Last updated at 09:33, Friday, 30 October 2009

As a child living through war Freshta Raper always wanted to be a success. She wanted to be a teacher and achieved her dream of teaching maths in her old secondary school.

Freshta Raper

But when Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons on Halabja – a town in northern Iraq – 21 members of her family were killed along with every child at the secondary school where she taught.

In the mid-1980s Freshta was arrested and tortured in an Iraq jail for hiding two 16-year-olds in her school.

The students had taken part in an anti-government protest and were fleeing Iraqi intelligence officers. They managed to escape but Freshta was arrested, held for three days and repeatedly tortured.

She later joined the Peshmergas – the anti-Saddam Kurdish guerrillas.

Freshta retreated to the mountains where she thought she was safe but three weeks later another chemical bomb fell and once again she watched people around her die.

Drenched in chemicals, her skin blackened and blistered, and half conscious, she made it over the border to Iran where she was treated by a German medical team.

Freshta, who is in her mid-40s, said: “I was very lucky I got medical help at a very early stage and I have no visible scars, although I have had problems with my eyes.

“Some people were left with severe problems from the nerve gas and have had deformed children as a result. Doctors think it could be eight generations before this is sorted out.

“I was able to get out and rebuild my life quite quickly.”

After spending three years in a refugee camp in Iran, Freshta travelled to Britain via Syria, Russia and Romania.

Speaking very little English, Freshta settled down to her studies.

She said: “I was very determined to become a teacher. However, I was terrified of the little English I knew but this never stopped me from achieving my goal.”

Freshta returned to Halabja after the war was over and spent four weeks designing and overseeing the building of a cemetery to commemorate the 5,000 civilians – some of them members of her own family – who died in the chemical attack on Halabja.

After meeting her husband Stuart in London and marrying on the London Eye, Freshta is now a British citizen. She taught in London for 20 years and moved north to Burgh by Sands in August with her husband and two children, Shaun, four, and three-year-old Lorna.

Speaking five different languages – Kurdish, Arabic, Farsi, Pashtu, Turkish and English – she is now trying to pass on her knowledge and life experiences to pupils in Morton.

As director of learning, she is one of four deputy heads with responsibility for maths, science and design and technology.

Freshta, who has also taught in Bermuda, said: “Life is full of opportunities and beautiful experiences. I came from Iraq where I had a lot of bad experiences but it is a comfort zone here. Children don’t realise how lucky they are. I want them to wake up and appreciate everything that they have got.

“I want them to be the best they can. I am telling them about my experiences through a series of assemblies. I have both bitter and positive experiences from my life and I want to be able to share them with the children and encourage them to take advantage of every opportunity which comes their way.

“I don’t want them to think narrowly. I want them to be able to broaden their horizons. I very much hope I will successfully share my positive and rich experiences of life with the community of Cumbria and in particular with the young to share the vision of never giving up hope and always searching for the best in your heart and mind because this is the best key for success.

“The children here are some of the most beautiful and well mannered children I have ever seen in my 20 years of teaching.

“I love it here in Cumbria and have been made to feel very welcome. I know my neighbours and everyone is so friendly. It is a culture shock but in London I didn’t even know my neighbour’s name.”

Just before the Second Gulf War, Freshta became involved with politics and appeared on BBC Breakfast, Question Time, Hardtalk, Channel 4 News, Doha Debate on BBC World and has spent hours speaking in Parliament.

Freshta recently met actor Matt Damon when she starred in his new film Green Zone which is due for release early next year.

The film is an electrifying thriller set in the chaotic early days of the Iraqi War when no-one could be trusted and every decision could detonate unforeseen consequences.

She said: “I play the part of the Iraqi governing council. I am not sure how much I will be in the film but I did enjoy the experience.”

Katie Robinson, headteacher at the Richard Rose Morton Academy, said: “Finding maths specialists is hard, particularly in Cumbria. Finding outstanding ones is practically impossible.

“During the recruitment for a new director of learning we were fascinated by Freshta’s application.

“Her teaching and management experience were exemplary, her academic qualifications were first class and her enthusiasm and high standards unmatched by the competition.

“She was indeed a formidable applicant and at interview she entirely matched her application.

“The question for us was more about what we had to do to get her, not what she had to do to get the job.

“Since arriving, Freshta has made an immense difference. Her lessons are outstanding.

“Our pupils love the progress they make in her lessons and the level of confidence she has in their ability.

“She has made a big impact with them – particularly her attention to standards and integrity. Certainly her history is the foundation for her resilience and dogmatic attention to detail, which our students particularly admire.

“They have really responded to her positively, rising to the challenge of her expectations and her energy, which has magnified our can do culture and complemented our achievement through hard work ethos.

“We are honoured to have her working with us, bringing culture, diversity and a tremendous story to Carlisle, not least because of her tremendous struggle to get here but also because of the amazing talent she brings.”

First published at 05:22, Friday, 30 October 2009
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk