We are racing for Naba.  There is a handful of women from the Merced and Mariposa County communities that have joined together to raise funds for this wonderful little girl. She has such a struggle to face every single day that is hard to fathom, but we want her to know that there are people in the world – in America of all places – that care for her and wish her nothing but peace.

What Motivates You?  The Little Purple Dot.
My training partner, Sarah, and I, have been riding our road bikes (mine is borrowed from my very generous friend Anne) for 2 months now, and have seen great improvements in our ability to ‘go the distance’.  This last Sunday, we rode 20.5 miles!  This includes 3 ‘holy moly!’ hills that I never thought I could do.

As I was pedaling along, quite far behind Sarah (I don’t know how she just keeps going!), I was thinking about what motivates me.  The first, of course, was Naba.  She is an innocent, and I wish nothing more than for her to have happiness in this life.  Quite a feat at this point, I am sure.
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The weekend of May 16 and 17th, Lexi sold her bracelets during her sister’s surfing competition. Younger brother Tristan helped out by showing people the photo of Salee and helping to collect the donations. Lexi raised over $100 for Salee selling her bracelets for $2 each, and said that there were a lot of people who wanted to help with her project, which is wonderful! Lexi’s planning further fundraisers and has ideas for a bigger fundraiser when Salee and her father are in the States. Great job, Lexi and Tristan!!!

Becky and I have been working on making more and more bracelets every day. We are selling them for $2 each, and they are a HUGE hit at our school. Even some of the teachers have bought them! We hope to raise about $300 this week to go towards a bigger fundraiser in the next few weeks. –Lexi

A note from NMV Communities Coordinator Ann Cothran: I’ve been awed and amazed at the energy and dedication of Lexi and her friends as they fundraise for No More Victims, and especially, for Salee. Lexi has taken on NMV’s (and Salee’s) cause, with a passion, starting out by making bracelets to sell at her school.  Within a week, she raised over $250 selling the bracelets! She has bigger plans to help NMV and the children, too, and after getting to know Lexi a bit these past few weeks, somehow I feel sure she’ll achieve everything she sets out to do! (more…)

I am a fifteen-year-old freshman at Carmel High School in California. I am currently on the school diving team, and I play water polo in the fall. I am also an active member at our community church. Somehow something felt missing. I decided that I needed to do something for the bigger picture; our world. I wanted to get involved in something bigger than myself.

Although it would have been very easy to get involved in something locally, I wanted a little something more. That was when I decided to look online for organizations that would be worth getting involved in. The very first website I came across was “No More Victims”. I was immediately drawn into the pictures of the children, and the motives behind this organization. I knew right away that this was something that I not only wanted to help with, I needed to contribute. I cannot remember the last time I felt this driven to do something.

I remember when the Iraq war started. I know that I will face much criticism for what I am doing, but to me, this is more than worth it. These children were simply caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. These aren’t criminals that I want to help, these are innocent children! I feel that this is the best cause available, and I feel honored to be apart of it. I hope that sometime in the very near future I will be able to help significantly. I want to help these children more than anything. They deserve the world’s help, and I am willing to do anything I can to make that happen!

Please join us for a musical and cultural celebration of Iraq

Saturday, May 9th, from 3:00 to 6:00 pm

UC-Irvine’s Crystal Cove Auditorium
A311 Student Center
Irvine, CA  92697

Check out the Irvine post for all the details and ticket info!

by Ilona Sturm

Last night, at a Ruth Group/No More Victims event at the Sausalito Yacht Club, Mustafa’s father Ghazwan was given the opportunity to tell his story. The wonderful thing about NMV, and specifically our project to bring Mustafa here is that it has made the injuries the US has inflicted in Iraq more real for people like me. Mustafa and Ghazwan are the first and only Iraqis I have even met whom have suffered from the war. Before them, the casualties of all sorts were abstractions. Even before last night, those of us caring for Mustafa since his arrival, had not yet heard the full story of suffering his father and mother have been through since the missile attack deafened their son.

Ghazwan told an emotional story of the displacement and uncertainty of his family’s life, and being forced to leave Baghdad for the city of Baquba. He spoke of the day Mustafa’s hearing was devastated and the three other neighbors who were killed. He also told the story of a pregnant woman, who after the US attack lost her mind after losing the baby she had spent so many years trying to conceive. He told us of trying fruitlessly to get help for Mustafa and what it was like to experience his son’s chaotic and anguished behavior after going deaf.

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I flew to San Francisco to be there for the arrival of Mustafa Ghazwan, his father, Ghazwan al-Nidawi, and Cole, as they flew in from Jordan on December 31st, 2008.  A very excited group of local volunteers from the NMV Bay Area chapter, and a crowd of print, radio and television reporters were also on hand to greet Mustafa and his father.  Lead local organizers Amy Skewes-Cox and Ruth Friend of the Ruth Group, as well as Dr. Daniel Lowenstein of the Iraq Action Group, Ilona Sturm of the Bay Area NMV chapter, and many other friendly faces who’d worked so hard to make this happen also waited anxiously for the plane to land.

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I know I am so very “full” with my memories and feelings of the time spent with Mustafa and Ahmed. I have heard from so many others of the impact that Mustafa and Ahmed had on them, as well. Several of us were thinking that it would be great/important to chronicle our community’s thoughts/feelings/impressions, etc. This is a gift to us, to Mustafa and his family, as well as a potentially powerful peace compilation.

