Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Project

Dear Future Friend,

I have never written a letter before, but my teacher assigned this project and says my letter will reach your land, so I will try. My teacher says that it will help us to learn English better (I have only studied it for two years). He also says that it will help our educations if we share our lives with other peoples, because we are all brothers of the world. He says that there are no such things as big brothers or little brothers, but since we are all equal siblings, we are like twins. I like that. My real big brothers were bullies to me when I was a young boy so it will be nice to write to you, my twin.

I am 16 and in my second year of high school. My teacher says that if I get good grades I will be enabled to go to medical school and become a doctor. I want to become a doctor. Even though we do not have the medicines that other peoples have I think I would be a good doctor. I want to help people. I want to save their lives. I am learning how to do many important things. I can now name every part of the human heart (including the sinoatrial node)! My teacher says I will one day make a difference in the world if I keep searching for learning. He says that despite my family I can still make a good impact.

The kids at school are not so hopeful of me. They call me names and they say my family is the reason the Usans are here in the first place. They say we give our country a bad name. But I love our country too! And my family loves our country! We love it so much that we cannot just sit still to the Usans like everyone else. That is how I think of it. The Usa are the enemy, and my family is willing to stand up to them for whatever cost. They say “We must stand up to the Usans!” They say “No one has the right to do what the Usa did!” They say “It would be an honor to die for our people!” Even though I am not a violent person I believe what they say. I see Usans everywhere. I see them standing guard outside the school. And outside the market. And on the side of the streets. They scare me like my big brothers scared me when I was a young boy. I guess they are like my big big brother.

When I turned 16 my father let me join him at the secret meetings. He told me that even though I have education I must keep my mouth closed and do what I am told. He said that if I do I will one day be a hero for our country, and then I will live in paradise and have many freedoms. I told him that if I become a doctor I will be a hero anyway. He said that as long as the Usans are here I will not be enabled to become a doctor. He said that the only way to become my kind of hero was to become his kind first. I hope I can help him soon. That way I can help other people later.

Anyways, do you like football? I like football a lot. When I was a young boy and my mother went to the bazaar for food I used to stand in the street and juggle the football. That was always fun. I am an expert juggler. I can do over a hundred kicks. Sometimes if an Usan leader was not around younger and nicer Usans would kick the ball around with me. They were impressed by my skill, and sometimes they would just crowd around me and watch. That made me nervous (because of the guns). But not all Usans were bullies, especially when I had my football with me. One time, I was kicking the ball with an Usan man when I smiled at him by accident. My father warned me about this, but I guess he did not know this type of Usan because he gave me a big smile back. I did not feel like his little brother at that time.

But I do not play football anymore. My father took away my ball when I joined the meetings. He said that if I wished to help the cause I could not play childish things. He made me give him my ball. He said that I will get it back the day I do my part against the Usa. He said “Then, and only then, will you be able to juggle in paradise.”

Anyways, I do not know how much you know about us in our country but I hope you to understand. We have had a tough history and I hope one day it gets better. Maybe you can help make it better. Maybe you can help bring peace to us. Do you believe in peace? My father says that peace is the natural result of violence. He says that either the violence will stop by choice and peoples will live in peace, or the violence will continue until peace is all that is left. What do you think?

I do not think my family would be glad with me if they knew about this letter. So in hopes to not get in trouble I will just write my initials.

Your Friend,
OA-S

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Dear Friend,

I hope for you to receive this letter in good health (that means your heart would be beating 72 times per minute). That is what my teacher says. He said we must include things we learn in our letters, that way you can know more about us and our education.

But today is Friday so we do not have school. It is a holiday day. I like holiday days. I get to read all day long. My teacher even gave me books from other lands that he says will help me learn. My father does not like these books though. He says they are poison for my head. He says “I do not care if you put on two pairs of those thick, Usan glasses that your teacher wears, you will not discover the right path in those books.” He says that he will not let me go to school anymore if he sees me reading them. But he is too busy thinking about the Usa to notice what I read. He has been very busy lately. He says he has big plans for me but that I must wait. That is fine for me. I will keep reading.

