Salee!

Wow, it was two months ago that Salee and her father, Abu Ali, came to Asheville. And I have been meaning to write something about that since BEFORE the event we had here in Asheville.

But I found I could not do it – and I cannot do it even now, really. It is just too big and just too horrible.

I have read, thought about, written, and blogged on Iraq for years now. The main blog is Iraq Today, before that it was Today in Iraq. But it was very different to come face to face with a bubbly little girl who lost so very, very much because of my government’s evil shit ways. Oh, and my tax dollars are paying for it. (And I have a huge chip on my shoulder because of that fact!)

Salee lost the bottom of both of her legs from a US bombing in November 2006. She was playing hopscotch with her friends outside her home, when the missile hit. But she lost more than her legs, she lost her brother, her best friend, and her innocence. Salee is happy and bright, no sign of a chip on her shoulder at all. A sister of Salee’s was also injured in the bombing.

Salee was getting medical treatment and prosthetics in Greenville, SC. I went down to Greenville to talk to Ann, who is the one who started up the Upstate Coalition of Compassion, the group that brought Salee to the US. I met up with Ann and we agreed that we should bring Salee and her father to Asheville, and we agreed to do it on September 19^th. The WNC Peace Coalition was planning a candlelight vigil for that evening, because that date marked four and a half years since the invasion of Iraq by the US/UK military.

I contacted all several local churches and the First Congregational Church said we could have a potluck and presentation (by No More Victims) at their church at no charge. They were a big, big help in making this event a success. On the 19^th, I got to the event after Salee, Ann, Cole (director of No More Victims) and Abu Ali (Salee’s dad) had already arrived. I had a large cake from a local grocery store that said “Welcome to Asheville, Salee”. It also had a beautiful picture of her on the cake – I had gotten it off the internet and laminated it, then we put it on the cake.

Of course, as the main organizer of the event, I felt I was running in several different directions all at once while we were getting this event underway. I had brought several signs and the “peace flag” to hang up, was making many phone calls to try and get an interpreter, and a hundred other things. I never did have much time to visit with Salee or her father or anyone else. But the event was a success – lots of people came, the press came, and everyone seemed to feel the evening was worthwhile. Dinner was pretty good, as most potlucks are pretty good.

Shortly after Cole started his presentation, Oona (who is seven years old) ran out of the room crying over what had happened to Salee (who is ten years old). Another memorable event in the evening was when Jason Hurd (Iraq War Veteran) stood up and formally apologized for what our country and military had done to Iraq. At that time, I was watching Salee’s face and she seemed quite surprised at what her father had to say in response. The translator said that Abu Ali found the American people to be warm, compassionate and helpful, but that the US military in Iraq behaved very, very badly. Somehow, I think there was a LOT more to what Abu Ali said, but it did not get translated. That may be due to the fact that the translator was from Egypt, and did not totally understand the Iraqi Arabic dialogue. Or maybe the translator did not want to say all that Abu Ali had to say.

After the presentation, we went to Pritchard Park for our vigil. But, we did not have candle luminaries like we planned, because we were told we needed an $25 “open flame” permit to do this. (We did not need such a permit in August to have candle luminaries, and we had two vigils like this.) So, we had people standing around in the dark, some giving short speeches.

One of the things that Abu Ali and Salee did in Asheville was visit the Unitarian Universalist Church. This church had put up the “Iraqi Civilian Remembrance” flags just for Salee and her father. This is over 1500 “flags” that have a peace dove on them and the words: “This is a remembrance of the Iraqi Civilian Casualties. May they rest in Peace. May their country find Peace.” I was not there when they stopped there, but I heard from Ann that it was very moving to them, and they took lots of pictures.

What I experienced from having Salee and Abu Ali come to Asheville is bigger than words, at least any words I can find. And that is in spite of the fact that I had limited time with them and the limited interaction with them. And it was not due to the fact that somehow I really “clicked” with either Salee or Abu Ali, frankly I am much more in tune with Ann than either of them. (Sometimes the universe has a strange way of showing connections between people – like, I will write a short email to Ann, and while I am doing that, she sends me an email also. Or, when we meet in South Carolina, we both went to the wrong place, and got out of our cars in the parking lot at the EXACT same time, and were trying to call each other on our cell phones.)

It is somehow extremely horrifying to come face to face with an innocent child who has been so grievously hurt but what my tax dollars and my government did. It is somehow shocking to see, live and in person, what I have been reading about and seeing pictures of, for years. And it is very depressing to think that I seemingly cannot stop this evil, no matter what I do.

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Here is some more information on Salee and her visit to Asheville from the local paper (some photos there also). This reporter did an excellent job! (The local TV station – and we only have one- did a lousy job, unfortunately.)

