U.S. Bringing Iraqi Students and Educators to America

Eleven teenagers from Iraq have been living with American families and going to school in the United States this school year as part of the U.S. government’s resumption of education and cultural ties with that country.

“For my culture, for a girl to go to the United States when she is 15 is a big deal,” said the only girl in the group. “I decided to be an ambassador for my country,” she said. “Things are getting really bad in Iraq. My family wanted me to be safe for a year.”

Last February, 23 Iraqi college students and two scholars arrived in the United States to study through the Fulbright Program—the first Iraqi group to participate in the U.S. government-sponsored exchange in 14 years. Since then, the U.S. Department of State has sponsored a number of Iraqi students and educators to...