The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXXI

Bashar Saleh
Ahmed Al-Khzan, Mohammed Al-Assadi,
Ali Al-Hammami, Teachers
Dar Al-Aytam (Orphans House), Sana’a, Yemen
This is the first time I have told my story about what I have been through. I
never imagined that a day would come to share this story. I only did it because
I was inspired by the Max Courage program.
Two years ago, I was a person who liked to stay alone. I hated being around
other people. I liked to spend long periods of time on the internet. I was so
crazy about it that my eyes would start hurting. Every time I was alone, I would
be on the net. I didn’t like to talk to anyone. I spent all my money on internet
cards. The internet was my closest friend and teacher. I spent all my time
going from a movie, to a show, to social media. I always felt in a rush to leave
my family and friends to do my best hobby, being on the net.
After a while, I realized that I no longer liked to talk to other people or
discuss anything with them. When my friends wanted to talk to me, especially
about how I used the internet, I would stop the discussion and run away. I
was not able to laugh with my friends. I felt anxiety and sadness inside me. I
didn’t like sitting with others. Being alone on the internet had become my
favorite thing. I felt myself becoming different from other children. They
participated in class discussions, and I was always quiet. During discussions
outside the class, my classmates were talking about things I had no knowledge
of. I started to realize that something was wrong with my life. I asked myself,
“Is the internet the reason?”
“I advise my friends
not to overuse the
internet and focus
on their education
and school.”
One day I was offered to join the Orphans House (Dar Al-Aytam), and I did.
Here, I found nice friends and teachers. The principal is like a father to me. I
started to live a different life. I participate in many activities. With the help of
my friends, I overcame my obsession with the internet. I realized how much
time I lost watching movies and shows that were not useful. Now I only go
online whenever necessary. I advise my friends not to overuse the internet and
focus on their education and school.
I felt lost. I felt that my future could be at risk. I thought about starting to
reduce my usage of the internet. I had an idea: to learn about ways to reduce
the use of the internet from the internet. I searched for videos that talked
about the harms of overusing the internet. I was shocked to learn about the
risks of the inappropriate use of the internet for children. I started to feel
myself rejecting the internet. I started to hesitate to be online. I started to
sit more with my friends and family. I could not stop using the internet all at
once, but I reduced the time I spent on it.
The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond
Volume XXXI
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