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Attacks on Al Qaim

Alaa in Iraq

Weeks after the attack

Alaa in Amman

Photo by Alan Pogue

Shrapnel Wounds

Photo by Alan Pogue

Alan Pogue with Alaa'

Alaa' Khalid

May 3, 2005 — Alaa' Khalid Hamdan was severely injured when a US tank round slammed into her family's home in Al Qaim, Iraq. It was around three in the afternoon, and the children were having a tea party. Two of Alaa's brothers and three of her cousins were killed, all children under ten years of age. Fourteen women and children were killed or injured in the attack, which occurred while the men were at work.

Alaa's legs, chest and abdomen were peppered with shrapnel. She needed emergency surgery to save her eyesight. Micro-shrapnel was embedded in both eyes, and her retina detached.  If the fragments were not removed soon, she faced a lifetime of blindness. We received her medical reports in June of 2005.

No medical services were provided by the US military for Alaa' or her injured mother. Alaa's impending blindness was of no consequence to occupation authorities.

Ashley Severance, a 22-year-old law student from Melbourne, Florida, contacted NMV and offered to help. She worked for months to set up pro-bono medical care in Orlando. Dr. Saad Shaik, a gifted retinal surgeon, agreed to provide his services free of charge. Alan Pogue traveled to meet Alaa' and her father in Amman, Jordan, helped them through the difficult and time-consuming process of obtaining medical visas, and accompanied them to Orlando. They arrived in November, 2005.

As reported in the Orange County Register : "A surgery in Orlando to remove micro-shrapnel from her eyes and reattach her retina was successful. The surgeon there said if the eyes had gone untreated a few more days, she would have been blinded forever."

Alaa' also received expert surgical treatment at Children's Hospital of Orange, California, where Dr. Ali Kavianian repaired an abdominal hernia caused by shrapnel. We are grateful to the hospital staff and Dr. Kavianian for their skill and generosity.

As a people, we should ask ourselves how many children were blinded during the time Alaa' was here for medical care — and how we can permit such outrages to continue. This project demonstrated what can be done when a small group of people commit to helping a war-injured child.