to the UNDP human development standards.

After the overthrow of Saddam’s Regime, many Iraqi scientists,
researchers, and faculty members became victims of the new political
reality because they were classified in one of the three categories:

(a) participants or knowledgeable of Iraq’s chemical, biological and
nuclear weapons programs;

(b) affiliated with Ba’ath Party or Saddam Regime; or

(c) against the new regime.

A good number of German scientists found a new home in the West and
Soviet Union after World War II. After 1990, America and the European
Union provided massive financial and technical assistance to Eastern
European and Central Asia scientists after the collapse of the
Communist regimes. The U.S Department of State allocated $2 million in November 2003 to find jobs to about 400 Iraqi scientists and researchers who were affiliated with the Weapons of Mass Destructions Program. The Qatari Government donated $15 million to improve the higher education system in Iraq, including building up human capacity. These attempts, while good-natured, have produced little relief since Iraq is witnessing
ongoing sectarian violence, lack of security, and political instability.

The call for “international solidarity and mobilization in favor of
education and educators in the country” by the top UNESCO official may
not become realized until Iraq achieves security and political
stability. Nevertheless, this gesture is an important one, which shows
commitment and the realization that change is needed. Furthermore, it
echoes Arab League leaders, who agreed recently to boost support for
the sciences during their meeting in Khartoum.
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