Europe

Belgian textbook for French students refers to bombs, jails

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Iraqi refugee Raad Al Azzawi shows a lesson book at the house of his Belgian French tutor in Anderlecht, Belgium on Thursday, May 11, 2017. Read Al Azzawi and his tutor are both dismayed to have been given a French lesson book with references to bomb throwers and jails, suggesting that migrants might be extremists. (AP Photo/Sylvain Plazy) (The Associated Press)

Iraqi refugee Raad Al Azzawi shows a lesson book at the house of his Belgian French tutor in Anderlecht, Belgium on Thursday, May 11, 2017. Read Al Azzawi and his tutor are both dismayed to have been given a French lesson book with references to bomb throwers and jails, suggesting that migrants might be extremists. (AP Photo/Sylvain Plazy) (The Associated Press)

Iraqi refugee Raad Al Azzawi shows a lesson book at the house of his Belgian French tutor in Anderlecht, Belgium on Thursday, May 11, 2017. Read Al Azzawi and his tutor are both dismayed to have been given aFrench lesson book with references to bomb throwers and jails, suggesting that migrants might be extremists. (AP Photo/Sylvain Plazy) (The Associated Press)

An Iraqi refugee and his Belgian teacher are dismayed to have been given a French lesson book with references to bomb throwers and jails, suggesting that migrants might be extremists.

Raad Al Azzawi has been taking French lessons at a school in a Brussels suburb since September. He was given the book to learn and practice the language.

The text contained sentences such as: "Daddy throws a bomb and goes to prison."; "I am eating sandwiches in prison."; "He shows me the bomb and the prison."

The 38-year-old Iraqi told The Associated Press Thursday that "in Iraq, there is a lot of misery, and I saw these writings and frankly, I was very sad."

Teacher Catherine Lemaire said it suggests asylum-seekers are "considered either as stupid or as terrorists."