The days here have been pretty frustrating for the ELTs and the cadets alike. The constant changing of information with little to no explanation seems to get on people's nerves. The cadets were supposed to leave some time ago, but for various unknown reasons, they are still here, and we are still teaching them. We are now planning on giving them a test even though we really don't know if they are still going to be here that day or not (we are suspecting that they will be).
All of this uncertainty has made the cadets grumpy and whiny. They don't want to come to class, and when they do come, they don't want to work. This in turn causes the teachers to speak poorly about them. As these discussions happen, I can't help but wonder how much we don't know. I have heard it said that they "have no honor", "they are lazy," "they agreed to something so they need to do it", and even "if they don't come to class, they should be docked pay". I find myself wanting to agree. Then I stop, take a step back, and reassess the situation. I start doing what I seem to do best: asking questions!
The cadets have taken a job which puts their life at risk. I don't mean in the same way that one puts their life at risk by joining the military back home; that merely carries with it the risk of going to war (not a risk to be taken lightly for sure). When a person in Iraq affiliates themselves with the military, they become a target of their own people. Before the Iraqis leave the base, they must all be in civilian clothes, and they are not allowed to leave, for the most part, by land; they, like us, must fly back to bases close to home and take taxis and such from there.
As part of their uniform, they are required to wear a beret. This beret can leave a black line on their forehead. If they don't take care to clean this line before leaving, it could cost them their life. They also are a little skittish about getting their pictures taken as these could also fall into the wrong hands and possibly get them killed.
So, I have to ask myself, "are these cadets without honor? Are they scared, whiny little brats as some seem to claim?" When I think about all the dangers they face just by being there, the fact they don't get paid for the time they are supposed to be on break but are forced to continue with classes because the plane didn't come, the general respectful actions, I can't help but come to the conclusion that for whatever reason they have become cadets, they are behaving honorably and much better than most people I know would. I can't help but think they are being misjudged and that before we attach labels and judgements on people, we should attempt to put ourselves into their shoes and try to understand where they may be coming from.
All of this uncertainty has made the cadets grumpy and whiny. They don't want to come to class, and when they do come, they don't want to work. This in turn causes the teachers to speak poorly about them. As these discussions happen, I can't help but wonder how much we don't know. I have heard it said that they "have no honor", "they are lazy," "they agreed to something so they need to do it", and even "if they don't come to class, they should be docked pay". I find myself wanting to agree. Then I stop, take a step back, and reassess the situation. I start doing what I seem to do best: asking questions!
The cadets have taken a job which puts their life at risk. I don't mean in the same way that one puts their life at risk by joining the military back home; that merely carries with it the risk of going to war (not a risk to be taken lightly for sure). When a person in Iraq affiliates themselves with the military, they become a target of their own people. Before the Iraqis leave the base, they must all be in civilian clothes, and they are not allowed to leave, for the most part, by land; they, like us, must fly back to bases close to home and take taxis and such from there.
As part of their uniform, they are required to wear a beret. This beret can leave a black line on their forehead. If they don't take care to clean this line before leaving, it could cost them their life. They also are a little skittish about getting their pictures taken as these could also fall into the wrong hands and possibly get them killed.
So, I have to ask myself, "are these cadets without honor? Are they scared, whiny little brats as some seem to claim?" When I think about all the dangers they face just by being there, the fact they don't get paid for the time they are supposed to be on break but are forced to continue with classes because the plane didn't come, the general respectful actions, I can't help but come to the conclusion that for whatever reason they have become cadets, they are behaving honorably and much better than most people I know would. I can't help but think they are being misjudged and that before we attach labels and judgements on people, we should attempt to put ourselves into their shoes and try to understand where they may be coming from.
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