Parents hit obstacles in planning GI funeral

[DoYouEverWonder]

March 6, 2005, 8:45 PM EST



The distraught family of a Queens soldier killed in Iraq made a desperate plea yesterday for the slain man's parents to be granted entry to New York for a Muslim funeral.

Spc. Azhar Ali, 27, was one of two soldiers killed Tuesday in what military officials said was a roadside ambush at an insurgent hot spot near the Iraqi airport.

<snip>

In what family members and a city councilman described as an insensitive slight, Ali's parents, in their native Pakistan, never knew that their son was killed until late last week, well beyond the 24-hour period in which Muslims must be buried.

"At least, what this country, this government can do for us is to get his family here," said Sunny Sharif, 25, Ali's cousin. "The death he had is not pleasant, of course. We just want to hold his funeral as soon as possible so his soul can be in peace."

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/queens/nyc-iraq0307,0,2592716.story?coll=nyc-homepage-breaking2

[leftchick]

1. bushco** does not give one shit about the soldiers...

especially black muslim soldiers. RIP... :(

[soup]

5. ** clearing his calendar

for a hug.

"There's only one person who hugs the mothers and the widows, the wives and the kids upon the death of their loved one. Others hug but having committed the troops, I've got an additional responsibility to hug and that's me and I know what it's like." George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 11, 2002

RIP Spc. Azhar Ali

[LiberalinNC]

6. That quote makes me sick!

:puke:

That SOB has no idea what these families are experiencing! Shit, I don't know, and yet my heart aches each and every time one of these brave soldiers are killed. Bush&co and nothing but murderers!

[The Zanti Regent]

8. President Asshole didn't do one damn thing when my son died

If he had shown himself at the funeral of my son, my only child, I would have taken my cane to him!

[DoYouEverWonder]

10. Don't you know he was busy?

Presidenting is hard work and he still has all that brush to clear down on the pig farm.

(Hang in there. My heart breaks for you and all the other parents who have lost their children to these monsters. Mine is only 12 and that is why I'm fighting these bastards every day.)

[soup]

11. Every time I read one of your posts, I weep.

This morning is no exception.

I apologize from my heart if my posting the dumbf*ck's quote caused you any further pain.

---

When all is said and done, the only words I have are I'm sorry.

---

whoa, my husband just called as I was writing this. Wanted to share a bumpersticker with me that he'd just seen on the car in front of him:


http://www.cafepress.com/sorryeverybody.14683695#

[fasttense]

9. Like he knows anything about what it's like to lose a son to war.

Like he knows anything about what it's like to fight in a war. Like he knows anything about how a parent feels when their child is placed in the path of danger for the warped ideas of another. Like he knows anything.

[rfranklin]

2. He was not "black" in the American sense....

Dark-skinned, yes, but Pakistani.

[annabanana]

3. Pretty much everyone not of European or East Asian parentage

is treated "Black" here....

[Cooley Hurd]

4. A tragedy compounded by ethno-religious insensitivity...

But we're all supposed to bow and scrape at state-sponsored Ten Commandments monuments.

As Yakov said, "What a @#$%& country!":grr:

[0007]

7. Hillary is helping the family... | ....Good for her!

"The emotional drain of losing a son is simply unspeakable," said City Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing), who is joining Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in helping the family."