She came with her father, Hussein Allawy, sponsored by the nonprofit, No More Victims, which works to obtain medical scholarships for war-injured Iraqi children, and to forge ties between American and Iraqi communities. “I wasn’t expecting the kindness,” Allawy said through an interpreter. “In Iraq, we see the bad side of America. Here we see the good side.” The Allawys were in Asheville on Wednesday for a potluck supper at First Congregational Church, followed by a peace vigil in Pritchard Park. More than 50 people joined them at the church for the dinner and a brief program about the work of No More Victims.

Here is a link to the Democracy Now show that Cole, Salee and Abu Ali were on, and a bit of the transcript. While watching this I realized how much Salee likes things like jewelry, clothes and finger nail polish. She is quite different from me in that respect.

Ten-Year-Old Iraqi Girl Receives Medical Treatment in South Carolina After Losing Legs in U.S. Air Strike

AMY GOODMAN: Well, I want to thank you for being with us. Where do you return when you go back to Iraq? What city?

HUSSEIN ALLAWEE FERAS(Salee's father): [translated] To Fallujah. But if you allow to say some words, OK? I am very grateful to my brother and to the best person -- my brother Cole -- who helped bringing life back to Salee. For me, honestly, Salee was born again when she came to the US. Even though people in the US cannot really help to end the situation in Iraq, I would like everyone to help this person, Cole. I don’t think anyone can object me on this. This is a humanitarian action. [He is talking about No More Victims.]

And here is a link to the story that Ann wrote called “Our little girl has gone”.

Our Little Girl Has Gone

I won’t forget the day in the car when Salee was casually talking about her extended family, her many aunts and uncles. And how she’d so calmly say, “That Uncle is dead. Got shot by a soldier,” and points to her head. “Mama has five sisters. Or, four now. One was killed.” Or the day we were in a restroom stall and she broke my heart with, “Ann have two babies,” and I replied “No, I only have one baby, Salee”, and she said, “Salee have two mamas. Ann have two babies.” We’d spent a day on Catalina Island and she’d broken down crying on the boat ride back to LA. She told me then, “No cry at airport, Ann. Little cry. No big cry.”

On the cab ride to the airport I gave her the only piece of jewelry that I really cared about, a cheap silver ring from Mexico that I wore every day. She cried as she tried to give it back and then told me she’d wear it every day. I thought at the time that the ring would remind her of me, but I didn’t account for the pain in my heart every time I looked at my own ringless hand. And, as everyone who knows her might have guessed, she did what she said she would at the airport. No big cry. She was brave, thinking of the future and her return trips here. “Don’t cry, Ann. Salee come back again and again and again…..” Salee is taking my heart home with her to Fallujah. But not just mine. She carries with her the hearts of so many who’ve grown to love her these last few months. I wish those hearts filled with love could ensure her safety. But they can’t. Salee will only be truly safe when we end the carnage that our nation has brought to her homeland. We have to work harder to end the war. For Salee. For Abu Ali. And for all of our brothers and sisters in Iraq. How can we not? Our Salee and our hearts are there.

More videos and information on Salee here.

Update: Since leaving the USA, Salee has a new baby brother! Unfortunately, her little sister, who was injured in the same bombing by the US military in November 2006, has had a leg amputated.

Cole Miller was also on Democracy Now:

No More Victims: Grassroots Group Assists Iraqi Children Injured in U.S. Attacks

COLE MILLER: Well, I first learned about Salee when a man by the name of Maki Al-Nazzal got in touch with me from Fallujah and said there’s a little girl -- I was actually working then to bring another child to Boston, who is there getting treatment now, little Omar. And he got in touch with me and said there's a little girl, and her legs are cut, and she’s in an abandoned building without heat with her family, and she’s shivering, and she needs an emergency operation in Sulaimaniya; can we help? And so, I sent a little bit of money and said, “Of course, we can help.” We sent a little bit of money, and she got heating oil and blankets and then was evacuated to Sulaimaniya, where she had that operation. So that’s how I learned about her. In terms of getting her to the United States, the way that I work -- we want to provide people of conscience in the United States with ways of taking direct independent action to help victims of this war. And I got an email a couple of years ago from a woman named Ann Cothran in South Carolina, and she said she wanted to bring a child to South Carolina. And so, I took the medical report, and I sent it to her, and she went to Shriners Hospital in Greenville, the most conservative city in probably the most conservative state in the nation. And they said, “Sure, we’d be happy to help this girl.” And once I had the letter promising pro bono treatment, I just put into place the procedures to get her here.

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Since this visit by Salee and her father, we have been organizing locally to raise funds to sponsor a child in Iraq, and to help that child get the medical attention that he or she needs. We raised almost a thousand dollars that one evening in Asheville.

And you can help out too! Please go to No More Victims website and make a donation. This a worthy and worthwhile organization, and they are doing great work at bringing Iraqi and American people together. You can make a difference in some Iraqi child's life. Please open your heart and your wallet to them!