Marla Ruzicka was killed in Baghdad yesterday. AP reports that she died from a suicide car bomb on the airport road in Baghdad. There are different reports also. Marla was 27 years old.
I first heard of Marla Ruzicka while watching a Nightline program on Iraqi civilian casualties in May 2003. It was the first news program in the US on Iraqi civilian casualties, and remains (as far as I know) the only one.
Marla founded and headed a group called CIVIC. It's purpose was to aid civilians injured by violent conflict. She also worked in Afghanistan. She was supported by the American Friends Service Committee while she was doing a survey of Iraqi civilians killed in the early part of this war. That survey ended in July, 2003. Marla was still in Iraq and working to bring aid to civilian victims. I contributed to her organization.
She inspired me.
I'm very sad to see her gone.
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