Today I read a book all about inventions and technology. My teacher says that technology is important since we are in the Age of Communization, or is it Communication? I do not really understand that new-speak. He says that if we follow in the Usans’ footsteps we will soon have good technologies in our country and be able to communicate with the rest of the world (although my father says the Usa control all communication).

In school my teacher told us that the Usans are here for our freedom. He said the Usa are the most free peoples in the whole world. He said that one day we will become like the Usa and wear blue jeans like he does. He said that the only things we will need to wear on our faces are glasses. But I do not want to become like the Usa. They are very much different from us. They are the bullies that used to give me troubles when I was a young boy.

I remember how they used to stand outside the school building and pretend that they were in charge. They would push me down into the sand and make me give them my leftover food from the suhoor. I was just a small child then so I could not stop them. Sometimes I would try to fight back by pushing them from behind when they were not looking and then running away, but that only made it worse. And even though my big brothers saw them bully me and were big enough to stop them they did not care. Soon everywhere I looked there were bullies. I had to stop eating during the day so they would not struggle with me for my food. But that was ok. I am used to not eating when the sun is out anyways.

When I got older the bullies were establish. They did not need to fight anyone anymore because everyone at school gave in to their power. They were so powerful.

But, however, when the Usans came, the bullies left. At first I thought it was a good thing. I like peace very much. I was happy when the leader of the Usa said he wanted to help us. He said that it will be hard times for a little while but good times after. He said the violence was for our own good. He said he was our brother. I believed him because the Usans got rid of the bullies. They even got rid of the bullies’ bullies. Soon they were in charge. But then they started standing outside the school. They became the new bullies. The only brother they could be was a bully big brother like I had. And even though my big brothers all escaped this world, and their struggle was finished, I am still here, and I hate big brothers!

Anyways, the book I read was very interesting. Did you know that there are little telephones that you can put in your pockets? And little computers that you can carry with you? And that there are even little things called “pods” that light up and play music into your ears? I like music. It makes me feel good when my teacher lets us use the music machine at school. I like to close my eyes and let the music take me to peace. I pretend that the Usa are all gone and that my peoples are happy, like in paradise. I believe that a person who likes music has deep feelings inside. Do you like music? I believe you to, since we are twins.

Because today is a holiday day my whole family will come to my house to eat a big feast. Sometimes the adults let the children watch television after dinner, but the Usan network was all that was on so the television stayed off. Anyways I am not a child anymore so I must join my father and uncles in the sitting room. That is where we go for our special meetings. I am happy about the meeting tonight. My father said it will be a very important one for me. He said I will be given a job that will make my family very proud of me. He also said I will get a new football, but I cannot play with it until he tells me. He said I will know more when the time comes.

You will too.

Your Friend,
OA-S

* * *

Dear Friend,

The time has come for me to do my part against the Usans. I am very excited. My family is very happy for me. Last night they gave me a big celebration. We all ate a great big lamb around a big table and everyone smiled at me. My father even said a prayer in my honor. He said “May peace be upon you for you persevered in patience. Excellent indeed is the final home!“ This made me very proud. I like peace very much, and soon, I hope, there will be peace.

One day, when I am a doctor in paradise, I wish you to come see me. I wish you to see our beautiful garden free from Usan reach. And I wish to help you if you ever experience a struggle of the heart (by then maybe I will have touched a real one!).

But for now, I must do my other job. This morning my father gave me my new football. He said that I was ready. He said that there will be a big crowd of Usans at the bazaar today, and he will pray that they watch me juggle. He said that as long as I get to 72 kicks, my job will be completed. I am very much excited for everyone to see the faces of the Usan men after I finish.

Your future friend,
Omar

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ABU GHURAYB, Iraq – A suicide bomber killed eight civilians and as many as ten American soldiers just outside Baghdad yesterday, in what appears to be the deadliest attack on American troops in weeks. Though it remains unconfirmed, authorities believe the Abdul-Salam family – who has been linked to several similar bombings in this region – masterminded the attack. Claiming that the bomber, a teenager, had nothing strapped to his person, American soldiers who witnessed the attack believe that the bomb was concealed in an article of clothing or a small accessory and was triggered rather than timed. If true, this would mark a significant technology enhancement in Iraqi terrorist activity, and would seriously hinder American hopes of a peaceful Iraq in the near future.