JEDDAH, 22 February 2005 — The anti-terrorism awareness campaign for Jeddah students came to an end after two weeks of activities. The campaign of Middle Jeddah Supervision Center finished at Bara’im Al-Watan National School yesterday.
The program, “All Together for Our Country,” was the finale of the campaign. It was sponsored by Abdul Kareem Al-Hukeil, director of girls’ education in Jeddah; Abdullah Al-Muhammadi, member of the Educational Supervision Center for the men’s section. Fatima Al-Zahrani, supervision assistant in Middle Jeddah Center; the instructors at the center; and Fatima Al-Amouodi, the school’s headmistress, supervised the program. The program included nationalistic poems and a PowerPoint display from Baity Al-Sagheer School.
There were awareness lectures by Rida Taher via television and Maj. Younis Al-Ansari of Civil Defense as well as chants sung by elementary and secondary students. The program included an exhibit of posters, models, brochures, research and drawings regarding the anti-terrorism campaign made by students of different schools. The families of soldiers and policemen slain in the fight against terrorism also were recognized.
Mothers, teachers and officials from the Ministry of Education filled the hall of Bara’im Al-Watan National School. “Our aim is to make students aware of the danger of terrorism,” said Bahiya Al-Nagadi, assistant manager of Education Supervision Department. “The problem is that some youth cannot distinguish between Jihad and terrorism, though there is a sharp line between the two.”
Anti-terrorism activities took place across the Kingdom aiming to counter deviant ideas and misconceptions many young people harbor. “Saudi Arabia is a leader in fighting terrorism,” said Etimad Shu’aib, assistant manager of Education Supervision Department. “The Ministry of Interior had effective plans and campaigns to eradicate terrorism. The last event regarding that was the Terrorism Conference held in Riyadh.”
She added that curricula must adapt to be more relevant to contemporary society and in a way that is easier for youth to understand. Homes, schools and society should share the responsibility to solve the problem. “All society’s divisions must cooperate to get rid of terrorism,” Shu’aib said. “People with deviant thinking misrepresent our religion.”
She suggested that every graduate should do community service for a year before applying for a job. “When our youth teach illiterate people handcrafts, for example, they will qualify themselves for future jobs, and will help others qualify themselves, too. This will also help to increase Suadization in different kinds of jobs,” she said.
“Positive responses came out of students regarding performing activities against terrorism,” said Najah Al-Akhtar, head of student activities in the Education Administration. “They were very much aware of the role of their country and policemen in fighting this phenomenon. Their participation demonstrated their feelings about their country,” she added.
