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GNG in the News

Monday, March 10, 2003

ABC News: Good Morning America

GLOBAL NOMADS LINKED IRAQI AND US TEENAGERS TO TALK ABOUT POSSIBLE WAR

CHRIS CUOMO, ABC NEWS: (OC) Now, you know, it's a great group, Global Nomads Group. What they basically do is they take young people from different parts of the world who wouldn't know each other otherwise and they believe that through familiarity you can breed a bond so that hopefully in the future we don't have the same types of problems we're having right now. Now, this is a simple idea. But as you're about to see, it can have a profound impact.

CHRIS CUOMO (CONTINUED): (VO) War seems all but inevitable now. Justified by some as the only way to secure America and Iraq's future. So, what are those who will inherit this future have to say about it all? We sat in on a video conversation between Iraqi teens from the elite high school of Baghdad College and American teens from the Metropolitan Learning Center Magnet School in Connecticut. And here's what they had to say.

CHRIS CUOMO (CONTINUED): (OC) Why do you think we're in the current situation that we are?

TALA, GLOBAL NOMADS: I think that the United States want a war to happen in my country. I believe that they're after something in my country. No one wastes money, time and lives, human lives, for nothing, just for saying I'm having a war. They're getting something from us, maybe oil, maybe other things.

JUAN, GLOBAL NOMADS: Maybe, like, somebody might actually be trying to correct a mistake that people have in their country. Some people might just want, like, to give them a better life.

RUBA, GLOBAL NOMADS: First, you say that you, you making war just to make people, you know, for a better life. Who told you that we are not living the best life? I know it's, what we've been though, you know, (INAUDIBLE) and these things. But we're still surviving. And we don't want, and want no war because we don't really need it.

SARI, GLOBAL NOMADS: We deserve to rule ourselves and create a new life for ourselves and look for our future.

CHRIS CUOMO: (OC) In America, some people favor war, some people don't. Is it the same way for you in your country, are people divided?

SARA, GLOBAL NOMADS: I think some people of you favor war, because you are the country who is leading the war. And you are not going to lose any of your loved ones. We might wake up in the morning and we've lost someone that we've loved. And we are the country who are being attacked, so I don't think that anybody here wants war.

TOM, GLOBAL NOMADS: And I don't really think that people in the US actually like war. There's people that think that this war should be fought. But I have family in the military and there's other people here that have family in the military and we might wake up in the morning finding out that some of our family had just died or was killed over there. So, I mean, some of us feel it, too.

FEMALE ONE, GLOBAL NOMADS: Are you guys scared of what's going to happen soon about the war?

NOORIDEEN, GLOBAL NOMADS: I think it's the matter of being worried or not. I mean, nobody is not worried. You know, I believe that we have a great deal of self- confidence and faith. That makes things look easier than, than, than what they really are.

CHRIS CUOMO: (VO) For all the talk about war, government and politics, these teens seemed much more interested in learning about each other.

FEMALE TWO, GLOBAL NOMADS: What is your idea about Iraqi people?

STACEY, GLOBAL NOMADS: Here in the US, it's kinda sad 'cause we don't get a good perception of the Iraqi people. We see the politics of it, we don't see the actual people living their day-to-day routine.

ALICIA, GLOBAL NOMADS: What your view of Americans, in general? What do you think of us?

RA'ID, GLOBAL NOMADS: American people is a great people that stand against their government and say no war for oil. This is a great people.

MEENA, GLOBAL NOMADS: Let us stop talking about politics and leave these things about the, to the, the, to the politician personals, 'cause we are just the teenagers and we make conversation.

CHRIS CUOMO: (VO) And with that simple request . . .

ALEX, GLOBAL NOMADS: Like a virgin.

CHRIS CUOMO: (VO) these teenagers became, well, typical teens on both sides. They shared common interests.

MALE ONE, GLOBAL NOMADS: That, that music lets me dance, and . . .

DIANE, GLOBAL NOMADS: If you ever traveled to America, what would be the first thing that you would like to do?

BASSAD, GLOBAL NOMADS: Probably the first thing I'd do is probably go to, to a Dr. Dre concert or DMX concert. Second, go to a Los Angeles Lakers game.

HANNIN, GLOBAL NOMADS: I'd go to a Rocky Mountains to climb them. I heard that they're very beautiful.

CHRIS CUOMO: (VO) They shared plans for their future.

JUAN: And when I grow up I either want to be somewhere in computer engineering or engineering field.

SARI: I also like computer engineering, like your friend.

JENNIFER, GLOBAL NOMADS: And when I grow up I'd like to be a pediatrician.

