Noora's Story

Noora and father, 12.12.08

Breakers rolling to the coastline;
Bringing ships to harbor;
Gulls against the morning sunlight;
Flying off to freedom
--Scottish lullaby
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We wondered recently what happened to Noora Afif Abdulhameed, the now-7-year-old we wrote about last October about whose skull was "shattered by a U.S. sniper's bullet" in October 2006 (Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue). There is no happy ending, and her travails continue.

Noora was brought to the U.S. for surgery by a grassroots group No More Victims (NMV). Her story ran in the Portland (ME) paper, but didn't get much coverage elsewhere.

NMV connects American communities with war-wounded Iraqi children and their families. It tries to match physicians, hospitals and project managers across the country with injured Iraqi children. Noora was their eighth client; they have ten at this point.

I spoke with Susi Eggenberger last night who, along with her husband Doug, has sponsored Noora since her arrival. She said, "After her last surgery in January, a 3-4 inch patch of skin wouldn't heal. As a result, her prosthetic skull had to be removed for sterilization." The lesion was probably caused by infection resulting from an improperly sterilized prosthetic.

Eggenberger said three saline balloons have been placed under the cranial skin in hopes of re-stretching and growing excess skin in anticipation of her next surgery, possibly within the next three weeks.

Noora's father says the Americans have been very "merciful," and he teaches Noora a lesson of radical pragmatism.

"All the time [Noora] ask me, why Papa, why American Army shoot to me? Why Army sniper shoot to me. I not do anything, I not carry a weapon to shoot me. Sometime I can't answer her. I told her that's happened, what can we do now, no choice. Now you must care about yourself (Maine Public Radio.)"

This is not a feel-good story; far from it. But this group is doing very decent work, and is to be praised for their efforts. [Ranger has no affiliation with NMV, other than passing through the town and reading about Noora in the local paper.] The victim's families and the host communities seem to put forth their utmost effort.

And the U.S. continues its part in the wars, making it all possible.

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Addendum: Ann Cothran, National Community Coordinator for NMV writes,

"We are in a serious funding crunch right now, and readers can read about other children's stories, donate, or e-mail us about helping with a project, at nomorevictims.org"

Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue

Somebody Broke Your Wings,
Little Bird -- You Can't Fly.
Somebody Broke Your Wings --
Beat 'Em Down, Beat 'Em Down,
--Broken Wings, John Mayall

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
--Blackbird, The Beatles

I'm like a bird, I'll only fly away
I don't know where my soul is
I don't know where my home is
--I'm like a Bird, Nelly Furtado
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A story carried in the Portland Press Herald (Maine) a few days ago did not get MSM coverage, but it is tragic and indicative of the insoluble madness that is the current U.S. wars. That some well-meaning people take this as a good thing is also sad. There is nothing good about this story.

Noora Afif Abdulhameed, 6, whose skull was "shattered by a U.S. sniper's bullet" in October 2006, will soon be undergoing gratis neurosurgery in Portland. Her father was also shot in the jaw while the family was driving together in Heet, Iraq.

Ranger was bothered by the story since it is hard to shoot a little girl in the head after lining her up in the crosshairs of a 9 power sniper scope and not notice that it was a little girl.

Democracy is messy, but not so much as a bullet into a little girl's brain housing group. Yes, we must fight them there as we certainly don't want our dear offspring being shot on the street by terrorists here. Forget the fact that this has never occurred. Maybe to be a "terrorist" is defined by what side of the scope you are on.

After Noora's skull was rent by a high-velocity round, she has made it to Portland with the help of the non-profit group No More Victims that brings war-injured Iraqi children to the United States for medical treatment. Treatment that will never return her to normal, and for what?

Group founder Cole Miller said, "It's a sweet moment, huh?" when Noora arrived in July (Noora's Journey). But does anybody really believe this is a feel-good story? Do we expect her family will be grateful for the medical treatment?

In a generous gesture, "Madison Hurley, 5, of Portland gave Noora a bouquet of balloons -- one of which looked like a U.S. flag -- tied with colorful ribbons." Not to utterly dismiss the efforts of these good-minded people, but does anyone see the absurdity here?

Several southern Maine communities held fund-raising events for Noora, and Miller said "such community-based efforts could help combat terrorism by showing the world that ordinary Americans care about what's going on in other countries." Huh? The only terrorism exhibited here is that wrought upon the Iraqi populace by an uninvited occupier.

It is an irresponsible act to place U.S. combat soldiers as traffic cops when the soldiers are improperly trained and temperamentally ill-suited for the mission. Ranger can not blame a scared young man for being trigger-happy, but he can question the occupation of a nation that never aggressed upon our Homeland.

Yes, Noora's head needs to be repaired, and it is fortunate for her that a group of small-town Americans has banded together to sell spaghetti dinners and sell grocery bags to get her here. But the real story every time is the insanity of the war.

People focus on the small things because it is something they can do. But the small things they do, like sending ditty bags to soldiers and knitting quilts, too often ends up being a glorification and a de facto furtherance of the wars. Groups such as No More Victims and Doctors Without Borders do a just work, but their stock in trade is the brutality of war.

That much conviction must be applied to effecting the cessation of the violence, as is applied to treating the victims and the fighters.