There's a new controversy brewing on the University of Virginia campus -- this time involving the Zeta Psi fraternity, which, last month, hosted a party called “Bombs Over Baghdad.”
While the fraternity claims to have taken the title from a rap song by the group Outkast, Nour Sulaiman and Iraqi refugee Hanan Hameed say it's wrong to make light of war.
"For me the war was not something that was pleasant to be a party theme. It took me a long time to get over that period and start a new life. Many Iraqis in the U.S. signed that petition and they said do not make fun of the war experience."
Nour Suliaman, a Kuwaiti student at the University, believes college students should understand why this matters to so much to the numerous Iraqi refugees who have taken up in Charlottesville.
"A hundred thousand innocent civilians have died since 2003. So I don’t think that’s a laughing matter.”
Iraqi students and refugees living in Charlottesville are now circulating a petition asking for an apology from the frat, which was forced to close from 2011 to 2013, after a student was made to drink a bottle of soy sauce during a hazing ritual. More than punishment, the students leading the petition want cross-cultural understanding from fraternity members.
“Almost every Iraqi house has lost either a friend or a family member."
Iraqi students hope to meet with fraternity leaders later this week. In the meantime, students and Iraqi refugees like Hanan must continue with their lives regardless of the uncomfortable reminders of the violence that forced them from their home.
