Dear Dr. John Dolan .. Yours Sincerely, Shalaw Fatah

Dear Dr. John,

That's how I start writing any formal or informal emails, but since you’ve taught us something about the value of creativity, let me begin my own way. You may remember me, the calm student who was always sitting in the 2^nd chair in the back of the class, second line from your right wing, listening passionately, but too lazy and careless to bring a huge book of literature until it came to grades. I saw your article on alternet.com, about your time with us, and regardless of the content which I’m going to discuss it, it should be appreciated for its humorous and convenient method.

Dear Teacher, that was supposed to be the “introductory paragraph”; you may already know how much I hate labeling and rules of writing. You may know that I don’t believe in any rule of writing ever but one; write naturally. This is not a nice surface of the hell either, since I’m bored with the rules of criticism too. So even if they gave me English Composition 3.0.Million and Critical Thinking Absolute Axiom of Truth, I’d still be writing the way I like, once I became free.

You deserve some credit for saying many things in a sincere and honest way. Talking about how the meetings were done, how some professors approached the “BIG BROTHER”, how center tried and may still try to hold everything is ideal for me. However, to say or not to say is not the question here, but “when” to say, is. We have a Kurdish proverb saying, “What’s the use of jacket after the rain!”, so much like, what’s the use of “guns that never shot”, one by Chinua Achebe which we read together, I remember this one very well. My friends all are complaining about one thing; why did you bombard the administration just after you left, so do I.

But I have complaints about many things! Take this writing as the effect of accumulating influence of literature that fascinates us with the idea of fighting the confirmation and being rebellious. Also, I learnt from you that the best student is the one who stands against his master for the sake of truth, wasn’t it how your civilization began?  Could Aristotle be that great without coming down to earth?

Despite the fact that I’m rural, came from a village, I  have spent more than 15 years of in a town, but it’s still a village in your perspective since you consider “Suil” a “dusty town”. But that means I haven’t affected by the diseases of the modern world, truth is not sacrificed for money in most of the occasions. I’ve written several columns on AUI-S, criticizing it harshly, and why a “tough-looking”, “wimpy”, and “rural” student should write such things when he is really under the hierarchical nature of such an educational administration? I don’t know the answer, but that might be why we still feel good in that case. That’s why you call Suli separatist “toward the rest of Iraq”. At the end of the day one may ask, wasn’t Suli right to revolt against central and regional governments in Iraq? Have you ever seen a legitimate and humane administration in Iraq?

I don’t reject your comparison of our being inurbane, and ask my friends to not do it anyway. Being urbane in appearance might not benefit so much. However, my “inurbane” friends may have a hard time to figure out why did you mention such a thing in your article? Is that just another truth that MUST be mentioned, should we really compare Arabs and Kurds right now when they are met for the first time? Should you really always practice your wars on the Mesopotamian battlefield, from Wars on terror to wars of neo-con vs. liberals on a small educational building? You may ask, why does he defend them, but do I? Of course I don’t; I feel the excessive presence of neo-cons in my university; I also appreciate having liberals in the high positions, to see what do they have for us.

I agree on the point that most of the students are “excited” about the idea of talking to the opposite sex, so may I. Does it mean that I forgot to put my lectures as priority?! Don’t we have students who look very “rural” because of his absolute focus on getting knowledge?

Dear Professor, the end traditionally should be somewhat sweet. “Whose seal is Mus” is the phrase from Koran that I’m used to use at the moment to omen the happy end of the events, it’s the case of literature too as far as I know, remember “A thousand and One Nights”, which I (as a reader) subjectivly consider it as one of the greatest books have ever written on earth, ends with, “…and then they all lived happily!” forgive my translation for my “poor English”. But that happy end complies with the rule of Hamburger in criticism, saying that we should hide your critic between two sweet sides, one sweet beginning another sweet end. Since I hate this modern feature too, I’d sacrifice what I wanted to say here.

We really miss you and appreciate every word that you’ve taught us, if just I were as courageous and sane as Imami Ali, I’d have said, “Whoever taught me one word, makes me his servan for good.”

Your loyal student ever!

S.F.