The Bay Area Project of NMV to bring 2-year-old Mustafa Ghazwan here for medical treatment is really underway. Doctors at UCSF have agreed to provide the surgery to implant a cochlear device so that Mustafa’s hearing can be restored. He lost all hearing due to a U.S. bomb explosion near his home. In addition to the pro bono services offered by the surgeon and the anesthesiologist, the UCSF doctors have contacted the manufacturer of the cochlear implant, and this company has offered to provide this $27,000 device at no cost. Ronald McDonald House in San Francisco has agreed to provide housing for Mustafa and his father during their expected 4-5 month stay, which may begin as early as July 2008.

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Ruth Group volunteers spent last Saturday addressing and stamping letters to friends and family in an appeal to raise $20,000 for medical treatment for 2-year-old Mustafa. Through the organization No More Victims, we will be sponsoring Mustafa here in the Bay Area for medical treatment. Mustafa’s hearing was completely lost when a US bomb dropped near his home in Iraq. His world is completely silent now. He has been tested by the local medical community in Syria and seems to be a perfect candidate for a cochlear implant. Following the operation he will need months of speech therapy and observation before returning home.

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Hailey and I have been working very hard, trying to balance school and other extracurriculars with this great project. Thankfully, with the support of our community and teamwork, we have been able to cover a lot of ground in the past months. We have been trying to raise community funds (which will go directly to No More Victims), sponsorship funds (to help cover our $2000+ operational concert costs at Rocketown), and awareness for the concert. We intend for all of the ticket sales from the concert to be sent to No More Victims.

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Young professionals have joined local design team, Studio-220, to spearhead a city-wide initiative to benefit the children of Iraq. Over the past two years, local press have followed the touching story of young Iraqi boy, Abdul Hakeem, who was severely injured when an American air-raid hit his home in Fallujah. In 2005, NMV learned of Abdul and began reaching out to local philanthropists and hospitals to fund his much needed medical support. In 2006, Abdul was brought to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh to receive a prosthetic eye and reconstructive face surgery. He is now back in Pittsburgh to complete the final stage of his treatment.

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We first learned about No More Victims in late 2007 while watching Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman (our hero!). Amy was interviewing Cole and Salee and her father.

In 2002, we had traveled to San Francisco to march against the war, saw Market Street filled with people as far as the eye could see: nuns, businessmen, sports fans, all kinds of folks, and believed that the war surely could not begin in the face of such wide public resistance. We attended more marches, wrote to Congress, participated in organizing a demonstration right here on the border of Yosemite National Park. At that rally of about 25 El Portal/Mariposa locals, we were cheered on by virtually every car passing by. (One passenger did flip us off - kept us laughing all day!)

After all that effort, and all these years, watching friends, neighbors and relatives go to war, wondering what will happen to our own son in a few years when he is of “registration” age, it has felt as though all that’s left to do is to pray. The best thing we can do is pray. Then an opportunity comes, and prayer catalyzes action. (more…)

Be sure to mark your calendars and save the date for:
FIRST PORTLAND, OREGON COMMUNITY NO MORE VICTIMS PLANNING MEETING

(Organize to welcome an injured Iraqi child to Portland for treatment
& powerfully tell their story!)

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2008
7 PM
FIRST UNITARIAN CHURCH
1101 SW 12TH AVE.

ALL are WELCOME!!!
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On November 15 we held a fundraiser with a panel of professors on “The Human Cost of War.” We played a clip of the No More Victims video and then allowed each of the four professors to comment on the video and on the human cost of the war. The program created an environment where students and faculty could consider the war in a more total sense and ask difficult questions. Maha’s story was explained to the students, and we were able to raise money towards the purchase of her wheelchair. We also had free shawarmas and other Middle Eastern food that served as an incentive for students to initially attend the lecture.

Omar and his father Sabah were able to attend the program. Students loved playing with Omar and everyone was shocked to see the burns that still cover much of his body —realizing how real and pressing the cost of war truly is. (more…)

This is an outreach message the new Portland, Oregon chapter is passing around in order to secure help from the broader community.

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We are writing to offer you a role in an important and very meaningful humanitarian project. Possibly you share our varied emotions about the U.S. occupation and war in Iraq — grief, outrage, and hopelessness. We recently learned of a project that felt very compelling for us — as a way to organize something good and hopeful in response to the killing and destruction carried out in our name in Iraq.

We would like to create a project here in the Portland area with the organization called No More Victims. No More Victims (NMV) is an American group that has developed a way to address the unfair burden children are bearing in the brutal Iraq war. They identify specific children who have been injured by the war, and help local communities here organize to aid the children and their families. Participation can happen in several ways: (more…)