Safety inside the classroom

Like many kids in Iraq, a country that has been at war for more than two years, Abdullah Riyadh, 9, says going to school is his only escape....

Like many kids in Iraq, a country that has been at war for more than two years, Abdullah Riyadh, 9, says going to school is his only escape. ‘‘At home, my mother keeps me in one room, like a prison, because she is scared of what could happen outside,’’ said Abdullah, a third-grader at Hamza Elementary School in Baghdad.

One night, a year ago, Abdullah’s father disappeared after work. No one has heard from him since, and his family does not know what happened. Since then, Abdullah’s mother has allowed her son to leave the house only to go to school. ‘

Many kids complain about spending so much time in school. They would rather play outside, visit friends’ houses, surf the Internet or do other things that seem more fun. But in Iraq, where bombings, shootings and kidnappings seem to happen every day, parents often keep their children cooped up at home for protection.

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At the Hamza school, which has about 385 students, aged 6 to 12, kids say it is the only safe place for them to go to have fun. ‘‘We like playing outside, but if a car bomb explodes and we are on the street, it would be dangerous,’’ said Tamara Zaid, 10.

‘‘I wake up every morning excited because at least I can go to school,’’ said Safaa Athir, 11. Schools do not have cafeterias, so students bring a sandwich or some cookies or crackers to eat during the day. All students wear uniforms, which are usually gray, white and dark blue. And the school day in Iraq is shorter, starting about 8 a.m. and ending about 12:30 p.m.

Nagham Najim, Hamza assistant principal, has an 11-year-old son who goes to another nearby school. She said she rarely lets him leave the house, ‘‘not even to go to a candy store or mosque. Only to school. … This is the country that we live in. There is no choice.’’

In Iraq, even schools are not always safe. In September, five teachers were killed at a school south of Baghdad. Two weeks ago, a rocket crashed through the roof of a classroom at the Dijla primary school in Baghdad. One student died and 11 others were hurt. A week later, the Dijla school was still closed. ‘‘I am not scared. I like it here,’’ said Amir Ali, 8, who stopped by Dijla to pick up books he left behind on the day of the attack. ‘‘My parents said we have to find a different school.’’

The Washington Post