MAHA, GLOBAL NOMADS: Maybe when I grow up I'd like to be a, a psychiatrist.

CHRIS CUOMO: (VO) And all wanted to dismiss stereotypes.

SARI: The media has the biggest role in making the false ideas about people. We don't look like bomb carriers. I don't have a bomb in my pocket right now. I don't like riding camels. And you don't look like cowboys who like to fire, pow, pow. I don't think so.

CHRIS CUOMO: (VO) The meeting allowed these teens to bridge cultural differences.

ALEX: (ARABIC BEING SPOKEN, NO ENGLISH TRANSLATION)

OMAR, GLOBAL NOMADS: I'm gonna tell the moderator, Mr., Alexander, I think you have a future in Arabic.

CHRIS CUOMO: (VO) However, talk of pop culture and light-hearted exchanges weren't enough to keep minds off the topic of US-Iraq relations.

JUAN: Why do you think that the United States is disliked so much?

RA'ID: You, anyone of you, there is anyone like you and cause the death of about eight people, eight children, Iraqi children in a minute in Iraq, that's according to (INAUDIBLE) statistics, not according to us. What would you do? Would you accept this?

CHRIS CUOMO: (VO) In the end, both sides agreed, the best hope for the future is peace.

ALICIA: If I turned into we, we can share our unity to see past the blindness and to have someone to guide us. Your people, our people, we are as one.

OMAR: I hope that peace and love will prevail all over the world, and the, the problems of past will be the past and a new age will start for all man kind.

CHARLES GIBSON, ABC NEWS: (OC) Interesting. First of all, the, the school from which the Iraqi kids come . . .

CHRIS CUOMO: (OC) Mm hmm.

CHARLES GIBSON: (OC) upper income?

CHRIS CUOMO: (OC) A, mix. But I do think that what you see are the faces of the potential leaders, if only because of socioeconomics. Some of them were more wealthy than others. Some of them are middle class.

CHARLES GIBSON: (OC) And how long totally did they talk to one another? Obviously we just saw some snippets.

CHRIS CUOMO: (OC) It was over an hour.

CHARLES GIBSON: (OC) And how quickly did they get past the war to the, what they, 'cause they obviously wanted to talk to each other about music and other things that they share.

CHRIS CUOMO: (OC) To be honest, I probably kept them talking about war longer than they wanted to.

CHARLES GIBSON: (OC) Yeah.

CHRIS CUOMO: (OC) You know, it's an interesting aspect. We get caught up in politics all the time. We forget about the people, was what made your series last week so great. You were going at the people and explaining the personalities behind the situation. This is the future. It sounds trite, but this is what it's all about, it's about these kids.

CHARLES GIBSON: (OC) And the kids obviously enthused to talk to one another. Interesting. Very interesting.

CHRIS CUOMO: (OC) And, and it's a good way for them to do it. If they go to their web-site for this organization, I think it's gng.org, the kids . . .

CHARLES GIBSON: (OC) Global Nomads?

CHRIS CUOMO: (OC) yep, they can get to know the kids from other places. They can experience it, and that really has got to be the best hope.

CHARLES GIBSON: (OC) All right. Thanks very much. Chris Cuomo. And if you do have questions about talking to children about war, you can join an on- line chat which will be on abcnews.com at 1:00 eastern with an expert from the Global Nomads Group.

CHARLES GIBSON (CONTINUED): Next, some new science from the researcher who showed us how dogs seem to know when their owner are on the way home. Stay with us.

graphics: abc good morning america monday, march 10

commercial break

ROBIN ROBERTS, ABC NEWS: Have you ever been in these types of situation, you sense someone staring at you from afar, or the phone rings and you know exactly who's on the other line? According to our next guest, that may not be just coincidence, but proof of a sort of a seventh sense we all may have. You may remember Rupert Sheldrake from our program a few years ago, telling us how dogs knew when their owners were coming home. Well, now he's here to say some humans are just as smart. Rupert Sheldrake joins us now with his new book, "The Sense Of Being Stared At".

---- INDEX REFERENCES ----

NEWS SUBJECT: English language content; Transcript; Content Types (ENGL NTRA NCAT)

PRODUCT: African/Middle East News/Features (DAF)

REGION: United States; United States; North American Countries; North America; Iraq; Asian Countries; Western Asian Countries; Middle Eastern Countries; Persian Gulf Countries; Iraq; Middle East (US USA NAMZ NME IRAQ ASIAZ WASIAZ MEASTZ GULFSTZ IZ ML)

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