When I was younger I didn’t even know what war was and I definitely didn’t know that families were torn apart. Honestly, I believed that stuff only happened in George Washington’s time. But now I see that our own country is a very ironic place. We say we are the “freedom country” when we are tearing the “freedom” from others. This is a crime and genocide even if we claim we didn’t do anything wrong. I believe that if the American people knew exactly what was going on they would do anything in their power to help. That is why my friends and I are doing this. That is why we are helping. Every single child deserves dreams, hopes, and a bright future. I’m going to make sure this happens for them.

Alyssa is a middle school student and the lead organizer for the No More Victims – Casper chapter at her school.

We’ve produced a short video telling the story of 6-year-old Naba. (Click the HQ button in the player to watch in high-resolution.)

Learn more about Naba.

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!

[Harrison is a 5th grade student in the Portland, Maine area who chose to hold a fundraiser for little Noora as a result of a project that he’s doing for school. Harrison wrote about why he wants to help Noora and what he’s learned about, and feels about, war.]

I want to help Noora because I like helping people, especially people who are victims of war.

Ever since there have been humans on earth there have been violent conflicts. War is unnecessary and just brings death and destruction. It destroys homes and people’s lives. Sometimes if there is a good reason for war it might help to maintain peace by force but the Iraq war was unnecessary. There is not enough peace in the world. Nobody benefits from war.

The war affects us because it’s our country that is fighting a war and it’s not just an interesting story on the news about some other country. When it’s our neighbors and family that are going to war and dying then you realize that this is serious. It’s serious because their families will be sad if their family member dies. Even if they don’t die it’s sad to have them away from home.

The war is also injuring and killing innocent Iraqi citizens. Approximately 90,000 to 100,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed. If the U.S. soldiers see a Hussein loyal they might not have enough time to ambush them so they just send a missile or bomb into the building and it sometimes kills civilians. That is called collateral damage. At the beginning of the war the U.S. troops were also cutting off food, electricity, and water supply to the Iraqis by breaking the lines and pipes. It must have been scary to know that you might get bombed at any minute.

Noora’s surgery went just as planned and once again little Noora worked her way through the recovery period with the grace, tenacity and focus of a seven year old bound and determined to get back to what really matters in life, playing. Noora was discharged on Wednesday and not surprisingly, after only 3 short days in the hospital, had made enough new friends, that it took her 20 minutes just to give her “goodbye hugs”. As anxious as she was to get back to the Ronald McDonald House and play, her tastebuds got the better of her on the ride “home” and she requested a pit stop to pick up a couple of her favorites, kabobs and “cheese chips” (cheetos).

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I so regret having to write this update to let you know that the Integra product (which I wrote about in the last update) was unsuccessful in its attempt to rebuild tissue in the open wound on Noora’s scalp.

The new plan, unfortunately, necessitates the temporary removal of Noora’s prosthetic skull. The fact that Noora’s scalp has had an open wound onto the prosthetic skull, for this length of time, was the determining factor for removing the skull. What Dr. Attwood and his colleagues are fearful of, is that if the skull is not removed and sterilized, it could potentially present problems for Noora once her scalp is closed and she returns to Iraq. The concern is that if they close the wound without sterilizing the skull, bacteria, which is now possibly embedded in the skull, could fester and present a significant threat to Noora’s health.

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How we follow the news in America depends very much on how vivid our imaginations are, or how vivid we allow them to be. As an artist, I let mine often have free reign, so when I heard the horrific story on “Democracy Now” about what happened to young Salee by the American forces in Iraq, my response was visceral.

Over a year later, I helped No More Victims bring three year old Mustafa to San Francisco to have surgery. He had been completely deafened by a US missile strike next door to where he was living.

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Dear Friends - Today was absolutely incredible. The UCSF audiologist hooked up the cochlear implant device to Mustafa to very briefly test it at a very low frequency. She did not know if he would respond at all. The device was also attached to the computer to read the response of the device.

We all waited anxiously.  He was busy playing with small toys. And then… he just stopped and his eyes looked another direction. I think our hearts stopped for that second of time. Here are two photos from the office where he was tested… a very small space. And I’ve written a very short poem about the moment. It was truly, utterly amazing. No words or photos can adequately capture that moment.

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Hi Everyone,

Just a quick update to let you know that Dr. Attwood preformed Noora’s surgery on Monday at Maine Med and she is currently recovering on the regular Peds floor.

Shortly after her pervious surgery, an area (approx 50cent piece size) opened over the prosthetic skull. After the consultation in Boston, last week, it was decided that Dr. Atwood would re-open the area of scalp that was used to cover the prosthetic skull, and try to stretch it a bit, in hopes of closing as much of the current opening as he could. He was able to close all but about a penny size area. In that area, he applied a product which encourages blood vessels and other cells to grow a new layer of skin. In approx. two to three weeks, he will be able to assess the area and determine the next course of action.

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Mustafa is a different boy than what we think of when we think of a boy. Mustafa has been deafened by US missiles in Iraq that hit the house next door to him (and were very loud.) Not being able to hear is very challenging because of communication, but Mustafa uses facial expressions, and gestures to get his point across. Not hearing for Mustafa means not being able to talk. Mustafa still makes noises, but he just can’t hear them.

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