I would like to invite ALL interested in writing about their experience/feelings – whatever ways you were impacted by Mustafa and Ahmed – from close or from afar – to send your thoughts to me and I will work with a few others to put it together and will then send out an electronic compilation.

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In January of 2008, Cole Miller and Ann Cothran of No More Victims came to Mariposa County for two presentations. The first was in El Portal, a community that is coordinating with the Chico chapter of No More Victims to help a young girl named Noor. The other presentation was in Mariposa at the local independent cinema. Though sparsely attended because of inclement weather, a small group of people were inspired to do something for No More Victims.

This group of four decided on a name for their efforts: “Neighbors Across Borders”. That name was chosen because those involved become “neighbors”, reaching out in a sense of community and caring. The core group of people working for No More Victims are: a local artisan and mother of a 32 year old, Tracy Greenwood; a ‘previously uninformed’ protestor and mother of 2 young children, Amelia Biagi Labbe; a spit-fire of an involved citizen and father of a 2 year old, John Friedrich; and a magical jack-of-all trades, father extraordinaire of 2 young girls, Jon-Paul Salonen. Their efforts began in earnest in March of 2008.

Our First Fundraising Effort

The first event was a benefit dinner on May 17, 2008 at the Yosemite Bug Rustic Mountain Resort (offering their venue free of charge!). The benefit was well attended by Mariposa standards, with approximately 65 people. It was a beautiful evening of an informative No More Victims video presentation, Peace Readings, a dinner completely donated by various local and national suppliers, music by local artists, a well-supplied (by local businesses and artists) silent auction and t-shirt sales. Our net for the evening was around $5,300! Besides the monetary gain, many people were moved by the No More Victims video and were glad to have been made more aware of the plight of these children.





We were moved to see the community rise up for this cause. Over 45 individuals and businesses contributed to the evening and we could NOT have done it without them. One individual attending the evening’s event was a professor at the nearby University of California at Merced. She would help us to bring No More Victims to UC Merced, the site of the next fundraiser.

Summer/Fall 2008

The summer of 2008 was busy and tumultuous for Mariposa with wildfires disrupting the community. But by the fall things were shaping up for the next NMV fundraiser. Nathan Moreno, a senior at UC Merced, contacted members of Neighbors Across Borders, expressing his willingness to help. Meetings were held to discuss what format would fit the best at a university. Nathan, being a violinist and music lover, wanted it to have classical music. He set about organizing the musicians, Neighbors set about promoting and organizing.

NABA designated to Neighbors Across Borders NMV-Mariposa Chapter!!

In early November of 2008, No More Victims contacted Neighbors Across Borders to inform us about the child we would be supporting. Naba was very similar in age to the children of the Mariposa volunteers—thus heightening the sympathy and energy for her cause. We were very excited for this second fundraiser to have a face to connect with our efforts.Naba lost her father and brother in the attack from U.S. forces on the car she was traveling in. Her story is detailed here.

Our Second Event

The second event was held at the Lakiredy Auditorium at UC Merced, on November 21st 2008. Three professional musicians participated: Lorraine Walsh, a soprano vocalist; Ionut Zamfir, a cellist; and Dennis Brown, a pianist. An hour presentation on NMV and Naba preceded the music. Then the musicians serenaded a rapt audience. Many remarked on the tears shed both during the performance and the video. There were about 75 people in attendance. We also sold some t-shirts after the performance had ended. This evening translated into another $1200 netted for Naba!

Our Third Event!

Plans are being made for another benefit in early 2009, please check back to see what is decided on!

Our Goals for NABA

Our goal is to help pay for Naba’s medical treatment and to provide her with an ongoing monthly stipend for her and her mother.

Ongoing Ways to Support NABA

We actively promote T-shirt sales (see photos). If you would like to purchase a t-shirt, please contact Jon-Paul at 209-617-1945 or jp@blueoakom.com, or Amelia at abiagi@hotmail.com. All the proceeds from these t-shirt sales go directly to Naba. THANK YOU!

We have a local recycling program at the Mariposa landfill where you can donate your redeemables to NMV.

We have developed a charitable program through a co-op named Melaleuca. They are a green-products company, emphasizing safe, practical, and economical products. When people shop through Melaleuca 5% of their order goes directly to No More Victims! The Melaleuca charitable program was started in March of 2008. About 25 individuals/families are already participating in this co-op program which generates about $75 a month for Naba. If we can grow that number of customers to about 100 families the monthly stipend for Naba would be realized without effort. We began this program because some of those involved in Neighbors Across Borders were already using Melaleuca, and were satisfied customers. We offer this as a way of giving because of its practicality; the vast majority of those who try Melaleuca stick with it because they love the products.

Dear good friends,

Ahmed’s and Mustafa’s gentleness and bravery on this journey are totally amazing. Please feel free to get to know them. They were so moved by the warmth of the airport welcome and by the number of people who were there. I think we will all find it very easy to fall in love with them! Their story is so important to tell: here is this absolutely beautiful little boy whose injuries are extremely serious. It will be very moving to see this project evolve to tell Mustafa’s and Ahmed’s story AND to be a community that helps them heal.

A special thank you goes out to the members of the Iraqi community who have been so amazingly generous with their time, love, interpretation, meals and concern for Mustafa and Ahmed. (more…)