Order Online from Lulu.com

Beth DeLap, No More Victims volunteer, friend, and author from Asheville, North Carolina has written this wonderful and entertaining parody on CS Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”. DeLap’s book takes place in modern-day Iraq and provides an insightful read as we view the human tragedy of the war in Iraq through the eyes of American children. Adults will love the satire, the political innuendo, and the beauty, tragedy and humor in this book. Everyone will fall in love with the characters, both American and Iraqi, the heroes and heroines. The imagery, imagination and message will stay with you long after you put this one down (and you won’t put it down ’til you finish reading!) The author has taken the beauty of CS Lewis’ words, made the story her own, and given us a book that will make us laugh, cry, THINK, and hopefully, move us to act toward a world of Peace.                              

All proceeds from the purchase of Beth’s book will go to the work of No More Victims.  So please, go to http://www.lulu.com/content/4758717 and buy your copy today! 

Thank you for helping the war-injured children of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Leading scholar and social critic Noam Chomsky talks about NMV’s vital efforts.

Recovery of war-injured three-year-old Iraqi child compromised by State Department delays in issuing visas.
The public is urged to CALL AND / OR SEND LETTERS to the State Department urging that visas be issued immediately for Mustafa and his father.

San Francisco, CA:  Three-year-old Mustafa Ghazwan suffered complete hearing loss when a US missile struck near his home in Baquba, Iraq.  Today he is deaf, unable to hear sounds at 130 decibels.  Before the attack, he could say simple words like mama and memma (baby bottle in Arabic), but has not been able to speak since his devastating hearing loss.  It is imperative that he receive a cochlear implant and rehabilitative treatment as soon as possible in order to improve his prospects of recovery and a more normal life.

Doctors and community organizers in the Bay Area have made arrangements for Mustafa to receive this treatment at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center.  Surgery, post-operative speech and hearing therapy, and daily care for Mustafa and his father have all been scheduled.  “From our perspective,” said Dan Lowenstein, Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Neurology at UCSF, “everything is completely in place for Mustafa to receive the medical care he needs.  It’s critical that Mustafa and his father’s visas be granted immediately so he can begin treatment.”

Dr. Lawrence Lustig, the surgeon who will implant Mustafa’s cochlear device, says: “Proceeding with Mustafa’s cochlear implant as soon as possible is of critical importance,” said Dr. Lustig. “He is at a crucial age for language acquisition, and continued delay may prove highly detrimental to his future development. The medical science is very clear on this point: the sooner the implant can be placed, the better speech and language skills we can expect Mustafa to develop.  Waiting too long will jeopardize his ability to effectively use his cochlear implant.”

Mustafa Ghazwan and his father, Ghazwan Al-Nidawi, have been stranded in Amman for the last twelve weeks.  Visas for Mustafa and his father continue to be delayed, which could have dire consequences for Mustafa’s prospects of recovery.  The public is urged to write letters to the State Department urging that Mustafa and his father’s visas be issued immediately so they can travel to San Francisco and Mustafa can begin receiving the care he so urgently needs.

Please Write Today!

Letters should be directed to:

Janice L. Jacobs
Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs
2201 C Street, NW
Washington DC 20520
(202) 647-9576

AND:
Stephen A. Edson
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services
2201 C Street, NW
Washington DC 20520
(202) 647-9584

Please help us with this campaign to help this little Iraqi boy by writing or phoning today!

“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
—Mahatama Ghandi

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
—Margaret Mead

Recently, Ellen from the Portland, Oregon NMV chapter headed east to visit her hometown of Portland, Maine.  While there, she met up with Portland, Maine organizers, Doug Rogers and Susi Eggenberger, who took Ellen to meet little Nora and her father, Afef!

During the visit, Ellen gave Nora and Afef each an “Ask Me About Mustafa” t-shirt from their chapter.  The Portland, Oregon group is waiting for 6-year-old Mustafa Abed, who lost his leg and a large part of his hip to a US air strike in November of 2004, and created these shirts to spread awareness about Mustafa’s plight.

Nora, who needs plastic surgery on her skull, was more than happy to wear Mustafa’s shirt and show her support for another young victim of the invasion of her country.

Thank you so much to both Portlands for your support, creativity, and compassion for our friends, the civilians of Iraq! (more…)

Thanks to all who came to last Sunday’s potluck at Laurelhurst Park — it was a great gathering!

Good news! Mustafa and his father have their visa appointment set for July 29th at the US Embassy in Amman, Jordan. Within about three weeks of that appointment (That’s mid to late August!), Mustafa should be in Portland. We have contacted Shriner’s Hospital and asked them to re-schedule Mustafa’s first evaluation appointment for the 3rd week in August. There are unpredictable things in the visa process, so we have to all be patient with any delays. We will definitely keep the updates coming as we know of more details.

We are so excited to meet Mustafa and his father and to shower them with a warm and loving Portland welcome.

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I talked with Nora and Rusul on the phone today! Cole called and put them on the line. Nora said, “Hello, Ann,” and then began rattling off in Arabic. I don’t know what she said, but she sounded happy! Rusul said, “Hello, Ann! I MISS YOU, ANN!” In caps because Rusul’s voice literally sang through the phone – it hit my heart because it sounded so much like her big sister, Salee’s. I couldn’t help feeling a sadness and longing for Salee hearing Rusul’s voice. But there was definitely no sadness on Rusul’s part. Her voice shone with the pure joy and exuberance that is also her sister’s. If you’ve met Salee, you’ll know what I mean.

My conversations with the girls were, of course, quite short, because we’d both exhausted our command of each other’s language (I have literally none of theirs) within seconds. But, those brief seconds were long enough to make me even more anxious to meet these precious little ones who’ve been so damaged by what’s happened to their country.

I spoke with Abu Ali, Rusul’s father, and Afif, Nora’s father, briefly too. Of course, I know Abu Ali well from his time here with Salee. He was his usual exuberant self, saying, “I love you, my Sister. And, I miss EVERYONE there!” Afif sounded kind and courteous, a quiet man searching for the right words in English to express himself. He said that he looked forward to meeting me and that he’d see me soon.

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Rusul, left, and Nora, already having become great friends, play the universal ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’

Nora, Rusul and their fathers arrived at the No More Victims apartment in Amman, Jordan the first week in June and began their journey through the visa process.  NMV Founder Cole Miller, joined them on June 18th and reports that the girls are beautiful, sweet, and full of laughs and giggles!

Nora will be heading to Portland, Maine, where she’ll receive care for a bullet wound to her head (see “Nora” page for more information), inflicted when US forces fired upon the car she was riding in with her family.

Rusul will come to Greenville, South Carolina, where she will receive treatment at Shriners Hospital in Greenville.  Rusul’s leg was badly damaged in a US air strike in November, 2006, which took both of her sister Salee’s legs.  Salee received double prostheses at Shriners Hospital last year.  Please see “Rusul” and “Salee”’s pages for more information on the sisters.

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